//------------------------------// // Chapter 42 // Story: Hegira: Eternal Delta // by Guardian_Gryphon //------------------------------// Earth Calendar: 2117 Equestrian Calendar: 15 AC (After Contact) March 29th, Gregorian Calendar The long moment of silence was broken by Hutch, as he shifted awkwardly in his chair, trying to relieve some of the stress on his dermoplast patches. "That's... A weighty life's story kid." April sighed, and glanced away, through the room's thin, but tall window slit. Hutch sighed and shook his head slowly. "I hope you understand why I didn't exactly keep my promise precisely as I said it. If I'd known any other way..." April swiveled her head sharply, and locked her doleful eyes on the General's unflinchingly. "No. You don't owe me an apology sir. If you hadn't told Fyrenn where to look, we might never have escaped at all. I'm glad he found us. And I'm glad you got out ok." Fyrenn winced at April's reflexive use of plural pronouns. The General smiled slightly, and dipped his head. "I appreciate that. Believe me. We all wish it hadn't turned out quite this way." April nodded, and inhaled slowly. "I know." Hutch raised an eyebrow, and leveled a finger. "And kiddo; It's 'Hutch,' not 'Sir' or 'General' or 'Mister.' I won't let my closest subordinates call me something that makes me feel old, so do you think I'm going to let you get away with it?" Once again, April flashed her melancholy smile. Fyrenn felt his chest clench reflexively, and on the spot he made himself a silent promise; He would make sure that sooner, rather than later, that smile would have more joy than sadness in it. The red Gryphon shifted his position slightly to make room for April to seat herself in the crook of his right wing. As she nestled into the space and clutched at his side, his expression hardened, and he spoke out. "So now we're all up to speed. As far as I'm concerned the only people we can trust in terms of this issue are yourself, Aston, and our little family. The people in this room. No more, no less." Hutch nodded sharply, raising an eyebrow and directing his gaze sideways at Fyrenn. "No argument there. I got to my desk this morning and the first thing in my stack was a very strongly worded set of orders to bar you from access to any sensitive areas, documents, personnel, or equipment until further notice." He sighed and sat back to relieve some of the tension in his spine. "Right under it was a memo recommending, in no uncertain terms, that I be kept to minimum duty and command authority for the sake of 'recovery.' " Carradan snorted, and shook his head. "They think Aston will be easier to puppet. They must not know her very well." The Commander held up a hand, and leaned back against the wall behind Hutch. "I agree that there's something rotten going on here. And you're right, I am nobody's puppet. But I also think you're all blowing your reactions out of proportion. Whoever these guys are, their main weapon is, or was, secrecy. With that gone, I don't think its worth going to lengths like insubordination, let alone flagrant regulations violations..." Aston glanced briefly in Fyrenn's direction, her expression a mixture of apologetic condemnation, and nervous hedging. "...A pinch of subtlety here will be worth ten tons of direct intervention, and with considerably fewer bad side effects a decade down the line." Fyrenn sighed and inclined his head slowly as he searched for a way to phrase his response. "For now, I'll keep my instincts in check. We'll see what the enemy does, and plan based on that. Is that an agreeable compromise?" Hutch and Aston both nodded silently. April, Skye, Carradan, and the other three Gryphons remained still and silent. Neither April nor the Ponies had no real say in the action plan from a military standpoint, and Fyrenn knew the other Gryphons would back him. He rose, and shepherded April towards the door with one wing. As the glass panes slid aside to accommodate him, he glanced over his shoulder towards the two officers, and fired off a parting statement. "I think it's only fair to warn you what might happen next. You're my friends, so this isn't a threat. I'm saying this so you can make preparations to avoid the blowback, by distancing yourself from my actions, and giving yourself plausible deniability. My behavior from this point in is on me, and me alone." Fyrenn paused, and his eyes hardened into sun-like orbs of determination. "If this doesn't go any higher... If there are no further threats to April's safety? Then I'll play this by the book, and the orders, from now on. No muss, no fuss. But if this escalates? I will put a swift, and definitive end to it. In fire. And in blood." "This is barbaric!" The pastel purple female Unicorn shook her head violently, nearly dislodging the small paper cap that identified her as a nurse. Fyrenn nodded, and held up a claw in a conciliatory gesture. "Ms. Hart, no one is disagreeing with that statement. The question now is whether or not we can undo the damage." The Nurse blinked, and sighed, nodding meekly. "I'm sorry. It just... To see a child, of any species, in a condition like this?" Fyrenn nodded and patted the unicorn's shoulder reassuringly with his right claw. "I know. Believe me I know." Nurse Hart sighed once more, squeezed her eyes shut briefly, then inhaled deeply and moved to a console by the far wall, silently burying herself in her work. The lighting in the medical bay had been turned to its most subdued setting. Glowing