Boralis Station Part 2
Walking over the shattered remnants of the double doors, Twilight found herself in a short, unlit hallway. Powering her horn, Twilight conjured a flowing orb of purple light which hovered a few feet above her head and illuminated their surroundings. With that done, she was able to see that the space was mostly occupied by ill-used mine carts which were clustered against the right wall.
“Is that an elevator?” Spike asked, peeking over Twilight's shoulder.
“Looks like it,” Twilight agreed, maneuvering the light a little higher.
Revealing that there was indeed a large service elevator waiting for them at the other end of the building. Big enough to fit an armored transport and have room for a squad of marines, it was of considerable size. It was also the only way down and unlike seemingly everything else, was not overly damaged. Sure it had a few scratch marks but nothing integral was rendered inoperable, at least that Twilight could see.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Spike murmured.
“M-me t-t-too,” Fluttershy added.
I think we should send the elevator on a test run, Zecora offered.
Twilight nodded. “Agreed.”
Extending her magic, Twilight clicked the button for the bottom floor and engaged it before waiting patiently. She half expected nothing to happen, given how damaged everything had been and the complete lack of lights. Only to be surprised when the elevator lurched into motion and began to descend down into the earth.
Holding a hoof back to her friends, Twilight glanced down into the opening where the elevator was descending. A sudden whine followed by a lurch alerted Twilight to something amiss, and she quickly backpedalled. Just in time to avoid the motor and most of the rigging to fall down the elevator shaft with a rattling clatter.
A noise which was quickly eclipsed in scale by the calamitous plummet of the actual elevator. Which screeched loudly the entire way down before seemingly exploding at the very bottom of the shaft. Once the ensuing wave of dust cleared, Twilight looked down, levitating her magic orb deeper into the earth.
She noticed the seven distinct layers, the bottom of which had the shattered remnants of the elevator sitting in it. Recalling her orb, Twilight stood at the top of the elevator shaft, a hoof rubbing her chin.
“What now?” whispered Scootaloo.
“Simple, we use magic,” Twilight replied, lighting her horn.
“Or this,” Rainbow Dash declared.
Before anyone had a chance to stop her, the reaper leapt down the hole and plummeted a dozen meters. Upon nearing the first layer, Rainbow Dash gunned her engines, arrested her fall and landed safely on the ground.
“That was very rude,” Fluttershy huffed indignantly. “I was worried.”
“Let's go give her a piece of your mind then,” Twilight offered, extending a hoof.
Fluttershy instinctively knew what was going to happen, and graciously accepted the appendage. Wrapping all four of her forelimbs around her queen’s armored hoof, Fluttershy waited patiently while the rest of the group repeated this motion. Zecora held onto Applejack, and Spike picked Scootaloo up, much to the filly’s annoyance.
“Can we hurry this up? I don't like being held,” Scootaloo muttered.
Spike rolled his eyes. “I know you do. We have a hive mind. You can't hide this information from us.”
“Still,” Scootaloo grumbled.
“It's just to make fewer anchor points which will help me levitate us all down. It won't be long,” Twilight explained.
“I think we’re ready here, boss lady,” Applejack exclaimed.
“Hold on tight,” Twilight exclaimed before leaping over the edge with Fluttershy in tow.
The infested pegasus yelped in surprise, her body wrapping around Twilight as best as it was able. Twilight barely even noticed the added weight, and soon landed with a graceful thump on the first layer. She then turned and guided in the next few groups, Fluttershy finally calming down when the last had arrived.
“W-warn me n-n-next time,” Fluttershy murmured.
“Of course,” Twilight replied, turning to Rainbow Dash. “Now then, did you find anything?”
“Doesn't go very deep,” Rainbow Dash replied, clicking off the forward facing lamps attached to her suit. “Nothing but clumps of dirt and some discarded mining equipment.”
“Then we shall continue on,” Twilight declared.
“Are you sure you have enough energy to bring us all the way down then all the way back up?” Spike asked, glancing at his mother.
Twilight merely chuckled. “I could probably do so a good dozen times before getting winded, now come on.”
Right behind you, my queen, Zecora stated.
Just as the final pair landed on the second layer, Rainbow Dash arrived, and this time her tone carried a hint of confusion.
“I think you should see this,” she stated.
“Is it s-something d-d-dangerous?” Fluttershy whispered.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, only to pause. “I mean, probably not? Looks like a big cage.”
“Lead the way,” Twilight commanded, walking out to the front of the pack.
