//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: Proposition // Story: I Have Returned // by EPiiCx5587 //------------------------------// I Have Returned: Chapter 20 Proposition 4 years ago… _________________________________________________ UNSC Port Stanley In a daze consciousness came back to Twilight. She was in a guest room in Port Stanley. Jane tried to sit up, but she was pounded with a blistering headache. She must have drank quite a lot last night. Instead, she chose to lie back down on her bed again. It felt so utterly wrong to Twilight knowing that she could have saved a child. It almost made her want to grab another drink to wash out the pain of her headache, and guilt. That would only serve to make her feel more pathetic though, not to mention how it would make her current peers view her. She hadn't prepared for anything like this. After all, she never got the chance. When Twilight signed up for the UNSC they barely had anytime to train their soldiers. Just enough time to get them physically fit, and teach them how to use the weapons. They never had the time to properly break her, and mold her into a proper soldier. Of Course Chamdi’s death would have affected her regardless, but it would be easier for her to power through this if they had more time to train her, or if she had grown up in this awful world. It was such a cruel world they lived in. They deserved peace, they work so hard for it, yet they never get it. It really wasn’t fair. Sadly though, that is how the world she currently lives in works, nothing is fair. Why did Equestria get so lucky? Why? They’ve done nothing for their peace. Beside her B.B. materialized, interrupting her train of thought. “Rise and shine.” He said. “Ozzy told me that after breakfast to come and see her.” “I’ll be as quick as possible then.” “She said that there’s no rush. After all she does have a lot of work to do. Being an Admiral will do that.” Twilight once again sat up her bed, this time trying to ignore the blistering headache. “Alright.” Whatever Osman wanted to talk to Jane about, it must be the true reason of why she was brought here for this mission. It was good to finally know that she was getting some answers. Plus it got her mind of off yesterdays events. Well if she was going to have a talk with Osman one on one, Twilight knew that she would have to look presentable. Once B.B. disappeared, she made her way over to a nearby mirror, and brushed her hair. Once she was satisfied Twilight put on her more professional military outfit. A standard UNSC uniform. It was essentially a simplified version of what an officer's uniform was like. She left the room and headed for the galley which was nearby. Twilight entered the room to find most of the crew there except for Osman. They were all just chatting amongst each other while eating. Naomi to. It was odd seeing a Spartan have a simple conversation. You always hear about them being heroic and saving lives, but nobody ever thinks about what they do outside of combat. Among them Twilight noticed another person. He was bearded, and was certainly not as physically fit as everyone else. “I don’t believe we’ve met.” He said, holding out his hand. “I’m Philips, Port Stanley's resident scientist.” “Jane Arimondo, nice to meet you.” She replied, firmly shaking his hand. The was a coffee machine on the other end of the room in which Jane immediately went for. She poured the steaming hot black liquid into a paper cup, and started to drink it right on the spot. Not caring that the cup was blistering hot, and giving light burns to her hands. Before going back though, she also grabbed a glass of water, and some porridge. Twilight sat down at an empty table away from the others. She wanted to be alone right now, but Mal and Vaz picked up their food and sat right next to her. Chances are they were trying to make her feel welcome. While the effort was sincerely appreciated, it wasn’t what she needed right now, but she didn’t try to stop them in fear of being rude. “Sleep well?” Mal asked, taking a bit into his food. “Well enough.” “You did good back there you know.” Vaz said, giving Jane a smile. He obviously didn’t know what she had done. Did anyone? “Thanks.” Was all that Jane could say back in a monotone voice. “Is something wrong?” “Just tired, that’s all.” Vaz looked like he was about to refute her statement for a moment, before he eased up and just said. “Alright then.” Mal not wanting to give up continued in Vaz’s place. “You did good yesterday Jane. You’re a fine soldier.” “Thank you.” “I hear that Osman wants to have a chat with you. You’ve probably guessed already that we didn’t just pick for this mission randomly.” “I had a feeling. I just hope that things go well. I’ve heard the rumors about ONI, and what they do to people.” “Relax mate. Osman wouldn’t pick you if she didn’t have confidence in you, and that you would go along with what she has to say.” “You really think so?” “Trust me, I know Osman well enough. She’s a careful person, and doesn’t make mistakes.” “I hope you’re right.” Jane set down her coffee, and took a drink of water. She savoured it for a moment as the cool liquid eased her migraine, letting out a sigh of relief once she was done. The others seemed to be finishing up their meals to start the rest of their day off. Chances are it was best for her to do the same as well. With a single chug Jane finished the rest of her water, before digging into her porridge finishing that quickly as well. Along with the others Jane put her dishes into a cleaning unit next to the door of the room. All together they left the galley each of them heading off in a different direction save