patterns from holographic interface panels danced across the curvature of the walls. Fyrenn glanced around the familiar space, reflecting briefly on how well it had been designed. The colors, shapes, and even the humidity and temperature, were all aligned to make the space as comforting and disarming as physically possible. April lay face-down on a biobed, the back of her medical gown opened to reveal the hideous metallic beast of a machine grafted into her spine. Holographic viewports displaying electron microscope data hovered around an instrument cluster suspended above the biobed. Despite lacking professional medical skills, Fyrenn could easily pick out the nanites churning amongst the other cells in April's bloodstream. "Can we at least shut the nanites down?" From behind a low-slung console, Skye's voice issued forth, followed by the top of her head as she peeked over the beige plastic curve of the surface. "As much as I really hate to admit it... No." The Unicorn leapt up from behind the workstation, and trotted over to the biobed. April reached out with one hand reflexively, and Fyrenn took it in one claw briefly, placing it against his left wing. Skye smiled at April as she passed, and nuzzled her face gently, eliciting a small giggle. The Unicorn continued around the side of the biobed, raising one hoof and gently manipulating the nearest microscope projection. "These little monsters are like nothing I've ever seen before. On their own, they have little or no intelligence. But together? They form a Beowulf cluster." Fyrenn narrowed his eyes, and tilted his head, as he summoned every ounce of computer knowledge at his disposal. Though he was by no means skilled, as compared to a programmer of Skye's caliber, he had a more extensive understanding than the average denizen. "You mean those little things are forming an interconnected parallel computing array?" Skye nodded sharply. "It's actually ridiculously ingenious. Rather than wasting space and power on a wireless transmitter, the nanites instead use conductive fluids already within the bloodstream, as well as less traveled neural routes within the body's own synapses, to communicate with each other. The main processor and wireless array in the spine device act as a loose command and control center." Fyrenn glanced back at the image, and exhaled slowly. "What kind of power does this array have in total?" The tan Unicorn winced, and sighed. "This is where it gets even more nasty. Aside from fairly average military-grade medical and anti-virologic nanites, the majority of the little buggers in her system are designed to channel her nervous impulses for the chips that create her telekinesis fields. This means they lock onto the ends of neurons. This also means they have access to those neurons for their own purposes." Fyrenn shivered reflexively as he voiced his response in an undertone too low for Human hearing, but easily within the Equine range. "So they can use her own synapses as extra processing hardware?" Skye nodded slowly, and swiped one hoof across the holographic plate, switching it over to a series of graphs and charts as she responded subvocally in kind. "She is a walking biocomputing cluster, roughly equal to the high-end positronics you'd find at any military base. Even our best AI wouldn't be able to do anything other than get locked up in a never-ending struggle with the central control software that runs her systems. Best case nothing happens. Worst case, the bloody things start chewing on her brain in desperation to access more neurons." The red Gryphon gestured with one claw aggressively. "And you don't think there's a safe way to remove them?" Skye shook her head emphatically, swishing her tail in aggravation at her perceived helplessness. "They'll violently resist any and all attempts at tampering. If we try to attack them with other nanites they'll resist. If we try to inject inhibitor compounds to break their communication links, they'll eventually manage to attack, contain, and dissolve those." As the Unicorn spoke, she dashed back to her desk, then made the return journey with a small black device clutched in her magic field. The object looked similar to a medical monitoring wristband. As she carefully worked the object onto April's right wrist, she offered the young girl a winning smile. "This is a wireless transmission jammer. It's designed to conform to your body's bioelectric field, so you won't interfere with anything around you. Its strong enough that it can block a main-line transmitter as close as two feet away. This way if you have to, or want to leave the defensive zone around the Bureau, you can do so safely." April rotated her wrist left, then right, allowing the overhead light to catch the glossy black surface of the life-saving jewelry. She smiled, reached out, and snagged Skye in the best hug she could manage from her position. The Unicorn returned the gesture as best she could, mirroring the child's smile. Fyrenn patted his friend on the back lightly, and allowed himself a small upturn in the corners of his beak. "That's very thoughtful Skye. Well done." She winked, and inclined her head. "Age of the geek my feathered friend. Age of the geek." Fyrenn chuckled, and sighed. "And there's no geek quite like our geek." The Gryphon, both Unicorns, and April simultaneously glanced up as the room's main doors slid open, and Varan strode purposefully in from the corridor. Fyrenn could tell instantly, from his brother's