//------------------------------// // Can We Go Home Now? // Story: The Odysseus Detail // by tyrantOFathens //------------------------------// Andrea sat in the transport shuttle, thinking over the possibilities. A missing shuttle wasn't unheard of by any standards, but something seemed amiss with the whole affair. Her team sat comfortably around the the interior, talking among themselves. They were headed out to pick up as many of Artekæ's team as they could, and find the missing shuttle if possible. "Captain, I think we found our shuttle!" One of the two pilots yelled back. Everyone was instantly alert, and Andrea stood up, starting to make her way to the front of the shuttle. "On the ground, they look damaged a bit, but something is moving down there. We will circle once and go in for the landing, there isn't much room, so everyone buckle up!" The pilot informed everyone, and the shuttle began to lean. The rest of the team groaned and began snapping on belts and vests, shifting in their seats to not hit the person sitting next to them. Well, everyone except the unicorn, Cinnamon Berry, who laughed at their misfortune, a soft blue glow covering her vest and equipment. The shuttle rattled a bit, but they landed relatively easy, and the large door cracked open. The team jumped to action, four covering the ramp while the rest swiftly set up a perimeter. Andrea walked out, looking around, the other shuttle was a small walk away, but she could still see some movement. And then she heard gunshots. "You four, stay here and guard the pilots, the rest of you, with me! Weapons ready, shoot to kill!" She headed out at a fast jog, the six members falling in behind and keeping pace. In no time, they had reached the shuttle, and on the opposite side, were met with a less than desirable situation. A giant snake, much like the one Jorayn had found, was hissing at something, presumably the pilots. It was slithering its way closer, seemingly not caring about the bullets that hit it. Then Andrea saw something that made her rather angry with this fat reptile. A limp body lay a few yards away, lying still in the grass, face down. With a battle cry, she began firing at the snake, who was not very pleased to take a full barrage of bullets to the face. The rest of the team began to open fire as well, and Cinnamon Berry slowly made her way to the still form in the grass. The snake hissed at being denied once more, and coiled up, raising its head and neck above the ground, towering over the downed shuttle. Andrea was beginning to hate this moon. "Make way, ya pest!" A rocket flew out of nowhere, it wasn't big, but it was certainly enough to get the job done. The snake quite literally exploded, showering bits of scale upon the ground. Andrea was a blink away from screaming as a fang landed in front of her. "Ok, whoever was responsible for that gets window duty for the next year!" A faint "sorry cap'n" came across the way, and Andrea eyed down the person who brought along the heavy weaponry. Not that she wasn't grateful or anything, she just wasn't grateful. At all. "Thank Celestia you showed up when you did! I thought I was going to be the things next snack!" A rather young, dark blue Pegasus stepped out of the shuttle, favoring a leg, and a wing twitching oddly. Suddenly, his face went pale as he saw Cinnamon Berry standing over the other pilot. Everything was silent as he made his way over. Andrea walked along side and put a hand on his shoulder, careful to avoid hitting his wings. "Is he-" the colts voice didn't carry out the rest of the sentence. Cinnamon Berry shook her head sadly, and copied Andreas motion. It was never easy to loose a brother in arms. Never. ----------------------------------------------- Ornlisco growled as he stepped into another puddle. It just had to rain right before they had landed, didn't it? The she-cat, Jessa, laughed, nimbly hopping over the puddle, landing on a somewhat dry patch of grass. Ornlisco glared at her, before taking another slow look around them. Hills. Hills for miles. Not a tree in sight, just grass and weeds. "This is Ornlisco checking in. We haven't found anything worth noting, except a strange flower that glows when wet. Any ideas when we can head back up to the Argo?" It had been a few hours since the missing shuttle had been found, and Artekæ's group rescued, but no one had heard anything from Jostian's group yet. "We will have to wait until Jostian reports, but nobody can reach him. But I think it is pretty evident that there is no Odysseus here. Head back to the shuttles everyone, we give Jostian some time, and then we go check his position out." Twilight responded a moment later, and Ornlisco couldn't keep himself from snorting. Twilight was the natural leader, with her "take-charge-and-get-things-done" attitude, but Ornlisco still found it odd he was taking orders from a pony. Eh, she was a princess, she was used to telling people what to do. "Alright team, we are heading back. Snap a few pictures if you want, because I am sure as heck not coming back here." With that, Ornlisco stalked off and started the trip back to where the shuttle was. On second thought... Ornlisco pressed a button on his comm, and waited for it to adjust. "This is Ornlisco speaking, requesting pick up. Do you copy?" "Loud and clear sir, heading that way." A pilot answered his call, the sound of different switches and buttons being pressed in the background. "Pilot... Are you, playing a game?" Silence. "Um.... No? Maybe? Ok! So I was playing Age of Mythology, don't judge me!" ----------------------------------------------- Jostian woke up with a major headache, and a ringing in his ear. He couldn't quite remember what had happened, only that it had something to do with a cliff. Groaning, Jostian sat up. He was under a pavilion, a few crates and things set up around. He had been lying on a matted pad of something comfortable, but he couldn't really tell what it was. Something moved in the corner of his eye and he turned his head slowly towards it. Private Galvan stood with a little furred creature, who was bending his broken arm this way and that, testing the flexibility. Judging by Galvan's face, it looked like it didn't hurt a bit. Wait, the creature! Suddenly, Jostian remembered falling, landing, how Galvan had also fallen and broken his arm, and then the new race appearing seemingly out of no where. Jostian promptly fainted again, missing the next message spoken between Ornlisco and Twilight. ----------------------------------------------- Celestia sat in her room, looking up at the stars. It was a calm and peaceful night, thanks to the weather Ponies, but Celestia felt restless. She missed Twilight, but she had known she would. But she also worried. Twilight would be experiencing things that Celestia had shielded her from for a long while. Mostly murder and the like, but Twilight had read about it. But now she had to deal with the possibility the person standing next to her could be dead in the next instant. It made Celestia feel useless. A soft knock came on the door, which Celestia promptly ignored. She didn't feel in the mood to talk. The knock came a little louder. Celestia sighed. "Come on in, Luna." She heard the door swing open and closed, and the soft sound of hooves walking on carpet. Luna sat next to her in silence, both sisters looking up into the night sky. After a while Luna spoke. "I worry for her too." She didn't even have to ask what was on Celestia's mind, she knew her too well. "I just wish there was more we could do for her..." Celestia trailed off and sighed again. Then, a thought began to form in her mind. Maybe there was a way, after all. "Luna, you can send visions through dreams, right?" "Yes, bu-" "And you can go to anybody's dream, right? "Well, yes, but wha-" "And you can do this over any distance, correct?" "... Yes... I see what you are getting at now. You send for her friends, I will prepare, this will be difficult at such great a distance, but I can do it." Luna speedily walked out of the room, eager to get started, and Celestia smiled. Levitating a piece of paper to her, she began to write. Dearest friends, I am in need of your presence here in Canterlot. Do not worry, nothing bad has happened, but I have a request to make...