Rainbow Dash trotted up ahead, guiding them down a few winding paths before ending at rubble-strewn dead end. Or at least it was at one time intended to appear as such, as the fake wall had been knocked down to reveal a large room filled with cages. Big enough to house a hydralisk, there were nearly two dozen of the things, each one of which was empty.
“The locks are all busted,” Spike muttered.
Or melted, Zecora added, gesturing to one such half-liquified door.
“What do you think they were keeping down here?” Applejack inquired.
“If I had to guess, I would say either some very exotic animals, or zerg,” Twilight muttered.
Rainbow Dash snorted. “I’d put good money on the second one. You don't go through all this just to smuggle a few white tigers into Equestria.”
“True,” Twilight admitted. “We had better keep moving, but stay wary. My scanning spells don't work well in this place, nor can I sense very far.”
“I don't think we’re going to find anything alive down here,” Rainbow Dash remarked. “This whole place echoes like crazy, and I haven't heard anything from further in.”
“S-still. We should b-b-be wary,” Fluttershy warned.
“You stay in the lead, Rainbow, I’ll get everyone down to the next level,” Twilight commanded.
“You got it, boss lady,” Rainbow Dash replied, giving a quick salute before jetting away.
Twilight finished placing the last member of her rather small brood down next to the broken elevator and turned to Rainbow Dash.
“More cages?” Twilight inquired.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Nope, unlike the dozen or so levels or layers above us, now we got something big. Real big.”
“Let me guess, secret laboratory?” Spike inquired.
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Didn't go too deep, but maybe.”
“Right, you all know the routine. Rainbow Dash and I will be upfront, Fluttershy and Scootaloo at the back. Zecora, help where you can,” Twilight commanded.
By your will, my queen. Zecora replied.
“We’re ready,” Applejack declared, her shoulder flaps flipping open.
“Rainbow Dash, you’ve got point,” Twilight stated.
“I don't think we’ll find anything living, but I’ve been wrong before,” muttered the pegasus.
“Just stay frosty. I don't want to run into any surprises,” Twilight replied.
With that, the troop began to move once more, with Rainbow Dash slowly walking ahead of the pack. Twilight followed a few feet behind her, careful to give the other pony some room to retreat if necessary. Thankfully that wasn't required, and they made their way deep into the winding maze of tunnels before stopping near a strange, artificial wall.
Though it was meant to be flush with the rest of the tunnel, a large hydraulic piston had pushed it open. Giving enough room for even the largest of zerg to walk out into the winding caverns beyond.
“There might be more traps inside, so I want you to fall back a bit, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight exclaimed, stepping forward. “I’ll take point along with Spike as his dark vision is better than mine.”
“Right,” Rainbow Dash muttered, falling back to the end of the pack.
Spike hastily took his place at Twilight's side. “What do you think we’ll find?”
“Probably a whole bunch of broken tech, but if we’re lucky maybe there’ll be some answers left,” Twilight replied.
“And traps?” Spike inquired.
“Unlikely,” Twilight answered. “I've been thinking about the elevator, and I have a feeling that it was simply pushed past the point of operational safety. After that a little extra shove is all it needed to fall apart completely.”
“Still, let's move slowly. I don't like this place,” Spike muttered.
“You and me both,” Twilight agreed.
Together the pair creeped through the dimly lit passage, senses on high alert the entire time.Though they stopped frequently and inspected every little thing that was even remotely out of place, they couldn't find any traps. Just a long hallway that rapidly changed from semi-natural stone to a perfectly square metal tunnel.
Which would have stopped at a decontamination room of some kind, though both of the vault doors were knocked down, leaving only an empty walkway that was overlooked by an observation room visible through a shattered window. Though this space was splattered with blood, there were no bodies, and the various terminals were all smashed in. Every lever, button, and bit of machinery was broken into a million pieces, including the exit at the back which was twisted in place.
“Looks like they broke out of here as well,” Spike reasoned, kicking one of the fallen circular vault doors.
“How many zerg do you think they could have kept in the cages above us?” Twilight asked suddenly, turning to Fluttershy.
Who blinked. “Oh um… a c-couple h-h-hundred maybe.”
“Not enough to overrun Ironhall, right?” Twilight pressed.
Fluttershy nodded. “They w-would n-n-need far more.”
“You don't think they all came from here, do you?” Spike inquired.
“I don't know what to believe,” Twilight replied.
“Well, I believe our answers are inside,” Rainbow Dash declared.
“Most likely,” Twilight agreed.
