Chapter 69:...New Tricks
Over a day had passed since the riot at Glacier Heights was dealt with, though another conflict was taking place at the palace. Another argument had erupted between Shining Night and Twilight in the very same meeting room they argued yesterday.
It was supposed to have been a private meeting between Shining Armor and Twilight to discuss what had happened at Glacier Heights, but they were interrupted when Shining Night came barging into the room with two militia ponies and started making demands to Twilight. Shining Armor had tried to stop the argument, but his father was being more stubborn than usual, so the Champion was forced to sit there and watch his father and sister argue.
“For the last time admiral, order your men to leave that prison!” Shining Night demanded.
“And for the final time commander, my answer is no!” Twilight said as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Those marines are staying garrisoned at Glacier Heights for the inmates’ own protection.”
“Protection? You do realize that the Dominion’s presence at Glacier Heights is only agitating the people, don’t you? It’s going to instigate another riot!” Shining Night said.
“Which is exactly why I’m not pulling those marines out of the detention facility. They’ll be needed to defend it if and when another riot occurs.”
“For Cadenza’s sake admiral! Twelve ponies are in the hospital because of that riot! Pull your men out before more innocent ponies get hurt or worse!”
“And two of Glacier Heights’ own guards are in critical condition because of those ponies!” Twilight retorted. “Those guards won’t be able to protect the facility if those marines pull out.”
“Then let the militia guard it in the Dominion’s place. This way, the people will be less likely to riot and the Dominion can save face.” Shining Night offered, hoping to bargain with Twilight.
“As tempting as your offer is commander, I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse and there is nothing you can say that will change my mind.” Twilight said, making her father scowl at her refusal. “However, you are right about the riots becoming a problem. Rest assured that I’ll come up with a compromise that will make both of us happy.”
Shining Night glared at Twilight but nodded in agreement. “Very well admiral, but mark my words, if one more Cadian is harmed because of this, I will personally kick you off my world. Is that clear?”
“Crystal. Now if you are done here, please leave so we can resolve the situation in peace.” Twilight said before turning her back to her father, signifying the conversation was over. Shining Night glared at the back of Twilight’s head and was about to say something in rebuttal but changed his mind and left with his men following closely behind.
With their father gone, Shining Armor sighed in relief and turned to Twilight. “About time he left, I thought he would have ordered you shot back there. Though I have to ask, why did you refuse dad’s offer to guard Glacier Heights?”
“I suppose there’s no harm in telling you. We’ve questioned the rioters Spike detained yesterday on how they knew we were keeping our little scapegoats at Glacier Heights. From what we could gather, it was a sympathizer from the militia who leaked the information to them.” Twilight replied.
Shining Armor’s eyes widened in disbelief at the accusation. “Are you sure it was the militia? Isn’t it possible that it was someone from the Dominion that leaked that information?” He commented.
“I don’t think so. Aside from us and dad, the only other people who know about this are the militia and the warden of Glacier Heights and his men. And Glacier Heights was under lockdown so they couldn’t have leaked the information, which leaves the militia as the prime suspect.”
“Alright, let’s just say that you are right about someone from the militia leaking information, why didn’t you tell dad about it?…” Shining Armor paused when he came upon a startling conclusion, “…unless you think he’s the one who did it.”
“No, I don’t. We both know that dad isn’t the kind of person to put the lives of innocents at risk like that.” Twilight said, much to Shining Armor’s relief. “I didn’t tell him because I was worried that he would try to find the traitors and scare them into hiding. For now, we can’t trust anyone from the militia until we know which one of them leaked the information.”
“Fine, but dad was right about the riots. Since the people already know who we’re keeping at Glacier Heights, another riot is bound to happen sooner or later. And I doubt there would be no casualties when it happens. We should transfer those terrorists to a safer location and tell the public that they’ve been moved afterwards.” Shining Armor suggested.
“I’ve thought about that too, but there’s nowhere else on Cadia we could move them to, without the militia finding out. And if they know then you can expect the traitor will know as well and that would mean the information would be leaked again, resulting with another riot anyway.” Twilight said, before sighing in frustration.
“What about the Dominion space platform in orbit? The militia has no jurisdiction over it, so they don’t have access to their systems and even if the people do find out about the plan, they can’t fly there due to the lockdown.” Shining Armor suggested.
“Hmm, good idea Shiny, but I’m worried that the traitor will find out about the transfer and you can bet that they will have no qualms about shooting down the prison transport when it leaves for orbit. They’ll probably cover it up with an excuse like the terrorists were escaping on it.”
“While I don’t agree with the idea that a member of the militia would shoot their fellow Cadians to get at the terrorists, I can see where you’re coming from. Couldn’t you send down a dropship with some fighter escorts and have them do the transfer instead?”
“No, that would draw too much attention and that is something we don’t want right now. What we need is something more discreet. Something so inconspicuous and insignificant that no would bother giving it any thought of they saw it…but what?” Twilight asked herself as she furrowed her brows in deep thought.
Twilight started pacing around the room as she tried to come up with a way to solve the problem, but every alternative solution she came up with had some perceived flaw and was promptly discarded. She paused when she saw movement outside the window and turned to see a cargo ship flying up to orbit, most likely returning from a delivery. She ignored it and went back to her thoughts before her eyes widened in realization as her lips curved up into a sly smile.
Shining Armor saw the smile on Twilight’s face and asked. “Did you just come up with something?”
“Indeed I did, big brother.” Twilight said as she looked back out the window and saw the cargo ship disappear into the clouds. “Indeed I did.”
Eye Glass grunted as he carried a large crate across the hangar floor. Even with the augmented strength from his power armor, he was having a hard time moving the crate and he wasn’t the only one who saw the trouble he was having.
“Hey, Palomo! Need any help with that thing?” One of the merchants called out to him. Since ‘Palomo’ had to help with the relief effort down on Cadia in order for him to get permission to travel between the platform and the planet, he had grown good relations with the merchants hired to transport the relief supplies to the surface.
