What's the problem, Corporal? Drop him before he raises an alarm.
------
12:22, 11/02/2015, CANTERLOT
Despite not being the center of attention, Lana couldn't help but shift uncomfortably. It almost feels like a trial, and the suspect isn't here to defend himself, she thought as she glanced at the other occupants of the room.
Big Sky stood at the center of the room in a spell array or circle carved into the stone that would look right at home in a fantasy movie. The chamber that they were in was almost completely obscured by an illusionary map of the little town the Equestrians called 'Ponyville'. The Pegasus pointed with one hoof and said, "We approached the target area from the north without any problems. Upon sighting a landing area and beginning my descent, Captain Harris exited the chariot and advanced on foot."
Just as lines and small icons appeared to demonstrate what Big Sky had explained, Luna spoke up. "Is it a standard practice to separate from the group? All the material I've reviewed seems to indicate human combat doctrine would discourage such an action. Does it not lessen the capabilities of the group and put all in greater danger when facing stiff resistance?"
Major Fujikawa started to speak but Shining Armor beat her to the explanation. "Captain Harris and the specialists under his command often have capabilities that allow them to operate independently for limited amounts of time. The specialists are able to engage secondary objectives with little difficulty while the squad proceeds with the primary target. They never branch far from the squad though."
"Very well, please continue," Luna said after mulling the explanation over.
Big Sky nodded before continuing. A quartet of angry red circles appeared in various parts over Ponyville, followed by a half dozen gold icons on ground level plus two new icons that clearly represented two of Twilight's friends. A rash of red icons appeared in pursuit of them as the blue icons representing Strike One came on scene. "I spotted Rainbow Dash in critical condition, and Captain Harris elected to secure her while the rest of Strike One moved to reinforce surviving guards and secure Applejack. Captain Harris confirmed Dash's condition and requested that I retrieve medical supplies from the chariot to stabilize her condition, and I did so."
The illusions of Ponyville disappeared as Big Sky stepped back and all eyes fell to Lana. As the Pegasus resumed his seat, Lana rose and took his place in the center of the room. "So... how do I make it work?" she asked with just a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
"Just concentrate on the memories of the operation and the memoratorium will display them," Luna explained patiently.
Well, here goes.
------
Never before in Lana's life had she been so grateful to have solid earth under her boots as when she jumped out of the chariot. Her laser rifle swept the early evening gloom before settling on the storybook buildings that made up the town. Lana easily assumed the point position as Strike One double-timed towards the town.
There was a brief exchange between Matt and Big Sky before Lana spoke up. "This is Jenkins! We're on our way to the school now. Need any help, boss?"
When Matt declined the offer, Lana charged forward into the partially destroyed town. Equestrian shouts and the sounds of plasma fire began to drown out the sounds of her footfalls and her heart hammering in her chest. She caught sight of an orange blur running straight towards a one room school house as well as the unmistakable shapes of two Sectoids approaching from the opposite direction.
"Contact front!" Lana shouted as she charged straight at the school's back door. A fearful shout from inside the building emphasized the importance of speed as she planted one boot on the back door and nearly blasted it off its hinges. She almost didn't spot the quartet of short figures that recoiled from her sudden appearance, the Sectoid that was aiming at them demanded more of her attention.
One laser blast was all that was needed to cause the Sectoid's head to explode in a fountain of boiling blood and steaming meat, and Lana didn't give it more than a moment's consideration as she leapt over the children by the door to charge at the Sectoid dragging Applejack towards the window. The mare was attempting to resist but the ugly burn mark across her right side crippled any attempt. The Sectoid's attention was almost completely occupied with the Earth Pony's struggles, and simply didn't see Lana's attack coming. The tip of her boot connected squarely with its chest and launched it halfway across the room. Before it could raise its arm to fire a shot, Lana had put a point blank shot into its skull.
"Clear!" Lana shouted as she spared a glance to the broken windows before turning back to the Equestrians in the room. She immediately recognized Applejack and Spike, though the three foals didn't ring any bells immediately. After a quick report about two of the targets being located, she slowly approached and said, "I've come from Canterlot, Luna sent my friends and I to get you out to safety. My name is--"
"Lana Jenkins! Twilight talks about you and her human friends a lot, and I remember you now from her wall of drawings," Spike explained and a small amount of recognition crossed Applejack's face as well.
