Queen's Landing - Short Chapter
At Cheyanne Mountain, Colonel Bunker and Doctor Vahlen were in the middle of a very rushed briefing from an 'Agent Jay'. The darker toned agent was handing out several photos depicting what looked to be another changeling queen in a folder marked 'Catalyst'. Sections of the document were blacked out, though most of the wording was still intact.
"Is this what I think it is, Agent Jay?" Vahlen asked while flipping through the various photos. She couldn't help the smirk on her face from the possibilities that having two alien queens presented, let alone the fact that this newcomer seemed to be from a different sub-species all together. "Another Queen?"
"That's correct, and I gotta bring you up to speed on everything we've learned about her before she arrives." Jay explained, pressing a clicker to begin a slideshow presentation with a heading marked 'Catalyst and You' with flashy lettering.
"Wait, we're putting two alien queens in the same facility?" Colonel Bunker protested, flattening the vanilla folder onto the table. "Shouldn't we place her somewhere else?"
"The only known people we have that seem fine with 'feeding' these queens are those kids in your base, Colonel. The personnel on base are already uneasy around Queen Blue Sun, and none of them want to even get close after rumors of Vahlen's team nearly getting toasted went around." Jay explained while keeping a neutral face. The slideshow clicked again to reveal a large high quality image of Catalyst strapped down in the back of a Chinook with a very upset expression and puffed cheeks. "She was tryin' not to scream." Jay explained.
"Where is Queen Catalyst now?" Vahlen asked, skimming through notes in her own folder.
Another click revealed a map with a single red dot on it. Pointing, Jay explained, "We're trying to get her to calm down right now; most of these photos were sent over a secured network only a few minutes ago. Agent Kay has been handling the situation with the new Queen, but it looks like we're gonna have to be extra careful with her. She doesn't play nice." Another click showed a photo of what appeared to be a special operations team huddled in the back of the Chinook behind a cargo box as their weapons were held in a ball of orange-gold glow, and slowly melting together.
"How did they even take these pictures?" Colonel Bunker wondered aloud.
"I think you're familiar with Lieutenant 'Olive'?" Jay replied. "He was on this Chinook's crew as well, seeing as he had prior experience with Queen Blue Sun. He brought a camera this time."
Bunker shook her head in dull acceptance. "Alright, what else do you have for us?"
Another click revealed the impact site of Queen Catalyst, as well as dried orbs of some unidentified substance embedded into surrounding structures. "These things," Jay explained, "Aren't from around here." A click showed another photo. "These orbs, whatever they are, seem to give off a ton of radiation. We've had teams try to get close enough to secure them in lead, but they start burning through their suits before they can even get close." Another click showed a photo of a human male undergoing surgery to have a radiation suit removed.
"Have you tried using drones to handle the material?" Vahlen asked, completely undisturbed by the suffering on display.
A click, and a photo of a burnt out robot with a mechanical claw and treads was shown. "Tried that too." Jay replied in a slightly defeated tone.
"So what do you suggest?" Bunker asked.
A click ended the presentation, and Jay set the clicker down on the table before resting his hands on a folding chair's back. "We don't really know. Anything that gets too close to those orbs gets fried or melted before it can do anything. The odd part is that the field of radiation isn't expanding beyond a very fine sphere around those orbs. It isn't damaging the surrounding terrain either, just making it hot."
"Do you think it could be linked to the queen's own 'Magic'?" Vahlen asked.
"Your guess is as good as any, Doctor Vahlen. For now we're quarantining the area to stop any looky-loo's from getting themselves killed." Jay replied. He adjusted his sunglasses before pointing with his hand towards the nearby steel door. "Let's go meet the new Queen."
***
"Never again!" Catalyst shouted as she exited the Chinook's loading ramp via wing-power and hatred. "Never again will I step hoof in a Terran device of any kind!"
The black-orange queen was now hovering above the Chinook as she debated melting the thing entirely out of spite, but refrained due to both the limited amount of love she had left to survive on, and the supposed hospitality of the Terrans in general. Looking away from the accursed thing, Catalyst spotted a group of Terrans with more weapons moving with an Agent and two differently dressed persons that seemed to be in charge.
"That's Catalyst all right." Jay muttered from the side of his mouth to Vahlen and Bunker. "Cheery as reported."
The very large bug-like queen swooped down from her place in the air to land next to the three important looking Terrans, startling the nearby guards. "You are the leaders, correct?" Catalyst asked in a demanding tone.
"Yes, Queen Catalyst. I am Terra Bunker, this is Moira Vahlen and he is Agent Jay." Bunker explained, pointing to each of them in turn.
Catalyst, however, pointed immediately to the Chinook behind her. "Never. Again."