“Nah, I can handle this.” Eye Glass wheezed in reply.
“Sure Palomo, just don’t kneel over and die on us, alright?” The merchant said jokingly, before waving goodbye to the older stallion.
Eye Glass snorted at the joke as he carried the crate to the part of the hangar where the military ships were kept, though he was looking for one ship in particular. The unicorn stallion smiled in relief when he saw the box-like shape of Tom’s hull in the corner of the hangar. The ship was left unguarded as the investigation on it was over so he was able to board the ship without anyone seeing him.
He then made his way to the cargo hold, which was mostly bare. Most of its contents had been moved to storage as evidence. He carried the crate over to a secluded corner of the ship where he put the crate down and took a moment to rest. After he got his breath back, he opened up one of the wall panels to reveal one of the ship’s access ports and pressed a button hidden inside of it. A soft beep sounded off before the wall slid aside to reveal a secret compartment behind it.
Eye Glass stumbled upon the secret compartment when he and Rainbow Dash were cleaning up after the stealth generator’s first trial activation. Rainbow told him that the ship’s previous owner was a crooked merchant so he guessed that he must have used the compartment to smuggle illegal goods. Now the compartment was being used to store illegal goods of another sort as the stealth generator sat inside it next to the cryo-cases that held Karn and Jet Stream’s bodies.
Eye Glass grunted as he picked the crate up and moved it into the compartment and placed it next to some other crates inside the compartment. Inside these crates were some of the items that were confiscated from Tom’s cargo hold during the investigation. He had been moving the items back to the ship over the past few days in anticipation of breaking Rain and the others out.
At first, he had a hard time getting into the evidence storage room due to the heavy security around the station and even when he did, he would only be able to take a few items before the patrols returned. However, that changed when an incident down on Cadia occurred where an entire platoon of marines were deployed to the surface.
As a result, this left the platform’s security team understaffed, so he volunteered to guard the section of the station where the evidence storage room was located. His new position gave him the opportunity to take some of the larger items without worrying about being caught such as Rainbow and Scootaloo’s reaper armor which he just brought in.
After making sure the crate was secure, Eye Glass reached for the control panel to close the wall, but stopped when he laid his eyes on the warp blade gauntlet resting on Karn’s cryo-case. He sighed sadly and shook his head at the thought of how his friend died, leaving Rain all alone. Though he smiled when he thought about the new friends she made.
They were an unusual bunch to say the least, but his gut told him that they’ll be good for Rain and as a former detective, he always trusted his gut instincts. The only thing he needed to do right now was to make sure that Rain and the others got out of Glacier Heights alive.
“I’ll make sure she gets out of there partner, count on it.” Eye Glass said before he heard the sound of footsteps inside the ship.
Realizing that someone else was onboard Tom, Eye Glass quickly pressed the button to close the wall. It silently slid back into place and clicked shut just as the door to the cargo opened up and a number of Dominion marines and technicians entered the room.
“Palomo, is that you?” One of the marines asked when he saw Eye Glass in the cargo hold. “What are you doing over there?”
“Er…I thought I could investigate the ship myself and see if I could find something that the others might have missed.” Eye Glass lied.
“I wouldn’t bother with that if I were you Palomo. If DI couldn’t find anything else on this rust-bucket then I doubt you’d find anything worthwhile.” The marine stated. “But since you’re here, mind helping me open the cargo ramp?” Eye Glass nodded and went over to a control panel and hit one of the buttons. The rusty cargo ramp groaned and whined as it opened up and lowered itself to show an SCV dropping off some crates just beyond the cargo ramp before leaving to retrieve more.
“What are all these for?” Eye Glass asked, gesturing to the crates.
“Not too sure myself. All I know is that we’ve got orders from Command to load these crates onto this hunk of junk and get it prepped for a flight down to the surface. Besides, it’s way above our pay grade so don’t think too much about it.” The marine said as he walked over to the crates and lifted one up. “Now help me move these crates onto the ship would ya?”
Thinking that this might lead him to some answers, Eye Glass decided to help as he picked up a crate and moved it into the cargo hold. The two stallions moved one crate after another into the ship until there was just one crate left. Unlike the rest, the crate was twice as large and had the Dominion Intelligence’s logo stamped on it as well as an electronic lock keeping it shut, which made Eye Glass curious of what was inside it.
“Looks like we’ll need to work together to carry this, Palomo. Come on, I’ll grab this end and you grab the other.” The marine said as he bent down and gripped the bottom of the crate while Eye Glass did the same on the other. “On the count of three. One, two, three!” the marine said before they lifted the crate up.
“Geez this thing is heavy! What the hell is in it?” Eye Glass huffed as he struggled to keep his hold on the metal crate.
“Nobody cares Palomo! Now move this damn thing into the ship before my arms pop out of their sockets!” The marine growled back. The two stallions strained themselves as they slowly but steadily moved the heavy crate up the ramp and into Tom’s cargo hold where they gladly lowered the crate onto the floor.
“Phew…I think I pulled a muscle back there.” Eye Glass said as he panted between words before he stepped back and sat himself down on one of the crates. “I think I’m… gonna stay here for a while… if you don’t mind.”
The marine took pity on Eye Glass and said. “Alright Palomo, you take it easy. I’ll go check if the others need help with the prep work.” The marine then headed out the ship, leaving Eye Glass alone to rest.
Once the marine was out of sight, Eye Glass looked around to make sure that he was alone before he started chuckling. “That was almost too easy.” He said as he got back up, but he winced when he felt his spine creak and pop into position. Even with the built in lumbar support, his back still hurt from all that heavy lifting. “Okay…maybe not that easy.” The stallion groaned as he pressed a hand against the back of his armor.
After he recovered from his backache, Eye Glass went over to the DI-marked crate and saw the electronic lock keeping it secure. He saw that the lock also had DI’s logo on it, so he figured he could hack it or something with one of the gadgets built into his suit. He flipped open his wrist mounted computer and started typing some commands into the suit, but each one he typed in didn’t unlock the electro-lock.