She has a wall of drawings for her human friends and there's enough there for Spike to recognize me? If there's that much of me then there must be a literal shrine built for Matt--
Lana's concentration was broken when Shining Armor cleared his throat. "Perhaps we could move along to the more relevant parts of the memory?" The unicorn wore a sour expression, while Luna had the faintest of smiles. Fujikawa's expression seemed to be balancing between professional curiousity and polite ignorance of the situation.
Without any further prompting, Lana moved things forward a bit and resumed the memory.
"Harris, Jenkins. Pursuit is breaking off, our objectives are secured." When nothing but silence answered her, she tried again. "Harris, do you copy?" Again, only silence through the radio answered her. Lana had just started to rise when she saw it. The aliens hadn't been breaking off, they were converging on a new target.
Matt stood in a clearing far from any cover and began to walk towards the aliens just as they all opened fire.
"Jesus Christ, what are you doing?" Lana screamed, and she started to sprint to try and flank or draw enemy fire to give Matt a chance to get into cover. They were too far and the volume of fire was simply too great. She could only watch in horror as the plasma fire leapt at Matt, only for it to disappear before it made contact with him. Dozens of shots came towards him, including a few from the ships hovering over the battlefield, and it all disappeared. The volume of fire began to ebb as the aliens were forced to reload, which was the only reason that Lana heard Matt's cruel laughter as he raised his hand.
Portals opened up all around and above Matt, and plasma fire fell upon the aliens like a tidal wave. Mutons were reduced to little more than cinders and melted slag in an instant, while most of the lesser aliens simply vanished in the flames. The few that did not die outright tried to flee into buildings or behind an enormous tree in the center of the clearing, but this did little more than buy them a few seconds. The buildings were pounded to dust and the tree caught fire and was reduced to ash in seconds. Throughout the entire massacre, Matt kept laughing.
A white armored Muton attempted to quit the field only for Matt to catch sight of him, and the Muton's death reminded Lana of a can of spam being crushed. She couldn't spare any more attention to the alien as she finally caught up to Matt and her eyes settled on his arm. She had initially thought the PSI gauntlet was still present, but she was mistaken. The gauntlet itself was gone as well as his arm just below the elbow; the rest of his arm was steadily being consumed by black flames. At the heart of those flames was a painfully bright light that forced Lana to look away.
Lana tried to think of something, anything to get Matt's attention but her words failed her as he slowly turned towards her and raised that mutilated arm. A thrill of horror went through Lana as she saw the murderous look in Matt's eyes. The glarequickly morphed into fear and panic as he finally realized what was happening to him.
"Stop."
Instantly the scene froze and Luna stepped into the illusion to stare at Matt mid-scream. "Thank you for your assistance, Major Fujikawa, Sergeant Jenkins," the princess said with a tone of dismissal that was unmistakable. "You will forgive me, as I must have a word with Captain Armor. Privately."
"By your leave, your Highness," Major Fujikawa said with a short bow, and Lana stepped away from the center of the room to follow her. The image plucked from Lana's memories lingered in the room even as Fujikawa closed the door behind them. "I don't know enough about their expressions to be certain, but the princess looked like she had seen a ghost."
"I didn't notice. I'm too busy trying to forget that look on Matt's face," Lana answered honestly as she tried to mask the effects that memory had on her. I can't help but think that he was going to do something horrible to me, Lana thought even as she forced a smile. The effort she put into the smile doubled as she caught sight of Twilight and a Pegasus she quickly recognized as Fluttershy waiting on a bench nearby with a pair of guards flanking her. "Hey there, Twily, what's up?"
One of the guards twitched an eyebrow and an ear in annoyance when Lana addressed Twilight so informally, though if the former Unicorn noticed the breach in decorum she didn't mention it. Fluttershy, however, did her best to avoid eye contact as she patted Twilight’s shoulders and trotted a small distance away. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Yumiko, but I have to ask a favor from Lana," Twilight said timidly, and Major Fujikawa responded with an understanding smile and bowed out of the conversation. "I know you're really busy but could you stop by the medical wards and talk to Rainbow Dash? I was able to talk to her a little about her injuries but she’s still really upset about her dad. She says we wouldn’t understand and then goes quiet.”