expression, that he bore bad news. The gold Gryphon nodded once curtly, and jerked his head towards the hall. Fyrenn raised his claw, squeezed April's hand comfortingly, then glanced down at Skye. "Will you look after her for a bit? I'll make sure either Neyla or Kephic are down here shortly to help out." Skye grinned, and ruffled April's hair with one hoof. "Say no more feathers. I've got this covered." Fyrenn flashed both April, and Skye a grateful and comforting smile, before making his way swiftly out into the corridor. As soon as the door had softly whisked into its closed position, Varan's brow knit, and he began speaking in a low, concerned, icy tone. "There is someone here asking about April. A Councilor. Hutch says she has been here before. She filled Korvan's old seat when he was thrown out. He also wanted me to warn you that she is and I use his Human euphemism here... 'A piece of work.' Apparently even Korvan was concerned about her. He sent me for you straight away, he is buying you time at present." Fyrenn's eyes narrowed, his ears flattened, and his gaze hardened. He took off towards the lift at the fastest walking pace he could muster, without breaking into an all-out lope. "Please find Kephic or Neyla, and stay with April and Skye until I handle this. I don't trust the 'powers that be' and I wouldn't put it past them to try and snatch that poor girl right out from under us, using this meeting as a distraction." Varan nodded curtly, and displayed one of his rare smiles. The expression, far from kind or cheerful, was purely predatory. "I do not think they will have much success today." Fyrenn steeled himself mentally, and stepped through the double door into the conference room. The chamber was on the west side of the Bureau's structure, and thus didn't receive direct sunlight. On the other claw, it commanded an excellent view of downtown Manhattan. The red Gryphon found himself completely unprepared for the sight that greeted his eyes. For the first time in a long time, the scene filling his vision was simply so ridiculous, it took conscious effort to cope. Hutch sat, arms crossed, at one end of the table. At the far end, flanked by a body-guard, sat a woman who defied conventional description. Her jacket and pants seemed to be made of a material intentionally designed to defy decent sensibilities. The coloration, a stark shade of putrid neon green, was little-better. Hutch rose, and gestured expansively. "Fyrenn, this is Councilor Menera Loryss. She replaced Mathas Korvan as the local district's representative. Councilor this is Lieutenant Commander Fyrenn." Fyrenn offered her a halfway decent impression of a forced smile, though the tone in his single word response betrayed his true sentiments. "Charmed." The woman dipped her head ever-so-slightly, and pursed her lips. "You are the one responsible for bringing the girl in?" The Gryphon's eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded slowly. He did his best to keep his tone even, and his gaze neutral. "Yes. I am." The Councilor nodded curtly, and stood, smoothing her jacket and cracking a hint of a tepid smile. "Good. Kindly direct me to her." Fyrenn chuckled, a dangerous undertone working its way into the rumbling noise. "Excuse me?" Loryss raised an eyebrow and squeezed her lips together so firmly, that the blood left them and they turned white. "You heard me. Direct me to the child immediately." Fyrenn grit his beak, forcing the first three words out through his syrinx without even moving his yellow facial weapon. "On what authority? If I may ask? You aren't in my chain of command. And while you might be a Councilor, that doesn't give you leave to walk out of here with a child who isn't under your legal protection." The woman stiffened, and her nose rose abruptly into the air in a reflexive sign of disdain and affront. "She is an official legal ward of the state. As duly elected Councilor for this region, I am the state. I have absolute authority over that girl as her officially designated legal guardian." Fyrenn held his position for a long, silent moment. The air conditioning vent above the door toyed idly with the tufts of feather and fur on the tips of his ears. Without breaking his impromptu staring contest with Councilor Loryss, Fyrenn directed his words towards Hutch. "Sir. May we have the room please?" After another brief, silent, motionless interlude, the General rose and made his way sedately towards the door. As he reached the portal, he gave Fyrenn a pained glance, midway between a veiled warning, and deep concern. "I'll be in my office if you need me." Yet another silent interlude followed. When Fyrenn's ears told him Hutch had reached the lift at the end of the hall, he gestured with one claw to the Councilor's empty chair. "Sit down." The Gryphon moved down the row of chairs and singled out one shaped specifically for his species. He slowly lowered himself into position, and crossed his forelegs on the smooth granite surface of the conference table, before speaking again. "Let's not mince words. You're involved in this. Judging by the influence you're bringing to bear, you're high in this 'organization's' food chain. Yes?" Loryss folded her hands demurely and inclined her head. "I am... A watcher. You could say that I belong to a different Echelon of the government than the one you hail from. It is our job to defend the unwitting populace, and so in that we share something in common." Fyrenn allowed himself a hollow smile, and