Vahlen used her clipboard to hide a chuckle as Bunker stepped forward. "Welcome to Cheyanne Mountain, Queen Catalyst. We've got a lot to go over before we can get you settled here for the time being. If you'll follow us, we can get started."
With a huff, Catalyst looked away from the Chinook towards the group of guards and the three that had spoken to her. Taking a moment to gather herself, she replied, "Lead on, Terra Bunker."
Meanwhile, the group of ex-Special Forces and Agent Kay were able to safely exit the Chinook in her absence, breathing a collective sigh of relief.
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ok 2 queens that close to gather as if this is even the beginnings of a good idea.
you will be lucky if Cheyanne Mountain is not a smoking crater let a loan the part of Montana.
Hope life calms down for you into the future! As fora managing stress, I recomend some form of exercise. It really helps me stay sane. Merry Christmas!
if you want to take a further break i can understand, writing fiction should be something that is enjoyed, not forced on you to make the metaphysical deadline. it seems real life has once again grabbed someone else by the (add sensitive organ here) and refuses to let go, we are happy for the new chapter, but im sure many of us would be more happy if you are happy. (i know its not as simple as that but i hope you know what i mean.)
7803113 The mother of all hugs is coming...
make blue sun meet catalyst plllzzz
Considering human technology, numbers and capacity for violence, I wonder what would be Celestia´s reaction may she discover the alliance between changelings and the United States of America.
Don't burn your self out for are sake. i suggest putting writing aside for a month or two, give yourself time to recharge and unwind. Then only write when and "if" inspiration hits you, not until then. Writing will be much more fun that way
......... Catalyst needs to take a ride in a SR-71 Blackbird. :D How bad could it be?
At least Catalyst had the wits to not destroy the Chinook while she was in it.
Dont worry about us, we can wait, if you have real problems then focus on whats important and think about what you want with the story befor simply writing to make us happy.
Two queens: ones a friendly former tunneler and new mother, who is still getting used to her new role, the other is a jaded Ex-Queen who lost her hive, and is not used to being out of control.
Add some Farm kids and base full of Military personnel, and there are Hi-jinx a plenty. I Smell a sitcom!
7803197 Inb4 TFS Alucard references.
If you need somebody to bounce ideas off of, just shoot me a text. You have my number.
I am worried you will not be able to handle the narrative you have just now created.
One queen was a earthquake tier mover and shaker.
Two queens might destroy any semblance of direction.
Man, magic does not agree with the fabric of our reality very well at all. Between the excessive heat and radiation produced through the various magical processes observed so far, I think humanity is going to have some serious concerns going forward about the impact these new visitors are going to have on the environment. Imagine how much heat would be produced by the day-to-day operations of even a modest sized Changeling city/hive?
If there's one good thing to come of it, it seems likely that Earth might be on the cusp of a massively cheap new energy resource if they can hook of some thermal-powered electrical generators to the hive structures.
7799730 Well, crossover cameos, but still crossovers.
Catalyst almost turned that blender into a Cuisinart.
You know, it would be aproblem if it turned out the philosophies of Catalyst and Blue Sun were diamretically opposite, especially if Catalyst is inimical to the Love Supply.
The drones must be burning out in the electronics and low temperature materials, as if those glowies are sat in sandstone it cant be much above the melting point of aluminium, never mind steel. Should be some of the equpment theyve been working on for Blue Suns interaction that they could practise on the orbs with, various super metal and ceramic builds?
I don't doubt that maybe, if you were to get an original idea and have the willpower to write it out (I myself have the first but never the second), you could do well as an author (J.K Rowling type, not Pen Stroke type). Comedy blends in perfectly with the occasional moment of tension and drama, and everyone actually gets to know the characters (Blue Sun, Rough, Soft and Timid) before anything really major happens.
Bravo, bravo. (Or kudos, whichever you prefer.)
Man the chinook is the changeling's BANE XD nice chapter
Don't force yourself to write tho, if you really wanna continue the story you'll be able to, in time
oh the reacion they will have
.
Take care of yourself first. If that requires a break, take it. Don't force yourself to write, just because you feel obligated to do so. Write what you can, when you can.
7803537 i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/380/307/add.png
Catalyst is a wuss.
7803474
They can have Blue fabricate a Dirsime(?) shell or arm extension for the job.
7803441
Impact on the planet can be mitigated with thermal radiators to space, just as they are used on the space station, and a changeling city will provide tons of free energy to power massive heat pumps, or sell desalinated water for free.
A single changeling can power a space station in place of a RTG!
Take your time, that happens to all of us. I have a feeling that the Meeting between 2 Queens won’t go well
7803339 DO YOU EVEN READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST?!?
7803777
The key word there is 'mitigated', but it's still a serious problem.