"What happened to her dad?" Lana asked before catching herself. Scuttlebutt says Cloudsdale was one of the first places that got hit, and that's a Pegasus city, she realised, and the uncomfortable logic of Twilight's fell into place. I’d rather go into a firefight than talk about that man, but if it’ll help a friend out… "Nevermind, Twily. I'll go down there and see what I can do. How's Matt doing?"
"He's no longer in danger, but there's only so much we can do," Twilight said as her gaze fell. "Matt's still in a coma so we don't know if his mind is still whole after his injuries. His arm-- I wasn't able to--"
"It's alright, Twily," Lana said quickly before presenting her with a clever smirk and waving her gloved left hand. "We can rebuild him. We have the technology." When Twilight simply sniffed and nodded, Lana nearly facepalmed as she realised the pop culture reference would have no meaning for the Equestrians. "I'm certain you did everything you could, and we'll be able to get him fixed up just like me," Lana offered with a wave of her left hand.
"Thanks, Lana," Twilight said with a sniff before offering Lana the first smile that she had seen on the young Alicorn. "You always know how to make me feel better. If you were a pony I would think that was your special talent."
The compliment dug into Lana a bit more than she anticipated but she was easily able to hide any discomfort. "I'm glad I can help out. I guess I'll go down and say hello to your friends then. I'll see you later, Twily."
------
Applejack’s flank itched, and there was nothing she could do about it. The itch had first made its presence known when the doctors had applied a cooling salve and bandages to the burn that nearly ran the length of her. The salve had immediately reduced the pain to something she could easily ignore. Unfortunately that gave Applejack’s mind room to wander, so she concentrated on that itch and how much it bothered her.
“You don’t look good, sis. Are you really alright?” Applebloom asked as tried not to stare at her sister’s wounds.
Emotionless black eyes fell upon Applejack as she struggled to fight back despite her wounds. There was no way she could limp away fast enough to escape the monsters in the school, let alone dodge any of the attacks from their weapons. She had to resist; to buy time for Applebloom and the fillies to escape. If she was going to die, she would do so to save her family.
When the nearly skeletal digits of one of the monsters grabbed one of her rear hooves and began to drag her to the windows, a new fear entered her mind. They didn’t want to kill her, they wanted her alive. Applejack tried to kick out but it had a firm grip on her injured leg and each pull sent waves of agony through her body. All she could do was silently scream, ‘Not like this, not like this!’
Applejack shifted slightly, which caused a new wave of painful itches down her flank. “The bandages are a bit of a bother, to be honest,” she answered, and a look to Big Macintosh all but confirmed that her brother knew that the bandages weren’t the only things that were bothering her. “Applebloom, I’m so glad you came to visit but I know how boring it is to wait at the doctor. Why don’t you find your friends and have some fun? There’s no sense in just sitting here worrying over me.”
“Okay,” the younger pony said, though her tone showed that she was clearly torn between her desire to be with her friends and worry for her family. “I can still come and visit later, right?”
“Sure you can. Just knock before you come in, okay?” Applejack agreed, and she did her best to fake a smile until the filly had left the room. She turned to the other ponies around her bed and dropped all pretenses of a good mood. “I really appreciate both of you coming but shouldn’t someone watch the farm? Don’t you think that’s more important than visiting me?”
“Nope,” Came Big Mac’s reply.
“Listen to your brother, Applejack,” Granny Smith began, “We all put a lot of hard work and love into that farm but none of it is worth family. We can rebuild a house and replant the trees, but we can never replace family.” The gentle sounds of Rainbow Dash stirring on the other side of the room prompted Applejack to try and get Granny Smith to lower her voice, but thankfully the elderly mare had changed topics. “Besides, something’s thrown a mighty scare into the Everfree. There was a mighty ruckus last night before going quieter than I’ve ever heard. Not natural, that is, and I’ve no desire to find out what that the cause might be.”