a deceptively cheery timbre. "Oooh I don't think we share much, if anything, in common Councilor. I'll be happy to let you prove me wrong though. Give me a waiting period. Leave April in my care until an internal probe as to her origins is completed. If you agree to that, then I'll deliver her directly to social services, as the law requires, as soon as the investigation is complete." Councilor Loryss sat back, and and shook her head slowly. "I'm not the sort who takes requests from your type, nor your kind. So I'll make myself heard one more time, and let me be frank. This is not a request. Take me to the asset, and hand her over for processing. Now." "No. Absolutely not." Fyrenn's voice was calm, icy, and forceful. Councilor Loryss smiled and shook her head, an expression that generated a disturbing marriage of demure, coy, and predatory. "I'm afraid you have no say in the matter." She glanced around the room and gestured with both hands. "Are we not in a Conversion Bureau? Are we not in Manhattan? Then this falls under my jurisdiction. In spite of recent changes to the accords that effectively make this building sovereign territory, those agreements only cover specific laws. None of them pertaining to guardianship, adoption, or any related topic." Loryss stood, and once again reflexively straightened her jacket. "A cadre will be along shortly to..." The Councilor's sentence was abruptly, and forcefully brought to a premature close as Fyrenn, silently as a cat, or a hunting falcon, crossed the room, putting one of his enormous golden eyes, and menacing beak, within a few millimeters of Menera's face. Fyrenn's fear wasn't visibly evident, but the suited woman before him terrified him more than any army of Wisps. He was thankful her Human senses couldn't detect the subtle tells that would give away the mixture of horror and terror tainting his aggressive stance. His voice remained quiet, but a dangerous edge was creeping into it. "I think you are missing some critical facts so let me clarify," Fyrenn continued to lean in, forcing the woman to scoot backwards awkwardly to avoid having her face sliced with the leading tip of his beak as he spoke. "I do not trust you. I don't trust the government you claim to represent. I have no idea how far you people have gone... How deeply your cancer goes. But I promise you, I am going to find out. And until I do? The child remains under the safest possible protection. Mine." Fyrenn snapped his beak shut harshly, causing the councilor's bodyguard to jump, and unclasp his weapon holster. The red Gryphon took a moment to shoot him a warning glance that almost stopped the man breathing. He turned back to councilor Loryss, eyes practically exuding the toxicity of his rage. "If you, or anyone from your little... 'Echelon,' set foot within a mile of that little girl... If you so much as *breathe* about taking her... About murdering her, again... I won't hesitate to kill. Violently. Mercilessly. Messily. That goes for you as much as for the lowest underling you're willing to dispose of. None of you are innocent in my eyes, and so none of you shall receive mercy." Fyrenn pulled back, and spent a moment composing himself, to prevent his voice from breaking. His heart was beating so fast it felt like the constant thrum of a vehicle engine in his chest. The mixture of emotions, pervaded by terror and fury, were overwhelming beyond any negative experience he had ever been party to, with the possible exception of Skye's 'death.' When the Gryphon next spoke, his voice had resumed a steely calm. "I would... 'Suggest' Councilor that you have outstayed your welcome. You are not among friends here. I am. I'd 'suggest' in fact that you leave, and pray I only do major damage to your political career when I disassemble this... Proceeding," Fyrenn spat the word, as an epithet, "And nail it to the dead carcass of your career, public image, and reputation." He stiffened, and tilted his head slightly as he continued. "The alternative is that I nail it to your very literal carcass in the street. Your choice." Menera Loryss was, in Fyrenn's eyes, either very stupid, or very arrogant and canny, because rather than the appropriate expression of subservient terror, she wore an insulted, angered look that meant she either knew nothing of how vengeful Gryphons could be. Or that she knew that she still held a metaphorical axe over Fyrenn's head in the form of April's life and future. She stood, and partook in a gesture that could only be described as a flounce. "I must say Fyrenn... The rumors are true. You do not know how to pick your battles. Or your words. My man will be back in an hour to collect 13579-A..." Loryss' next words were choked to a squeak as Fyrenn's right claw closed firmly around her throat, drawing tiny rivulets of blood as he slammed one of the most powerful women on the planet into the wall in a, perhaps ill advised, moment of wrath. "She has a NAME!" The tenor, and volume, of the word shook the air. "I have warned you once, and I will do you the uncommon courtesy of warning you one last time. If you, he, or anyone like him, steps foot back in here..." Fyrenn cast a backward glance at the agent, who now had his firearm trained at the Gryphon's head, "Or if he tries to discharge that weapon right now? I'll decorate you, the wall, the table, and the floor with his guts. And then? Yours." Fyrenn dropped Loryss, who's face had taken on the blue pallor of near-suffocation. The Gryphon spat a