“Damn, they make it look so easy in the movies.” Eye Glass muttered as he typed in a few more commands until he found a screen that had a diagram of the electronic lock on the crate that said Disengage E-Lock? Y/N. The stallion resisted the urge the facepalm himself for missing this earlier before he typed in the appropriate command and heard the electronic lock beep and unlock itself.
“Alright, time to see what’s in this thing.” Eye Glass said as he opened the lid. His eyes widened at what he saw and let out a low whistle. “Well, well, well, what do we have here.”
Inside their cell at Glacier Heights, Apple Bloom was scratching out a line on the wall with the scalpel she was holding between her teeth. Since they had no other way to tell how much time has passed inside their cell, Apple Bloom started scratching lines into the wall. She sighed tiredly as she spat the scalpel out of her mouth. She didn’t really want to do this nor did she need to, but she felt she had to do something to occupy her time and distract herself from the prison’s oppressive atmosphere.
She then looked at the scratching she made on the wall. Each line represented a day and every seven days, she would scratch a line across the lot. If her count was accurate, then it’s been nine days since they were captured, which made her wonder how many more days would pass before Eye Glass rescued them, or until Twilight decided to carry out her plans for them.
She really hoped Eye Glass would hurry up before that happened, but after spending so much time in the cell, she was starting to worry that he wouldn’t come. However, she was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a heavy thud and turned to see Scootaloo lying on the floor while Rainbow Dash stood over her with a smug grin on her face.
“Come on squirt, I thought I told you not to hold back on me.” Rainbow Dash taunted as she extended a hoof to Scootaloo. Due to their conditioning back at the Ice House, the two reapers were used to Glacier Heights’ gloomy environment as they decided to spar each other in the middle of the cell to occupy their time and keep their skills sharp.
“After calling me that, I don’t intend to.” Scootaloo said as she got into a fighting stance, ready to resume the sparring match.
“Just don’t go overboard, Rainbow. You may feel fine now, but I used a lot of the first aid kit’s supplies on you and I doubt the guards are going to give us a second one if you reopen one of your wounds.” Rain Sight cautioned.
“Yeah yeah, I’ll be careful.” Rainbow Dash said dismissively before she started sparring with Scootaloo.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Rain Sight said as she went back to sorting through the first aid kit before she heard Sweetie Belle giggle beside her on the bed. “Hey Sweetie, didn’t mean to wake you up. Do you need anything?” Rain Sight asked while giving the two reapers a pointed look.
“I’m a little thirsty.” Sweetie Belle stated hoarsely. Rain Sight nodded as she brought her a tin mug filled with water and pressed it to the unicorn’s lips. After she drained the mug empty, she said. “Thanks and don’t be mad at Rainbow and Scootaloo, they’re just a little stir crazy from all this waiting and need to let off some steam. I just wish I could join them or something, cause I’m getting sick and tired of staying in bed all day.” She said. She had woken up five days ago some time after her fever broke but it had left her body weak, so she couldn’t move about very much yet.
“I know how you feel Sweetie Belle, but your body is still weak from that fever of yours. Now do me a solid and get some rest, alright?” Rain Sight asked softly. Sweetie Belle let out a soft sigh before she laid her head back on the pillow. “We’ll wake you up when our food gets here.” Sweetie Belle smiled gratefully to Rain before closing her eyes.
However, before she could drift off to sleep, she and the others heard the door suddenly swing open and a prison guard accompanied by a pegasus stallion dressed in a Dominion officer’s uniform, entered the cell. The girls recognized him as the fake bellhop who shot them with the tranquilizers and became wary of him when they saw the box under his arm.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash demanded but backed off when the guards aimed their guns at the girls.
“All of you, line up against the wall.” One of the guards demanded. Threatened at gunpoint, the girls did as they were told but the guard scowled when he saw Sweetie Belle still lying on the bed. “I said, line up against the wall, now!”
“She can’t, she’s too weak to move right now.” Rain Sight said in Sweetie Belle’s defense.
The guard lifted his visors and glared at Rain. “Do I look like I care?” He retorted before he forcefully pulled Sweetie Belle out of bed and threw her to the floor, causing her to cry out in pain. “Now move your flank to that wall!”
“Hey! Leave her alone!” Scootaloo shouted as she and Rainbow Dash tried to step in and stop the guard only to be stopped when he turned his gun on them.
“Stay right where you are if you know what’s good for you.” The guard threatened before looking back at Sweetie Belle, who was still lying on the floor. “As for you, get up right now, before I get angry!” Sweetie Belle slowly got up to her hooves and tried to walk over to the wall, but she stumbled and fell down, causing the guard to lose his patience. “That’s it, I’ve had it with you!” He exclaimed as he leveled his gun at Sweetie Belle.
However, before he could shoot Sweetie Belle, he felt something cold and metallic pressed against the side of his head. He looked and saw the Dominion officer staring at his coldly as he held a gun to the his head.
“Admiral Sparkle gave us explicit orders to keep these terrorists alive. So until she says otherwise, I suggest that you lower your weapon and leave, before I’m forced to decorate the wall with your brain.” The officer threatened as he tapped his gun against the guard’s head to prove his point.
“Yes…sir.” The guard said through gritted teeth as he lowered his gun and left the room, leaving the officer alone in the cell with the girls who rushed to Sweetie Belle’s side.
“Sweetie Belle, are you hurt?” Rain Sight asked worriedly as she started checking the unicorn for signs of injuries while the rest stood close by, watching her worriedly.
The officer then dropped the box onto the floor and kicked it over to the girls. They looked inside the open box and saw five snowsuits inside of it, one for each of them. “Put them on.” The officer ordered.
“Why should we?” Rain Sight asked.
“Admiral Sparkle has ordered us to transfer you elsewhere, so unless you want to freeze in the cold you will put on those snowsuits.” The officer sternly replied.
“I wouldn’t be acting so high and mighty if I were you.” Rainbow Dash stated. “You do realize that you’re alone in here with us right?”