Any further discussion on the subject was interrupted by the sound of giggles in the hallway followed by a loud crash and alarmed shouts from adults. “Fillies these days can’t go five minutes without getting into trouble. I swear, these whippersnappers need some proper supervision,” Granny Smith decided, and she slowly hobbled her way over to the exit. Big Macintosh gave Applejack a silent nod before turning to follow her.
Before the door closed, a gloved hand caught it and one of the humans stepped into the room. After the frenzied escape from Ponyville, Applejack hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the mysterious people that had helped Twilight. Applejack had worried about telling them apart based on Twilight’s descriptions, but this one was by far the easiest to recognize. Sparkling blue eyes and a lopsided grin matched the features of the human that had saved her. She was clad in far more casual clothes this time, with pants covered in baggy pockets and a loose hooded sweatshirt instead of the formal shirt and tie she had seen back in Ponyville.
The other thing that Applejack noticed was that the longer she looked at the grin on her face, the more she was convinced that the human was a liar.
“Hey there, glad to see you’re awake. How are you feeling?” Lana asked as she took a seat beside the bed and put her gloved hands on her lap.
“A bit stiff, but the doctors said that was normal,” Applejack replied as she continued to study the human. "They say I'll be up in a week and back to my old self a few weeks later, though there's not much they can do for the scar."
"Scars show the world that you've lived, and there's nothing wrong with that," Lana said with a quick glance down at her hands before turning in the direction of the other bed in the room. "And you must be Rainbow Dash. Twily's told me a lot about you. Best flier in Equestria, she said. Hopefully when you're out of this place I'll get to see you in the air."
Rainbow Dash didn’t respond beyond turning away as best she could. Her movement was somewhat limited by the bandages that covered a significant portion of her body and the casts that kept her wings from moving, but she was still able to keep from having to look at Jenkins. “Go away,” she said.
“Aww, come on,” Jenkins said as she scooted her chair next to Rainbow’s bed. “What’s flying like? Flying in helicopters or planes is one thing, but flying under your own power is another, right? Twily said you could fly pretty fast, too. Come on, spill.”
Applejack was just about to recommend the human leave when Dash finally replied. “I can’t.” The two little words were almost smothered in the Pegasus’s pillow as she buried her face in it.
“What was that?” Jenkins asked with an innocent tone, a tone that annoyed Applejack greatly because it implied the human didn’t know she was poking a proverbial dragon with a stick. What followed next was only natural.
“I said I CAN’T!” Rainbow Dash finally faced the human and screamed. Her expression was a study in agony and outrage that made Applejack wince even though she wasn’t the focus of her friend’s anger. “The doctors said I might never be able to fly as fast again! They say that they’ve done what they could but magic can only heal so much!” She buried her face in the pillow and continued to scream. “I spent my entire life trying to be the best and now there’s nothing left! Without my talent I’m nothing. And Dad…he’s dead! He’s dead and they’re all gone and I might as well be stuck in this bed forever! There’s nothing left anymore!”
Hearing her friend break down hurt Applejack deeply, and that hurt turned to anger at the one who had provoked it. As Rainbow Dash continued to scream into her pillow, Applejack cast a glare at Jenkins, who stood and silently walked over to the pitcher of water on the table along the wall. Both of her gloves came off and were placed on the table along with the hooded sweatshirt, and all of Applejack’s righteous outrage at her friend’s treatment morphed into horror.
Jenkins wore a sleeveless shirt underneath the sweater which hugged her torso and showed off the muscles along her back, shoulders and right arm clearly. The flesh and blood portion of her left arm simply ended just below the shoulder. The rest of the arm was composed of dull gray metal, all the way down to the fingertips. Despite a long distant memory of Granny Smith telling Applejack how rude it was to stare, she simply couldn’t take her eyes off of it, or the slightly reddish area around where the… the… stump met the metal limb, or the painful-looking bolts and straps that held it in place.