single phrase, his words as calm and blunt as Varan's customary tone. "Get. Out." The agent holstered his weapon and scrambled to help the wheezing Councilor out the door. Once he was absolutely sure they were gone, Fyrenn collapsed into a chair. He knew no one was watching, so he allowed the tears of rage and fear to stream down his face. Hours of pent-up emotions left over from the previous day spilled forth like a flood. For all his bravado, and for the fact that he was fully capable of carrying out his threat, he knew that it was an extreme risk on many levels. Success was not guaranteed. Collateral damage almost certainly was. And yet he knew he was willing to do it, if he had to. That was not so much the central issue, as the fear that it, or any other action, wouldn't be enough. He had already failed to save one life. The thought brought an unwelcome flash of memory so vivid, that it took him a full minute to realize he had shattered the thin granite table top with a fisted claw in a convulsion of pain. April had already suffered more than any being should have to bear, as far as he was concerned. All at the hands of the people he'd spent the majority of his life answering to. Sacrificing for. Serving. The red Gryphon stared out the window, tears distorting his otherwise perfect view of the Manhattan skyline. He muttered aloud, "I'll get you out of this. For you, for me..." His voice broke, and he was thankful there was no one there to hear it, "...And for her. Especially for her." "I'm only going to ask once, and I want a straight answer. What. The Hell. Did you *do?!*" Fyrenn glanced up from his evening meal, then down at April, who was ravenously working her way through a plate from her position in the chair to his immediate right. He stood, offered her a reassuring smile, then stepped far enough to the side to prevent her hearing his conversation over the din of the evening meal rush. "Commander, please... The less you know the better. I don't want you to get caught in the middle of the firestorm that's coming." Aston folded her arms, and shook her head. "Dammit Fyrenn. You are the single most problematic officer I've ever had to deal with, and I can't decide if that's why you're so effective, or if it's just a trait you hang onto so you can torment people like me." The red Gryphon shrugged, and sighed. "Ma'am, I am genuinely trying to keep you out of this, because I respect you as a friend, and a superior officer. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to stand between me, and protecting that girl. Because of the nature of this mess, that means I'm going to have to do things that won't just rock the boat... They'll blow it to tiny slivers." The Commander shook her head again, more vehemently. "You have a duty as an officer---" Fyrenn held up a claw, keeping his voice calm. "Yes. I did. But I have a greater duty. A moral duty." Aston repeated the vehemence of her gesture, switching to an affirmative nod. "Yes! Exactly! Fyrenn! The stuff you're poking your beak into?! The measures you're talking about taking? They could have ramifications for thousands, million, or even billions of people down the line. You are inserting yourself into a charged interplanetary political situation, that *none* of us fully understand." Fyrenn narrowed his eyes as he responded slowly. "Are you insinuating that I should trade that innocent little child's life for the greater political good? A political 'good' that can sleep with itself at night after ordering child experimentation? Because I don't think you are that sort of person." Aston shook her head once more and held up both hands. "No, no, no... Absolutely *not.* I am suggesting that you can find some way to handle this that doesn't involve coming to blows with a *government official* Fyrenn. You. Assaulted. A Councilor. You're lucky to be alive right now." The red Gryphon snorted and rolled his eyes. "Your hyperbole as to my luck notwithstanding... She is the lucky one. But she will be neither lucky, nor alive, if she keeps pressing me. She oversees the systematic abduction, mutilation, torture, and murder of *children.*" Aston threw up her hands, and swore under her breath. "Fyrenn! You can't keep going down this road. I'm not asking you to abandon April. I'm not asking you to stop kicking over rocks to unearth this... 'Mess.' I'm not even asking you to trust any of these people, least of all that absolutely vile, despicable woman... But I am *begging* you to balance the needs of others against April's *wisely.*" The commander lowered her voice further, and shook her head once again. "It is one thing to kill soldiers on a battlefield. It is another thing to threaten to assassinate an Earthgov *Councilor.* Do you understand me?" Fyrenn glanced between April, and Aston, and sighed. "You are right Commander, and I do understand. But believe me when I say that won't stop me, if it comes down to it. You want to help balance the needs of the masses against the needs of that little girl? Then please find a way to stall for her while this is broiling. If we can move forward without extreme measures, I will do so..." As he stepped back towards the table, he glanced over his shoulder, keeping his parting words loud enough for Aston to hear over the din. "Otherwise? I will have no choice but to wade into this and finish it my way. If that happens... Don't be standing anywhere near ground zero. They'll need people of your caliber, and patience, to help pick up the pieces."