The officer quirked his brow curiously and smirked at Rainbow Dash. “Oh? What are you going to do, kill me? Then what, take on every single guard in the prison and make your grand escape?” He taunted.
“Alright we get it, there’s no way for us to get out of here. Can you at least tell us where we’re being transferred to?” Rain Sight asked.
The officer ignored Rain’s question as he turned around to leave. “I will return shortly to escort you to the transport.” He said before leaving the cell.
The girls looked to each other worriedly as they thought this might be it. Either Eye Glass comes and rescues them now or they’re going to be left at Twilight’s mercy, which they doubted the psychotic mare had in the first place. With nothing else left to do but hope for the best, they nodded to each other and reached for the snowsuits in the box.
The Dominion officer returned as promised along with the Dominion marine from before, who cuffed their hooves before they were allowed to leave cell. Due to Sweetie Belle’s condition, the officer allowed Scootaloo to carry the unicorn on her back. When they stepped out of the cell, they were joined by three more marines. The officer didn’t say anything as he led them through the prison corridors and towards wherever he intended to take them.
They soon arrived at a door where another Dominion marine stood with a snow jacket in his hands, which he offered to the officer. The officer accepted the jacket as he put it on over his uniform. After he was done zipping it up, he nodded to the marine who opened the door, letting a blast of cold air blow through the doorway, prompting the girls to pull their hoods up before they followed the officer outside.
When they stepped out the door, Rain Sight and the others found themselves in an open space inside the compound, which was currently being used as an improvised airfield as a number of cargo shuttles could be seen around the compound. As they were led across the field, the girls saw marines and some of Glacier Heights own guards moving large crates into the prison building, indicating that none of the ships’ crewmembers were allowed inside the facility itself.
Some of the prison guards stopped when they saw the ‘terrorists’ following the Dominion officer. The guards gave the girls dirty looks and the occasional insult both of which Rainbow Dash returned in kind, much to the dismay of her friends. Fortunately, the presence of the officer and their marine escorts was enough to deter a fight from breaking out.
As they followed the officer, the girls noticed they were being led away from where the cargo ships and towards the far side of the compound. They grew worried that they were going to be executed by firing squad once they when they were out of sight, but their worries turned to confusion when they saw the outlines of three ships in the distance.
When they got closer, they were surprised to see that Tom was one of the ships as it was situated between two Dominion starfighters. This also made the girls wonder what had happened to Eye Glass, but before they could consider what might have happened to the stallion, they came to a stop just outside of Tom’s open cargo bay doors.
The officer turned to the marines and told them to stand guard outside the ship while he led the girls aboard Tom. While going into the cargo hold, the girls noticed that it was completely empty except for a large crate with DI’s logo stamped on its sides. But before they could question why the crate was there, the officer brought out a communicator and contacted someone before he said. “We’ve arrived at the ship, Admiral Sparkle.”
The girls instantly became tense when they heard Twilight’s name as they looked at each other worriedly and thought that Twilight was going to carry out her threats. Rain Sight tried to listen in on the officer’s conversation with Twilight, but the wind blowing outside muffled Twilight’s end of the conversation.
“Are you sure admiral? Of course not… very well, as you command.” The officer said before he turned to the girls. “Admiral Sparkle wishes to have a few words with you.” The officer said as he pressed a button on his communicator and a holographic projection of Twilight appeared from the device.
Twilight smiled at the girls before she turned to the officer and asked. “Captain, would you kindly give us some privacy?”
“Yes admiral, by your command.” The officer said as he placed the device on a nearby crate and saluted the hologram. Before he left, he turned to the girls and said. “I have marines surrounding the area so don’t even think about escaping.” The officer then disembarked from Tom.
“Hey girls, sorry about the captain’s behavior, he just has problems with criminals. Anyways, how are you all doing today?” Twilight asked cheerfully.
“You damn know how we’re doing you crazy bitch! What are you doing with my ship and where is my sister’s body?” Rainbow Dash demanded.
“Sister? Oh, you wouldn’t happen to be talking about poor little Jet Stream, are you?” Twilight asked teasingly, causing both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to scowl at her. “Oh relax, her body is probably locked up in the evidence storage with the rest of your stuff on the DSP, which is coincidentally where you’re all heading.”
“The DSP? Why there?” Rain Sight asked.
“Simple, a lot of ponies are watching this detention facility quite closely, especially after the riot two days ago so-” Twilight said before she was interrupted.
“Riot, what riot?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot that you couldn’t tell what happens outside your cells, could you?” Twilight said as she tapped her chin. “Well, to put it simply, some angry people found out we were keeping you at Glacier Heights, and they tried to break into the facility to get their revenge on you. Fortunately for you, they never made it past the main gate thanks to Spike and Smartiepants.” Twilight answered.
“Did…did people die?” Sweetie Belle asked hesitantly.
“No, but a number of them and some of the guards are in critical condition in the hospital because of the riot, though I suppose it’s sort of your fault too if you think about it.” Twilight said, causing Sweetie Belle to wilt at the guilt. “Now, as I was saying, before I was interrupted, after the riot everyone on Cadia knows that you’re here and most of them aren’t happy about it, so another riot is bound to happen sooner or later, so I’m moving all of you to the DSP before that happens.”
“Okay, I get it, but out of all the ships out there, why mine?” Rainbow Dash asked impatiently. “I mean, you didn’t arrange all of this just to rub it in our faces, did you?”
“No, of course not. What do you take me for, some egomaniacal super-villain? Don’t answer that.” Twilight quickly said when the girls were about to say something. “It just ended up this way because I needed a civilian cargo ship, but I didn’t trust the merchant crews to not sell us out and your ship was the only one available. Besides, I thought it would be nice for you all to take one last ride together.”
“You sure that’s such a good idea, Twilight? I mean, this is my ship after all and I know every inch of it.” Rainbow Dash said to the hologram. “What’s to stop us from making a run for it?”