Two glasses of water were filled, and Jenkins slowly walked back to the chair. She waited patiently for Rainbow Dash to finish her rant before finally speaking. “I know I’m always thirsty after something like this, and you sound like you are too,” Jenkins said as she offered the glass in her right hand to the Pegasus, and for the first time since Applejack had laid eyes on the human she wore an honest smile. It was the smallest of expressions and the Earth Pony nearly missed it entirely over the spectacle of the metal arm.
“I’m not thirsty!” the Pegasus shouted into the pillow.
“RD, you might want to take her up on the offer,” Applejack suggested quietly.
“WHY SHOULD I?” Dash screamed as she pulled her head up from the pillow, but the outburst withered and died as she caught sight of Jenkins’ arm.
For a long moment, nopony moved. The stillness was broken when Jenkins placed the offered glass of water on the small table near the end of the bed before shifting her own glass from her left hand to her right. One metal finger tapped absently against the glass before the human looked down at the prosthetic limb. “It still hurts, every once and awhile. Like when you sleep wrong and one of your legs goes numb: it’s all pins and needles.”
“Are you saying that you’ve got it worse?” Dash accused as a shred of her previous anger latched on to her stubborn streak, but it was clear the shock of the injury was overpowering it.
“No,” Jenkins said as she continued to stare down at her hand. “I’ve never flown so I can only imagine what that feels like. You know what flying is like and you know how important it is to you. I won’t cheapen what you’re going through by telling you what you’re feeling. I can tell you what I’ve felt though.
“Humans are kinda defined by our hands,” she started, and her glass switched to the prosthetic before raising her right hand. “Prior to all this excitement, I helped build things. Roads, bridges, lots of fun stuff. I wasn’t too bad in a fight either. Heck, I was the unarmed combat champion of XCOM before becoming the… unarmed combat champion of XCOM.” When neither mare said anything, Jenkins let out an exaggerated sigh. “Tough audience. I must be slipping since Matt made bad jokes a punishable offence.”
How can she make jokes about… that? Applejack couldn’t help think with equal parts wonder and horror. The brief glance to Rainbow Dash was all she needed to confirm that the other mare was thinking the same thing.
“The point is,” Jenkins continued, “there is nothing wrong with what you’re feeling. There was a time when I thought dying would be the best outcome.” That admission brought a shocked gasp from both mares. “If I die, my mom and brothers would get some of the benefits of my job. If I live, I’d end up being a useless burden. If it wasn’t for Twilight and my friends I don’t know what I would have done in the end.
“I suppose my point is that your friends will try their absolute best to understand what you’re going through, Dashie,” Jenkins continued, and a mischievous sparkle entered her eyes when she noticed that annoyance with the nickname had broken through the other emotions that were currently warring in the Pegasus. “They’ll try if you let them. They will fail, but you have to let them try. It’s the hardest part about having friends, but you’ll be stronger for it in the end. Every time they try will make things easier for you to understand what happened to you.”
Rainbow Dash’s gaze fell as she mulled the words over, and Applejack did the same even though she was little more than an observer to this conversation. Even as she replayed the conversation, Applejack couldn’t help but notice the conspicuous absence of one particular subject. Everything she’s saying has a lot of truth to it, but why didn’t she talk about her dad? She never even mentioned him once, not even in passing Once that thought occurred to her, the pieces fell into place. “Miss Jenkins, what happened to your dad?”
The glass in the human’s metal hand exploded and dumped glass shards and water onto her lap. For the briefest of moments something dark entered Jenkins’ expression before switching to embarrassment. “Ah haha! Another unfortunate downside of this thing is that I can’t really judge pressure and sometimes things break.”
Liar.
Jenkins stood up and retrieved the towel next to where the water pitcher was and began to clean off the flecks of glass from her pants. “There was a monster,” she started to explain. “It was in our home, and my dad died because of it. I watched him die, and I had to kill the monster before it hurt my mom or my brothers.”
The words were heavy with sincere emotion, and Applejack had no doubt that there was some truth in those words. Despite that, her instincts screamed at her. Liar!
“But that’s not a really interesting story,” Jenkins said as she turned around and put on her lairs smile. She collected the glass shards and deposited them on the table before continuing. “What’s a really interesting story is how I lost my arm.”
