//------------------------------//
// Case 5: A Dog's Best Friend is his Robotic Interactive Canine 
// Story: SPD Emergency 
// by cyberlord4444 
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	As Cruger walked into the Delta Base, he couldn't help but remember how it was in its heyday. Patrol Troopers coming in from patrol, sometimes with suspects in tow, various civilians wait to speak to someone, personel chatting as they come on and off shift. Nowadays, not so much. SPD may have been gaining applicants, but it wouldn't be fully operational for a few more weeks, once the new recruits finished their training. Now the only one in the Atrium, aside from Cruger of course, was Time Stamp, the Desk Sargent.

"You should have been here 10 minutes ago," Time Stamp remarked with a frown on his face.

Cruger smiled and shook his head, "got held up." Time Stamp was excellent at his job, but was rather OCD when it came to punctuality, whether by ponies or reports. A few of the Ponyville residents who had applied called him a male Twilight, a nickname that quickly circulated. Cruger turned serious, "is the new wanted poster ready?"

Time Stamp's expression turned neutral as he pull out a crisp wanted poster from beneath his desk. On it was the name Starlight Glimmer, as well as a picture and list of her crimes, it was extensive. Treason, assault, theft, fraud, consperacy, she would regret what she did when SPD finally caught up with her. While Cruger didn't have a Cutie Mark, he understood their importance as well as any pony. For a pony to take away a pony's Cutie Mark, let alone manage to convince them that giving it up was a good idea, that was the work of a madmare, doubly dangerous since she had the skill and charisma to back up her insane goals, triply since she could forcibly rip the Cutie Mark off of an Alicorn Princess with little visible effort. If she could get close to Celestia or Luna, Cruger shuddered at the thought. He then gave silent thanks that Twilight was able to discover her plot, her new castle might look a little weird, at least to Cruger, but it had some sweet features. The first thing Celestia did when she heard was make the spell Starlight used illegal.

Cruger gave the poster a final once over before handing it back with a nod. One of SPD's lesser known duties was maintaining a list of criminals currently at large, and distributing wanted posters of said criminals. By this time next week, that poster would be in every post office, sheriff's office, and train station in Equestria, and a few places beyond. SPD once had treaties allowing them to operate in, and recruit from, practically every country on the face of Equis. The Griffin Empire, Yakyakistan, Roam, Zebrabwe, you name a country, chances are there was at least a token SPD presence. However, with the fall of SPD, well how long do you think ANY organization would last with both their commanding officer AND HQ MIA, those treaties had crumbled to dust. The second thing on Cruger's to do list, right after choosing his A Squad, was to restore those treaties.

"Tell Steam Gear to stand by," Cruger said while heading for the elevator, "I'm en-route."



While most companies didn't do this, the mantainance department was part of the same division as R&D. Cruger had a very valid reason for doing this. One of the mantainance department's duties was constructing the advanced magi-tech equipment that was one of the keys to SPD's success. And since the R&D designed said equipment, it was only fitting that the two divisions should work closely together. The R&D/M's labs and workshops comprised approxamitly a quarter of the entire base. One of those workshops was nicknamed "The Vet", and was responsible for the repair and maintanince of one specific piece of equipment.

Although Cruger would never even think of calling him just a piece of equipment.

"Here boy!"

From The Vet bounded a large robotic dog, who proceeded to jump on Cruger and attempt to lick his face clean off. The dog, called the Robotic Interactive Canine, or RIC as he likes to be called, was easily the single most advanced piece of tech in all of SPD. He had an advanced mana array processor, loaded with an artificial intelligence modeled after a hunting dog, with the playfulness jacked up a few degrees. His snout contained an impressive forensics sensory package, and his eyes could see in five different modes other than standard, including x-ray and infrared. He was powered by a ruby mana-reactor, and was able to support almost a ton on his back and still run at an impressive clip. He also had a few other surprises, but Cruger would keep them under wraps for now.

Steam Gear chuckled as he saw his boss get licked to death, "he seems to like you sir."

"Came with the house, though I'd never send him to the pound." He turned to his assistant, "anything else scheduled for today?"

Sorrow Song, his personal assistant, checked her daytimer. "You have a scheduled inspection of the new recruits in 2 hours, but other than that, nothing."

"Good, call me half an hour before then. If anyone asks, I'll be at home."



If anyone asked Cruger why he never seemed to go home, he'd just smile and reply, "the Delta Base is my home."

They would probably shake their head and laugh, at which point Cruger would inform them that he had an apartment on level 99.

It was here that Cruger now sat, drink in hand, listening to some music that came from his home. While he loved listening to it, it always reminded him of where he came from, and how he got here.



(1030 years ago, Toronto Convention Center)

Scott Franklin surveyed the various stalls at that year's Fan Expo. He was hoping to get a copy of Past Sins, although he wasn't dying to get it. He was dressed in a Shadow Ranger costume that he was quite proud of, he even managed to build a pair of headphones into his helmet so he could listen to his iPhone without taking it off. It wasn't quite perfect though, there was one thing missing.

"Hello friend, can I interest you in something?"

Scott turned to see who had spoken. He saw a man at a booth selling various props. He was dressed in a rather nice, if earie costume, long grey coat, bandages on his face, and on the ground was what looked like a cross between a coffin and a backpack. While Scott couldn't place who he was dressed as off the top of his head, he had to admit it was quality. With nothing better to do, Scott examined the stranger's wares, it was an impressive collection. Fake ears, a few weathered looking belts, was that a Klingon Bat'leth? His eyes eventually settled on a very specific sword.

"Ah, you are interested in the custom Shadow Saber I take it?"

The stranger was correct. The only thing missing from his costume was Cruger's signature weapon, the blades on the toy versions were so short they felt more like kitchen knives.

"Well, since I have such a big heart, and it would be a shame to leave such a wonderful costume marred by its absence, you can have it for a mere $10."

Scott, while a little suspicious at the price, handed over the money and took the sword. It was a beauty, someone had apparently taken a toy version, took it apart, used it for a mold, cast metal parts from it, then assembled it over the existing electronics and mechanical components. With a press of his thumb, Scott caused the head on the dog to open.

That was the last thing he did before a flash of light surrounded him. When the light had disappeared, so had he.



(Present Day)
Cruger was jolted out of his memory by a priority alert.

"All patrol troopers be advised, robbery at First National Bank. Suspects have commandeered a train, heading south on track 5. Suspects have hostages."

Cruger smiled as he went to respond, he could use the exercise.