“Oh I’m not worried about that, especially after I had my technicians disable your ship’s FTL drive, so even if you managed to miraculously get out of your restraints, there’s nowhere for you to run. So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.” Twilight said cheerfully.
Despite the cheerful way Twilight said those words, the girls felt complete and utter dread at what they would be put through once they arrive at the DSP. However, they couldn’t dwell any longer on their fates when they saw the officer coming towards them the ship at Twilight’s command along with two marines.
“Yes Admiral, what do you need?” The officer asked.
“I’m done talking with the prisoners. Tell the pilots to get ready for takeoff, no reason to stay here any longer than necessary.” Twilight said. “And while I doubt they’ll be able to try anything, I want your men to watch the prisoners just to be safe.”
“Yes ma’am.” the officer said, before Twilight’s hologram vanished as she ended the comlink. After retrieving the device, the officer turned to the marines behind him. “You heard the admiral, I want you two to stay with the prisoners at all times and make sure they don’t do anything suspicious during the transfer. Am I clear?”
“Yes sir!” The two marines said together in acknowledgement. The officer nodded to them before he got off the ship just as the cargo ramp raised itself and closed shut.
Tom’s engines then came online as the ship rattled from takeoff. As the ship flew into the skies, the girls huddled held each other close for what they believed would be their final moments together.
Tom shook heavily from the turbulence as it left Cadia’s atmosphere, followed by the two starfighters escorting the rusty cargo ship. Inside Tom’s cargo hold, the two marines were watching over the girls as they were ordered until one of them tapped the other on the shoulder.
“Hey man, think you could watch the prisoners on your own for a while?” The marine asked the other. “I need to check something with the pilot real quick.”
“Fine, just don’t take too long.” The other marine replied.
Nodding, the first marine walked off and headed out the cargo hold.
Just as he left, the other marine’s communicator sounded off. He saw that Twilight was on the other line so he immediately answered the call. “Private Ross here, what can I do for you admiral?”
“I’m just calling to check if everything is going smoothly.” Twilight said through the comlink.
“Smooth as glass, admiral.” Ross replied.
“Excellent. Make sure you keep it that way. Oh, one more thing, if the blue pegasus gets too chatty, feel free to shoot her in the legs. She won’t need them with what I’ve got in store for her.” Twilight said as she giggled. “That’ll be all private.”
“Copy that.” Ross said before the transmission ended. However, while he had been speaking with Twilight, the girls were secretly whispering to each other.
“Do you see anything we could use to get out of this mess?” Scootaloo asked the others, but they only shook their heads.
“I don’t think so, squirt.” Rainbow Dash whispered back. “Looks like they cleared everything out.”
“What if we all-” Was all Scootaloo could say before Ross heard them whispering to each other.
“No talking allowed.” Ross said to the girls.
“And why not? In case you haven’t noticed, we’re chained up and unarmed so what’s the harm?” Rainbow Dash said as she raised her hooves up to show the cuffs. “Or are you afraid of five unarmed mares, huh?”
“You better shut your mouth or else!” The marine threatened as he turned around to face her.
“Or else what, tough guy? Beat me up? I’m a Reaper and I’ve gone through worse than what you could ever dish out!” Rainbow shot back.
“Dash…I think you should stop.” Rain Sight pleaded, but her words went unheeded as Rainbow Dash continued to goad the marine.
“You want me to shut up? Well, come and make me!” Rainbow Dash taunted before her pupils shrank as the marine pointed his rifle at her.
“Oh you bet I will. The admiral said she wouldn’t mind if you lost a leg or two. It probably won’t shut you up but I can deal with the screaming.” The marine said sadistically as he released the safety on his gun.
Rainbow Dash gulped as she stared at the gun barrel of the gauss rifle pointed at her. She could probably dodge the shot if she was fast enough, but she knew that if she moved, the others behind her would be hit instead, so she stood her ground and glared at the marine.
“Do your worst.”
“Rainbow, no!” The others cried out before a gunshot sounded off as it echoed through the near empty cargo hold.
Rainbow Dash flinched when she felt flecks of blood splatter on her face, but was confused when she didn’t feel any pain. She opened her eyes to see the marine drop his gun and fall to the floor with blood spilling from a hole in his visor. She and the others turned their heads to see the other marine lowering his rifle.
“Damn, I didn’t want to kill the guy. He had two kids to look after.” The marine sighed as he looked at stallion he had just shot. He then turned to the girls and asked. “Are you girls alright?”
“Who the buck are you? Rainbow Dash swore as she cautiously stepped away from the marine. She got her answer when the marine lifted his visor and everyone saw Eye Glass’ face behind it.
“Eye Glass!” Rain Sight and two of the crusaders called out happily in unison.
“The one and only, now let’s get you out of those things.” Eye Glass said as he took hold of the hoofcuffs around Rainbow Dash’s hooves and pulled them apart effortlessly with his robotic hands, before doing the same for the others.
“Wouldn’t it have been faster just to use the keys for these things?” Rain Sight asked as Eye Glass pulled her cuffs.
“Don’t have them. Now hold still.” Eye Glass said as he broke the hoofcuffs off. “There, now I need you to get yourself to the cockpit while I get the rest of these cuffs off. I knocked out the pilot and left the ship on autopilot so it won’t be long before someone notices something’s wrong.”
“Got it!” Rain Sight said before galloping out the cargo hold.
“Thanks.” Apple Bloom said when Eye Glass broke her free from her restraints.
“You can thank me after, if and when we get out of this alive.” Eye Glass said before he went over to the corner of the cargo hold and opened up the panel to the hidden compartment. He then reached in and brought something out of it that he put it into Apple Bloom’s hooves. Apple Bloom, and everyone else, was surprised when they saw it was the laptop Apple Bloom had assembled recently.
“Wait, I thought Rain said Twilight had it, how did you-?” Apple Bloom said before Eye Glass interrupted her.
“I’ll tell you about it later. Right now, I need you to access Cadia’s Battlenet and shut it down as soon as possible. I already installed your worm program into the station’s systems so you should be able to hack it without any problem.” Eye Glass instructed.