After several false starts, Rainbow Dash finally managed, “H-how did—“
Jenkins didn’t wait for her to finish the question before she started. “I don’t know all the factors that led up to it but apparently some of the salvage we had recovered from the aliens was a bit of a trap. It was calling the aliens to where we were hiding, and they sent a big ship to find it.” If she noticed Rainbow Dash’s attempts to ask about her father, she showed no sign of it. The story continued and eventually the Pegasus became wrapped up in the action and adventure of its retelling.
Applejack found that she could not. The nagging doubts of why the human would lie about her father’s death were simply too great.
------
17:45, 11/02/2015, CANTERLOT
“Give me your reports quickly, gentlemen,” Major Fujikawa ordered briskly from behind the privacy screen of her quarters. “Hamil, you’re up.”
The engineer kept his eyes glued on the tablet before him, as though looking in the direction of the female soldier’s changing room might incur her wrath. “Carapace armor sets have been unpacked and tested with zero malfunctions, and the laser weaponry is working flawlessly. All of the gear that utilizes Elerium is non-functional. Weapons, armor, equipment, MECs… especially the MECs. The only exception is the Rule Breakers and, well....”
“Damn it,” Fujikawa growled. “Do you have any news from Vahlen or Shen regarding whatever technological voodoo they need to do to make everything work? Without Skyrangers or Interceptors for air support, we really need the MECs for heavy weapons.”
“A working prototype is planned for Captain Harris’s prosthetic and is scheduled to be ready in approximately a week, two at the most. If initial tests are successful then they’ll begin the process of retrofitting existing gear. Priority will go to MECs and their weaponry, then weapons and armor, then the armor modules,” Hamil finished.
“Good,” the reply came, though it was quickly retracted. “Wait, why aren’t the PSI modules higher up on the priority list? Without those, Harris and his spooks are dead in the water. No offense, Shao.”
“None taken, ma’am,” Zhang said, and he glanced down at his own reports. “The PSI modules are scheduled to be refitted for deployments on Earth but Princess Luna has strictly forbidden the use of the devices while we are here. She does not wish for a repeat of Captain Harris’s performance during the last mission, despite our assurances that such a thing can be prevented in the future.”
A decidedly unladylike burst of profanity flooded from the privacy screen. “Does she not understand that our Gifts could be just as dangerous or worse if we can’t maintain control through the PSI modules?”
“She had assumed as much, and Princess Sparkle and a few other Unicorns have volunteered to instruct us in proper control of our gifts.”
“I suppose that’s for the best,” Fujikawa sighed as she made her way around the privacy screen. Her hands moved on autopilot to wrap the dark gray tie around her neck and set it into place as she strode to the mirror on the far wall. “If this training of theirs works out, I expect the six of you to record everything you do so the others back home can benefit from it. And no one breathes a word about the MECs within the presence of the Equestrians. I don’t want to lose another of our advantages because they’re squeamish about what we’re capable of.”
When both men acknowledged the order, the major turned to face them. “You’re dismissed, Hamil. Zhang, walk with me.” The moment the engineer was out of earshot, Fujikawa asked, “Have either of you noticed anything odd with Sergeant Jenkins? Has she been reporting any malfunctions with her prosthetic, or acting violent at all?” When Zhang said nothing, she simply nodded and donned her suit coat before making final adjustments to her uniform. “I had the opportunity to witness Captain Harris’s meltdown from her memories. If Princess Luna is right, she could break down at any moment. The fact that Lana hasn’t yet surprised the princess, and I suspect that’s the only reason she’s allowing the use of any Elerium tech in the future.”
“I assume that should she experience such a breakdown, those privileges would be rescinded?” Zhang asked, and his tone indicated he knew the answer already.
Fujikawa nodded as she headed for the doors to the somewhat crowded corridor beyond with Zhang in tow. “Without that technology, we’re little more than a token force to assist the Equestrians. I’m sure they appreciate the gesture but appreciation doesn’t keep the aliens away.” The pair passed through a set of doors to another corridor and Fujikawa took a moment to look over her shoulder guiltily. “I suppose I should ask how your captain is doing. Any changes since last time?”