The reason it works on the Space Station is that there is no pesky, life giving atmosphere in the way of escaping thermal radiation, with a Changeling hive that would become a serious issue in no short order.
Even with the radiation being eerily contained in a tight sphere, that much thermal bloom would have a serious impact on a much larger scale, such as Global Warming, droughts, irradiation, and other environmental changes.
There might be a reason the Changelings lived in the Badlands after all.
7803441
They tried harnessing the energy with Blue. Anything they tried melted.
7804522
Maybe the changelings are why Equestria requiress weather management?
7804542
Drop balls in water.
Water plus heat equals steam.
ELECTRICITY!
Changelings solve our energy crisis with love!
Edited into haiku form since it was so close anyway
7805635
The machines they'd use to harness the steam would have to be close enough so the steam doesn't dissipate. They'd melt.
7805824
We do this all the time in nuclear power plants. The balls can only be so hot, and water is a great thermal conductor (just increase system pressure and the boiling point goes up)
They are on the ground, so SOMETHING must be able to withstand the heat.
We know it's possible, everything else is just a technical detail.
7805911
It said it melted their suits as they got close. It's that hot. I think it's heat from radioactivity which is why it doesn't affect the ground as much.
Dirt has a very high melting point.
But yeah, whenever Blue used her magic it heated the area considerably. Enough to melt anything in the vicinity, except the stuff she had reinforced herself.
Plus the steam would be even hotter.
Is this a case of trying to harness the heat energy of small suns? I don't know.
I'm making a lot of assumptions and mostly just talking out of me arse
7806046 If something that got hot close to it, suddenly cools down when it got out of the radius, then they can't.
Points for the "Alice's Restaurant" reference. Bonus points if you get the 8x10 glossy pictures with circles and arrows in at some point. Or better yet. The litter bug angle.
7806486
What?
7806712 it can be that things only get hot when they are near the orb, but if removed from there, they lose the heat.
Don't force it - when you're burnt out, you'll just hurt yourself when you try to do so that much.
While I'm not a fan of waiting too long, it's perfectly understandable in this case. Try to take care of your real-life stresses first, then, when you feel better, this will go easier as well.
In theory, at least. It's worth a try though.
Also, some new mysterious radioactive orbs. You can say it's the queen's balls, but that would probably go too far
7806779
Isn't that what happens with any heat source anyway?
It's called room temperature.
Don't push yourself. If you stress yourself out over it you won't find joy in writing it anymore. People should enjoy their stories, not stress out over it, we understand, do what you gotta do.
7806046
A special note so we're clear: we are way over thinking this. But so long as we're having fun
Most 'radiation suits' are mostly ment to block alpha and beta radiation. With some thin lead shielding to reduce gammas. Hard gamma and neutron radiation takes a lot more. Rule of thumb was two inches of lead, four inches of steel, 24 inches of water per 90% reduction. This is a 'tenth thickness'. Five tenth thicknesses is considered safe for most nuclear reactors.
Without going into specifics, a nuclear reactor produces steam in the 400-500 F range with the core being much hotter then that.
Now to turn this ball into a steam plant all you would need is an earth mover whose bucket was larger than the radius of the radiation sphere and move the sphere while still on the 'ground' in the bucket. Then dump the whole thing into a sealed tank with a dirt bottom and fill with water.
Any steam produced could then be harvested like any steam plant, even pumping the condensate back into the primary tank to prevent any contamination from getting out.
Sorry, former nuclear power worker here lol. Now back to the magical bug ponies!
that made me think of an old story called "Nerves", involving fictional futuristic radioactive research: some rookie workers needed treatment for radiation poisoning because they didn't think it was really necessary to wear three suits at one time, since the containment wall blocks 99% of the radiation...they just didn't comprehend how MUCH radiation there was inside the containment area...
7803730 I bet you wouldn't say that if she was right in front of you with her horn glowing.
7808375
-dies dramatically-
I hath been outgunned!
Just as I thought. You burned yourself out. Man, you have to take this a bit slower. Not a snail's pace mind you, but with the speed you were going before, it's no wonder you got burnt out. I think you should give it a couple more weeks then try again. If you still feel the same, give it some more time. At some point you'll have to push yourself back into gear, but right now you still need rest. Take it easy. I don't know if you celebrate Christmas, but whatever you celebrate, focus on that right now.
Have a merry Christmas/happy-unspecified-holiday!
7808963 happy heartswarming
7810958 That's right! Happy Hearth's Warming everypony!
Hah, they can't handle or tech.
Now all we need is Chryssie screwing up with the device and sending herself over to our world too.
never was in a chinook, but i did ride in a seahawk once, i thought it was fun as hell, but if the chinook is anything like the seahawk as far as comfort goes, i can see why she didn't like it