“I’m not sure if you know this, gramps but Twilight disabled Tom’s FTL drive. Even if Apple Bloom shuts down the battlenet, we can’t warp out of here and there’s no way we can outrun two starfighters with these old engines.” Rainbow Dash said worriedly.
“I’ve prepared something for that occasion.” Eye Glass said as he reached into the compartment and took out several lengths of cables. “Just help me plug these into the open ports around the ship and do it quick!”
“On it!” Scootaloo said as she grabbed one of the cables and took off while Sweetie Belle stayed with Apple Bloom as she typed away at the keyboard.
However, Rainbow Dash had an apprehensive look on her face as she stared at the cables and where they led to. “Are you sure we should be using that thing? You do remember what happened the last time we turned it on, don’t you?” The mare asked. “What if it fries Tom’s systems this time and leaves us dead in space or worse?”
“I’ve made some modifications so they should keep the generator from blowing up in our faces.”
“Should?” Rainbow Dash questioned skeptically.
“Well, we either do nothing and let Twilight win. Or, we can follow my plan and escape, or die trying. Your choice.” Eye Glass said as he picked up several cables in his arms and walked off to install them. Rainbow Dash was uncertain if the stallion’s plan would work or not, but she realized that she would rather go down fighting than do nothing at all. The pegasus took some of the cables in her hooves and flew to the nearest port.
Everyone was busy carrying out Eye Glass’ instructions as the cables were plugged into Tom’s systems until they heard the sounds of the communicators on both Eye Glass’ and the dead marine’s arms sounding off. Knowing who was calling, they turned to Eye Glass who gulped deeply and cleared his throat before he answered the call.
“Private Palomo here. Is something wrong admiral?” Eye Glass said into the communicator.
“Nothing at all private, just thought it was too quiet over there.” Twilight said through the device. “How are the prisoners doing? Behaving themselves I trust.”
“Uh, the prisoners have been pretty quiet so far, but everything is just fine, ma’am.” Eye Glass replied.
“Good to hear, but I’d like to see this for myself. Turn your camera on and face the prisoners for me.” Twilight ordered.
“Err, I’m afraid I can’t do that. My camera’s been on the fritz lately.” Eye Glass lied.
“Ugh, fine. Tell the other guy to turn his camera on instead.” Twilight grumbled.
“Private Ross is…kind of unavailable at the moment.” Eye Glass said as he looked at the dead marine.
“What could be so important that he would ignore an order from a superior officer?” Twilight questioned before she called out to someone next to her. “Spike! Tap into Private Ross’ comlink and camera feed so I can give him a piece of my mind!”
“Tapping into his comlink frequency and camera feed, now.” A voice in the background replied.
Ross’ power armor then beeped as the communicator built into it turned on by itself before Twilight’s voice came through it. “You have a lot of nerve leaving your post like that private! When you get to the DSP, I’m gonna…Spike, why am I looking at an image of a bloody floor?”
“There are no life signs from Private T.Ross’ power armor. All signs indicate that he was killed recently. By a bullet through his cranium to be exact.” The same voice replied.
“What!?” Twilight shouted.
Knowing that their cover was blown, there was no need to keep the charade up any longer as Eye Glass shouted to Apple Bloom. “Miss Bloom, how long till you’re ready?”
“I’m almost done. Just give me two more minutes!” Apple Bloom replied as she typed the necessary sequence of commands into the laptop.
“You!” Twilight’s voice shouted through Eye Glass’ communicator. “You’re the one that leaked the information, weren’t you?” She said accusingly.
Eye Glass ignored Twilight as he cut the transmission and ran over to the stealth generator. “Miss Dash, are all the cables plugged in?”
“Yeah, I just plugged in the last one!” Rainbow shouted back. “Are you gonna turn it on now? Cause it’d be really come in handy right about now.”
“Not yet. We need to time this just right or we’re all goners. For now, just-”
“Don’t you dare ignore me!” Twilight shouted through Ross’ communicator. “Stop whatever you’re all doing right this second or else I’m going to detonate the bomb in that crate!”
Apple Bloom stopped typing as she looked down on the crate she had been sitting on and asked. “Did she just say there’s a bomb in here?” Before she grabbed Sweetie Belle by the shoulders and ran from the crate.
“Yes I did. There’s enough explosives in that crate to level an entire city block so why don’t you girls behave and do as I say before I blow you all to space dust.” Twilight threatened.
“You’re bluffing!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “You said you want Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to work for you and killing them won’t make that happen.” This statement caused Eye Glass to tilt his head in confusion as he wasn’t aware of Twilight’s intention until now.
“I’m well aware of that but I’d rather have you all dead than risk you revealing my plans. So either you listen to me or get ready to meet your sister in the afterlife.” Twilight replied.
While Twilight had been talking with Rainbow, Eye Glass quietly signaled for Apple Bloom to resume her hacking while he prepared the stealth generator for activation. He then contacted Rain Sight through the cockpit’s communication system.
“Rain, what’s the situation out there?” Eye Glass whispered.
“I’m not sure why, but the escort fighters are breaking away from Tom.” Rain’s voice replied. “And is it me or am I hearing Rainbow arguing with Twilight back there? Seriously, what’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you later. Just get ready to make a break for it on my signal.” Eye Glass quietly assured her.
“Alright, I’m trusting you on this, so whatever you’re going to do, better make it good. You got that?”
“Heh, I’ll try not to disappoint.” Eye Glass said before he turned to Apple Bloom and asked. “Are you done yet?”
“Almost there…I’m in!” Apple Bloom cheered before covering her hooves over her muzzle when she realized how loud she was.
“Hey! What’s going on over there?” Twilight demanded.
“Now Apple Bloom! Do it now!” Eye Glass frantically shouted.
After what happened during the Diamond Dog’s assault still fresh in their minds, the DSP’s technicians added new security measures to the Battlenet to protect it against future cyber attacks. However, their efforts were proven useless when the Battlenet was once again compromised as the station’s systems went offline. The DSP’s technicians scrambled to bring the systems back online though they had to do it by shutting down the affected systems manually and rebooting them back one by one.