for Mal and Vas, the two seemed inseparable. Osmans office was a bit of a walk away, at least compared to other parts of the ship. Port Stanley after all was only a small vessel. A short trip later Twilight came face to face with the door to Admiral Osman’s office and personal quarters. Lightly, she knocked on the door. “Admiral Osman.” Twilight said. “I am here as per your request.” The door slid open revealing Osman herself inside. Osman’s room was a bit larger than hers, although it was quite bare, making it feel larger. There was no photo’s of family anywhere, or any personal trinkets. The admiral was sitting at a large blue metal desk looking at something on her computer screen. “Come in and sit down.” Osman said motioning Twilight to a chair with her hand. Quietly Twilight walked in and sat down. The chair sat opposite to Osmans desk, giving Twilight a good view of what was on her computer. It was a profile, of Twilight herself! “I take it that I already know why I’m here.” “Yes. I guess I can say that we here at ONI have been… monitoring you for awhile.” “I see.” “But before we start I have a few questions to ask you.” Osman said, turning the computer screen more towards Jane, so she could get a better view of it. “It seems that we have no records of you prior to two years ago.” Dam, Jane knew that this would come to eventually bite her in the ass. It didn’t matter back then because they were just taking anyone who could hold a gun no questions asked, but now things were different. She had to come up with an excuse. “I guess you could say my records must have gotten destroyed at the battle of earth. A lot was damaged there after all.” “It’s very hard to destroy data Jane, do you mind me calling you by your first name?” “No, not at all sir.” “Good. Like I said though, data isn’t so easily destroyed. I suppose it’s possible, but it is unlikely.” “Do you not trust me, because I’m getting that vibe right now.” “Honestly Jane I don’t know what to make of you right now. From what your file does contain, you have done good things for humanity. You were there at the battle of installation 00 correct?” “Yes, I was.” Jane remembered that battle vividly. It came so quickly after Jones’s, and Anthony’s deaths. She was serving on one of the ships that went through the portal to the Ark when it happened. Her ship was one of the few that made it out. “I see. You do have quite the resume. I have my doubts, but from everything that I’ve read about you doesn’t make you look like a terrorist trying to infiltrate us.” So that was the angle Osman was going at. She thought that her lack of a history meant that she was some criminal trying to sneak into the UNSC. “Do you think I am?” “I am a type of person who has a very good gut feeling Jane. I know insurrectionists, I know what they’re like. You on the other hand, I think I can trust you.” “Only think?” “I am a person who rarely makes mistakes. Risks are a part of my job, and I am willing to take one with you.” “And what is that risk?” Osman turned back to her computer. She made a few clicks, until she brought up security footage from last nights mission. It was at the moment in which Jane pushed the button trapping Chamdi in the other section. The video made Twilights stomach churn with disgust. “I’m not going to pretend that what I just saw doesn’t piss me off.” Osman said. “I don’t blame you sir.” “But you knew that you were out of time, and were willing to sacrifice a child’s life to save the others.” Jane was astonished. Osman thought that she had done the deed on purpose to save the rest of the section because she was out of time. Jane wanted to tell Osman the truth, but she decided to go along for now. “It’s not something I’m proud of.” “I don’t blame you. Ending a childs life is a sickening thing, and I honestly almost want to punch you for doing it. In the end though, you were willing to do that to save all of the others.” “Is that a compliment?” “I don’t know. Once again, ending the life of a child is a horrible thing, but you were able to put morals aside to do the logical thing. As much as I hate to admit it, and as much as I don’t like it, those are the kind of people we need here at ONI.” “What do you mean?” “We here at the Office of Naval Intelligence want you to work for us.” Jane could almost feel her heart skip a beat. Her, an ONI agent? Was this right for her? If she refused however, what would they do to her? “I don’t know what to say Admiral Osman. This is a bit of a shock.” “Well let me make my offer to you first. Tell me Jane, have you ever heard of the UNSC Infinity?” “Who hasn't. It’s supposed to be humanity's greatest ship.” “That is correct. Half of it is owned by the UNSC, and the other half by ONI. Sadly we don’t particularly agree with their spartan command.” “And what do I have to do with this?” “I’m going to be upfront with you Jane, we need someone in Spartan command who follows our set of thinking. The same kind of thinking that you demonstrated yesterday. We want to make you a Spartan IV, and insert you into Spartan Command aboard the INFINITY.” “I’m flattered Admiral Osman, but to become a Spartan IV you need to volunteer, and even if you do there is no guarantee that I will make it.” “Don’t worry about that Jane, I’m positive that they will pick you for sure.” Jane instantly caught on to what Osman meant by that comment. “So I see that some of the rumors are true.” “Yes, we have a lot of power.” “Are you even sure that I would even be right for a leadership role?” “That won’t be a problem. You’ll be a commander, but we will set things up so you can just act like a normal fire team leader, the only difference being