“None as of yet,” Zhang said slowly, and he glanced around. The previous hallway had several XCOM personnel going about their business in their part of the castle. This corridor linked them to the rest of Canterlot Keep. Apart from Zhang and Fujikawa, the entire corridor was completely deserted. Out of habit, Zhang closed his eyes and slowly let the air out of his lungs as he tapped the Rule Breaker on his wrist. He saw the corridor in his mind’s eye, every nook and cranny and crevasse in the marble walls. His sight would have extended outwards and beyond were it not for the single spot in the shadow of the pillar they just passed that blocked his sight.
Zhang’s eyes snapped open and he whirled around. “This area is forbidden. Reveal yourself and we will escort you to the guards so you may be on your way,”he said sternly, and Fujikawa stopped mid-step to turn as well. A cloaked figure emerged from the shadows and Zhang was quick to assess the interloper. The size matches the Equestrians and that’s definitely hooves I hear on the marble floor, but that cloak could be hiding anything underneath. Where are the guards?
“The guards are not your concern, or mine,” the cloaked figure said as it came to a stop at just over three body lengths away. The voice was a male baritone, and with an accent quite unlike anything Zhang had ever heard before. “What is our shared concern is the council of nations that Luna intends to call in the near future to defend our world.”
“That information is confidential, and your being here seems to be toeing the line with espionage, sir.” Fujukawa’s tone was clipped and agitated as she glared at the shadows under the cloak’s hood. “I admit to being ignorant to many of the laws here, but something tells me our punishments are far harsher for such things.”
“Such subjects should not be your concern. What should be your concern is gaining the required momentum of the nations attending the council to address this threat. The Crystal Empire will surely support Equestria, but Gryphos and Minon will be less inclined to do so,” the cloaked figure explained. “The tipping point will be the Zebrica Union, who have always maintained impartiality with all sides in all conflicts. Win their approval and you shall have their voice supporting your cause.”
As the mysterious figure continued to speak, the nagging peculiarity of the accent continued to pester Zhang. Why does this one have an accent? He silently removed the translator from his belt and slipped it into his pocket, and nearly lost his cool cover when he realized what was happening. He has an accent because the translator wasn’t translating a language we already understand. This one is speaking English.
“The Zebrica Union requires that a task be completed. One of its citizens lives in the forest near the town your Captain Harris destroyed, and she was not counted among those that evacuated.” A glance to the major confirmed that she had caught the not-so-subtle jab at their culpability in that mess. “You will send one of your soldiers to assist in the retrieval of this citizen.”
“I’m not certain we’re the best choice for that, sir. We’ve been here less than a week. You would have a better chance if you asked the Equestrians to help,” Fujikawa explained patiently.
“The Zebrica Union will not trust you or the council to aid their nation in a time of war if you are unable to aid one citizen that is far closer,” the response was studiously neutral. “Zebrica Pathfinders with an Equestrian Ranger guide were dispatched almost a day and a half ago. They have not been seen since.” Before that particular bit of information could be digested, he continued. “One of the locals and a friend of this citizen has been contacted to assist a veteran Pathfinder in tracking down those that are missing. Should you choose not to contribute, one of Twilight Sparkle’s friends may die, and it will only be so long before she finds out why.”
“XCOM does not respond well to blackmail, sir,” Fujikawa’s tone took a decidedly acidic turn, and Zhang rested the palm of his hand on his sidearm.
“Your feelings on the reality of your situation are not my concern. What is your concern is the soldier we have selected to assist in this matter. It is our belief that only he has the necessary skills to retrieve the Zebrica citizen should she still live and the worst case come to pass.” The cloak moved to reveal a single jet-black hoof with a scroll in it. He tossed the scroll high into the air for Zhang to catch. “Ultimately the decision is yours, but remember: We will be watching.”
Zhang caught the scroll and looked back at the cloaked figure only to see an empty corridor, as though the mysterious intruder had never been there. Zhang handed the scroll to the major as he checked the rest of the corridor only to come up empty. A muffled curse from Fujikawa brought his attention back to the woman. She offered the piece of paper to Zhang and he immediately knew the source of her exasperation.
Only two words were written on the scroll: Victor Spiegel.