“Commander, short range communications is back online.” One of the operators in the command room called out.
“Good. Reestablish contact with every unit in range and tell them to be on high alert. The last thing we need is another terrorist attack or pirate raid.” The station commander ordered.
“Sir, I’m receiving a transmission from Ursa One.” An operator informed.
“Ursa One? Isn’t he and Ursa Two supposed to be escorting the terrorists here for Admiral Sparkle?” The station commander asked. “What’s his message?”
“He says that the ship carrying the terrorists…is gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean gone?” The station commander demanded.
“The message says that the ship just vanished right before their eyes.” The operator replied.
“That’s impossible, nothing can just vanish like that... unless it’s a cloaking field.” The station commander said as his eyes widened in realization. “Tell them to search for signs of any visual distortions and do a full sweep of the surrounding areas once the sensors are back online.” He then sat down by his terminal. “And someone connect me to Admiral Sparkle’s quarters through the emergency line. She needs to be informed of the situation…she’s not going to be happy.”
“There, the Cadian Battlenet is down!” Apple Bloom declared. “But they’re already restoring their systems so if you have something up your sleeves, now would be a good time to use it!”
Eye Glass nodded as he started the stealth generator’s activation sequence. He crossed his metallic fingers as he watched the machine whir to life as it sent energy through the cables and into the ports throughout the ship. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief when the stealth generator’s indicator told him that the device was functioning properly with no signs of breaking down or blowing up.
His communicator then sounded off and saw that Rain Sight was calling him. He accepted the call and heard Rain’s voice ask in an annoyed tone of voice. “Eye Glass, why didn’t you tell me that we had a stealth generator?”
“No time to explain. Just get us out of here now!” Eye Glass said.
“I wouldn’t be in such a rush to leave if I were you.” Twilight’s voice warned as it came from Ross’ communicator. “Especially with that bomb onboard.”
“Bomb? What bomb?” Rain asked when she heard Twilight on the cockpit’s comlink.
“Why the bomb sitting in the cargo hold, of course! And I have the remote!” Twilight answered. “I’ll admit that I was surprised that you had a cloaking device on that hunk of junk.”
“Hey! Watch what you say about Tom! He’s not junk, he’s a classic!” Rainbow Dash yelled indignantly.
“Well I’ve got the bomb’s remote so I’ll say whatever I want, so sit down, and shut up!” Twilight retorted. “Now be good little prisoners and stay there until the starfighters come to escort you to the DSP.”
“Wait a minute, isn’t the DSP’s long range communication system still disabled? How are you communicating with us?” Apple Bloom asked.
“It is still down, but this laptop of yours has been quite useful to me.” Twilight said as she giggled through the comlink. “I’ll admit I’m curious on how you got your hooves on your other laptop, but I suppose you have Private Palomo to thank for that. Isn’t that right, private?”
“Yeah, and they can thank me later after we get out of here.” Eye Glass said before spoke into his communicator. “Rain, step on it and get us out of here.”
“But…what about the bomb?” Rain asked worriedly.
“Everything is going to be just fine. You trust me, don’t you?”
“I do. Just…just don’t make me regret this.” Rain said before cutting the comlink. Tom’s engines then started up soon after as the ship moved away from Cadia at full speed.
“Stop the ship right now or I’m going to blow you up this instant!” Twilight threatened over the dead marine’s comlink.
Everyone in the cargo hold turned to look at Eye Glass to see how the stallion would deal with the threat. Eye Glass lowered his visor before he walked over to Ross’ body and turned it over so Twilight could see him staring down at the camera. “Go ahead, I dare you.”
“Excuse me?” Twilight asked incredulously while the others gaped at his words. Neither she nor the others had expected him to insist on their own demise.
“Did I stutter? I said, go ahead and detonate that bomb. I dare-Urrk!” Eye Glass said before Rainbow Dash suddenly tackled him with a dive-bomb kick to the chest, knocking him down to the floor as she stood over him with a furious expression on her face.
“Have you gone senile old man!?” The pegasus screamed at him. “I’d get it if you don’t want to live anymore but don’t you dare drag the rest of us down with you!”
“Damn it Miss Dash, I had it completely under control.” Eye Glass groaned as he tried to get up, only to be slammed back down by Rainbow.
“What part of making Twilight blow us up is a good thing?” Rainbow demanded.
“Cause I already disarmed them hours ago.” Eye Glass grumbled.
“What?” Rainbow Dash and the crusaders said bewilderedly.
“What!?” Twilight echoed. “That’s impossible! Those explosives were programmed to detonate if someone tried to break open the lock, let alone disarm it… You’re bluffing! You have to be!”
“Well, if you don’t believe me…” Eye Glass said as he got back up, wincing as he felt his spine pop back into place before he stood within Twilight’s view again. “...then blow that bomb before we get away. I dare ya.” He taunted. The communicator then started crackling into static, indicating that Tom was moving out of the comlink’s range. “Well would ya look at that, you’re losing us. Wonder what the people of Cadia would think when they hear that the new director of DI isn’t what she’s all cracked up to be.”
“I’ll show you that no one mocks me and gets away with it! Die!” Twilight declared before everyone heard the audible click of a button. Everyone in the cargo hold, with the exception of Eye Glass, shut their eyes and held their arms over their heads to shield themselves from the explosion. Then they heard a second click followed by another, which was accompanied by a growl of frustration. “Spike! Why isn’t this damn thing working?”
“I don’t know. Scans show the detonator is working as intended, though there seems to be something wrong with the transceiver.” Spike’s voice replied.
“Oh, do you mean this thing?” Eye Glass asked as he showed Twilight a device in his hand. The device had several bits of torn electrical wires sticking out of it though it was still functional as a green light was coming from it. “I couldn’t risk you rearming the bomb with it so I yanked it out after I disarmed it. Thankfully the situation…won't blow out of proportion!” The old stallion proudly declared, the mares in his presence all facehoofing, before he added. “Looks like you lose, admiral.”