that at any moment you can use your commander status to ‘take hold’ of a situation. We won’t even let anyone aboard know that you’re from ONI. So what do you say Jane, do you want to be a Spartan?” The answer would be obvious for any normal soldier in the UNSC, yes. Sadly for Twilight though the thirty moons until the portal would open again were almost up. Thirty moon cycles on earth was approximately two and a half years. Doing this would probably mean missing out on her chance to go home. Still though, her thoughts from earlier re emerged. Humanity was constantly fighting for peace, while pony kind did nothing, and yet got peace. Nothing about that was fair at all. Jane joined the military to hopefully become a hero for humanity, this was her only chance to become that. Plus maybe, just maybe with all the lives that she could save will wipe Chamdi’s blood off of her hands. At that point, Jane knew what her answer was. “I’ll do it.” “Great.” Osman said while getting up. “I’ll start doing the paper work.” “I have one thing to ask of you though.” “And what would that be?” “There’s a soldier from an old squad of mine. Her name is Terresia. Most of my squad from back then died, she was the only one to make it. Do you think that you can make her a Spartan as well?” “I’ll see what I can do.” “Good, and thank you Admiral Osman.” Osman held out her hand for Jane to shake it, which she did. “No problem. Welcome to ONI Jane Arimondo.” ____________________________________________________________ Former Canterlot castle, present day. UNSC machinery filled the throne room of the UNSC’s new military base. Generators were set up to power the castle, and plenty of tactical equipment. Even roland had a pedestal set up for him as he rummaged through all the data he had gotten from the cave under the Crystal Empire. Jane had a team of scientists working on the Forerunner Dreadnought ship extracting as much information from it as possible. As for Jane herself, she was sitting upon the throne once again. Being for a pony, the seat wasn’t very large, and infact it was quite uncomfortable. It didn’t matter though, such things were a minor inconvenience.” “Jane I think I’ve discovered what that Forerunner station is.” Roland said, his holographic form appearing from the pedestal. “What is it?” “It’s a cartographer. It leads to where we can enter the inside of the shield world from.” Yes, this was what she needed right now. Inside, there was bound to be more Forerunner tech that humanity could exploit. With whatever was inside the planet, and the Elements of harmony humanity could establish themselves as the dominant race in the galaxy. “Fantastic Roland! I knew I could count on you. Where is it?” “The opening is at a nearby forest according the cartographer.” It almost came as no surprise for Jane. The Everfree forest. For years ponies speculated why things such as weather, and plant life were able to function on their own. This must be the reason why it was like that. “Good, we’ll deal with that soon.” “Very well.” Roland seemed to pause for a moment to choose his next words. This struck Jane as odd sense Roland was an A.I., a moment was like a day for them. “Jane what do you think that the UNSC will do once they find out what you’ve been doing here?” “I know what I am doing here is the right thing. The UNSC can disagree with me all they want.” “But what do you think will happen to you? Yes what we’ve gained here will help humanity, but with all of the death you’ve caused you’ll be lucky if they don’t give you the death sentence!” “Good point Roland, they’ll want to see me dead; however I do have ties to ONI, if anyone can get me out of this it’s them.” “You really think so?” “I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I will try. As for right now, we have more pressing matters.” “What would those be?” “As you already know Luna, and Cadence are no longer a threat to us. There is however one more alicorn we have to deal with.” “I think I remember you talking about a truly immortal alicorn on our first visit here.” “Yes, her name is Celestia. According to the ponies here she has been kidnapped. This isn’t good for us.” “I think I see where you’re going with this.” “Yes, the most powerful alicorn ever is kidnapped. Whoever did this to her could be a real threat to us.” Just then Jane felt a cold breeze right next to her, making her skin crawl in her armour. She stood up to survey her surroundings, but nothing other than her and Roland were there. This feeling inside of Jane, she knew what it was. “Roland.” Jane said. “Yes?” “Do you have anything on your scanners? Something that we might not be able to see.” “No, why?” “Because I think we’re being watched by something, or someone.” Jane tried to focus on whatever it must be, until she started hearing sounds from outside. Curious Jane walked over to a window, only to see a mob of angry ponies just outside the castle grounds. It was time, time for Jane to make a speech to all of them, revealing humanity to Equestria. Her focus shifted to her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was still burned, and it looked awful. Jane took a knife from her armour, and chopped off the bottom of her hair, leaving it much shorter. That wasn’t enough though. Just looking at even her shortened hair reminded her of the pathetic pony she once was, with her light purple and pink highlights. She needed to get rid of that. She concentrated her magic onto her hair, and closer her eyes. When she opened them again her hair was as black as night. As of now, she looked absolutely nothing like she once did. She bore no more resemblance to her old self now, it was perfect.