“You! You! When I get my hooves on you, I’ll-!” Was all Twilight managed to say before the comlink broke down into static.
“All that planning, all that time and effort, wasted!” Twilight screamed angrily as she threw the useless detonator against the wall with her magic, the device breaking from the impact. She turned to her desk where Apple Bloom’s laptop was sitting. “Well, they’re not getting away that easy! Spike, bring the Battlenet back online, now! I want all available forces in the area to find that ship and shoot it down!”
“But I thought you needed those girls for your plans.” Spike’s voice asked from the laptop.
“Don’t care! I can adjust around their absence. Now do your job!” Twilight yelled.
“Now running Battlenet reactivation sequence.” The A.I. hastily replied. “Cadia Battlenet online in three, two…huh?”
“What is it Spike?” Twilight asked.
“An unidentified message just appeared on the device. Hmm, I wonder what it says.” Spike said out of curiosity.
Twilight’s eyes widened at realization at what the message was and shouted. “Spike, no! Don’t open it!” But it was too late when the laptop’s screen suddenly blacked out, before the pixilated image of a skull wearing a pink bow appeared on the screen with the words. ‘Don’t mess with my stuff!’ flashing below as it cackled maniacally.
Twilight could only stare at the laughing skull as her left eye started twitching.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Not so New Brony · 45k words · 19 1 · 811 views
- Unholyheaven · 9.9k words · 32 2 · 1.6k views
- KRissCHu573 · 27k words · 16 0 · 491 views
- KRissCHu573 · 28k words · 12 0 · 517 views
- Not so New Brony · 15k words · 12 0 · 1.2k views
- ZarPaulek · 10k words · 16 5 · 1.2k views
- Unholyheaven · 46k words · 19 0 · 1.3k views
- Quantum Solace · 7.2k words · 19 1 · 614 views
Stats
Page generated in 0.13 seconds
Total duration
951 users online
363,991 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
are the cmc together again or when will it happen
6563021 I'm afraid I don't understand your question.
6564143 sorry that question was meant for the author of the story sorry I made a mistake
6564185 Well, I'm technically the writer for the story...one of them at least. TheKopruluSectorUnion is a shared account fyi so what's the question about again?
6564200 are the Cutie Mark Crusaders together I remember they were separated at the very beginning of the story I was just wondering
6564213 Ah I see, Might I ask how far into the story you are? Also, the answer to your question is yes, the Crusaders do get back together.
6564228 thank goodness
Well, at least they went out... Without a bang.
Eye Glass really did... a bang up job on that bomb.
Yeah, puns...
6565589 He was sloppy. Should have left the bomb at the prison or in key places around the city. So when they blew up and caused untold damage, Twilight would get blame as they were DI bombs, and the Terrorists were locked up, being escorted out under her command, with her ships, with her people in control. From the locals point of view, Twilight freed the Terrorists, and attacked them to cover it up.
But nooo. He was too sloopy to do that!
6565788 We had considered going down that route but we realized that it would be difficult for Eye Glass to move the bomb due to how heavy the crate was. And even if he could move it, he'd have to do it without being noticed by the guards and technicians moving around the hangar prepping Tom for launch so all he could do was disarm the bomb before anyone noticed.
However, the biggest reason we chose this is because unlike most DI agents, Eye Glass isn't as ruthless and is unwilling to kill innocents unless he had to as he did with the guard's death. That's how I see him at least. He's not a saint but in the Koprulu Sector, no one is...
6565589 Eye Glass wouldn't be Eye Glass without cracking some kind of joke or another.
At least the joke in the chapter was better than the one I planned to use. Good thing the other members of the Union stopped me.
6565788 Or look at it this way, he's not like Twilight and won't kill innocent civilians just to make a point, much like what Twilight did (who is also quite power hungry and dare I say, probably a combination of Nova and Mengsk to a point). Just to quote what Mengsk said in SC1:
6565928 Really? What was the joke may I ask?
6565942 I sent you a PM in case the terribleness of the joke drives away potential readers.
6646564 I assume that you're talking about Rain Sight? While I can't dispel your loathing of the mare, I can at least tell you that you'll find out part of the reason for her possessiveness of Sovereign despite the events up to this chapter
As for Scootaloo, you are right about her time at the Ice House changing her though she hasn't cracked per say. The Ice House has hardened her both physically and emotionally though parts of her old self is still there.
Still, I'm glad to see that you're enjoying the story.
6950567 Huh, well guess that settles the debate.
7349924 The name made it a dead giveaway, didn't it?
6563021 they are together, they are all on Tom, along with eye glass and an alive, but unconscious Dominion pilot.
J am loving the new chapters, i am as riveted to this story as i was when I started! Hopefully we see some updates soon. Incidentally, I wonder if we will see any more of Stukov and the terrans from the last part of chapter 50?
7356511 it took you this long to answer me also do you think they should find Equestria on day
so... Despite being of of the masterpieces here with really good theme and setting, I stopped reading this fic somewhere just before chapter 60, due to Real life issues. (I stopped reading lot of them, even left the fandom really) but now that I decided to ppay all starcraft games again. I remembered about this fic.... at this point I actually ant to re-read it from beginning... but i have a little question. Are there ANY plans to continue this at any point? or is it actually abadonned/canceled.
8198385 Sorry for the late reply but no the story hasn't been abandoned. The only reason we haven't updated in so long is that we, just like you, have issues in real life to deal with up to now as well as a bad case of writer's block. At least the latter is the case for me anyways but we do intend to continue the story at some point in the future.
Sorry if this wasn't the response you were looking for.
8199819
Thanks for the reply. The fact that you are actually replying is good thing :D
And I do completely understand how life can suddenly decide to take priority and just NOT let go.
As i said. I am probably going to re-read it all anyway.
8639535
Probably not.
We'll also never know
I sure hope they can get back to this fanfic, this is easily my Favorite All-Time MLP Fanfic !