They began to move once more, this time moving a little quicker, paying less attention to any lingering traps. A move which did not backfire, as there were no more surprises left for them, save for the sprawling laboratory. Which they found after traveling down a second hallway and stopping at an intersection before choosing to go right.
Stepping over the half crumpled metal door, Twilight noted that this place had seen a significant amount of fighting. Not only were there blast marks and long scratches in the wall made by sharp claws, but there were also chunks of the room missing. Someone had been desperate enough to use explosives in close quarters, but that had evidently not panned out for them in the end.
For despite their attempts, the room beyond had been breached and all could see the vast laboratory beyond. Though now it was torn to shreds, it would have likely been rather impressive given its large size. With ceilings tall enough for a hydralisk to stand comfortably, they contained numerous specimen tubes of various sizes.
Most were big enough to house a relatively well-proportioned pony or most smaller varieties of zerg. There were a few which were much larger, those werent very numerous however and were set further in the back. This space seemed primarily interested in the storage of specimens, as there were few real scientific instruments save computers.
“‘Course everything is smashed,” Applejack remarked. “Would it have killed them to have left at least one a them things behind so we’d know what they were up to round here?”
“We should get a technician in here regardless. See if there is something salvageable,” Twilight declared.
“I’ll radio for one as soon as we’re out,” Rainbow Dash offered.
“No,” Twilight quickly exclaimed. “I need to know if there's something salvageable here before I make a full report.”
“Wait, I thought those armored ponies were our friends?” Scootaloo openly wondered.
“They are,” Twilight answered. “But by the looks of it, these scientists were investigating something to do with zerg and possibly the infested. If they found out something damning like how to turn every infested to mush with the use of a radio signal, I wanna know before we hand that info over.”
“You're the boss,” Rainbow Dash replied with a shrug.
Very astute, my queen. We should be careful not to hand them a weapon they could turn against us, Zecora reasoned.
“But couldn't s-such a w-w-weapon be used against the z-zerg?” Fluttershy whispered.
Twilight snorted. “This discussion is irrelevant. Until we have the information, we can't make a decision one way or the other. Once we know exactly what, or even if any information is stored here, can we make an informed decision.”
“Let's just keep searching. I don't want to leave a single stone unturned before we move in,” Spike declared.
A statement which was met with a few nods, as well as the odd grunt of agreement. Moving deeper into the facility, they found another doorway, this one leading to a much larger area which was itself home to many smaller labs. These seemed designed for one or two purposes, as their equipment and orientation varied wildly from one to the next.
“Everything’s busted,” Applejack muttered.
Twilight hummed to herself, prodding an unresponsive computer tower. “Everything in here has been torn to shreds. I doubt there are any drives left undamaged from the fighting.”
“Back to the other hallway?” Spike offered.
“Seems like the only direction we can go in,” Twilight replied.
“Wait!” Fluttershy cried, holding up her small forearms. “There's something you should see.”
Twilight and the rest of her group walked over to the infested pegasus, their gazes inevitably drawn to the nearby tube. Unlike most, it was large enough to fit a fully grown alicorn inside of it, but more importantly it was empty. Furthermore, there seemed to be a hole in the bottom, one that went down so far that Twilight couldn't see the bottom.
“Interesting find,” Twilight began. “I didn't notice that.”
“I think most of them have this,” Fluttershy murmured. “At l-least that's my th-th-theory.”
“So they transported the next test subjects up from somewhere down below then,” Spike offered, peering down the tube curiously.
“I think it goes up to,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
The others all looked up to find that the tube did indeed extend into the ceiling before turning after a dozen feet.
“They must have been stored somewhere beneath us, then once they were done being experimented on they were deposited in one of the containment areas above,” Twilight reasoned.
“No wonder they are havin’ so much trouble mining any deeper. They must have tunnels runnin’ all over the place,” Applejack exclaimed.
“That would explain why this layer is so unstable,” Spike muttered.
“Ya want me to see what's down there?” Scootaloo offered, clinging to the lip of the shattered glass tube.
“N-no,” Fluttershy quickly exclaimed, scooping up the zergling.
“That won't be necessary,” Twilight added. “We still have other avenues to try, and furthermore I would use a scrying spell before I’d send you in.”
Twilight tousled the filly’s mane which earned a grumpy frown from the small infested.
We should press on, Zecora stated.
The group agreed and swiftly began to move out, marching down the other hallway at a quick, curious pace. Once there, they found a narrow room which had an empty elevator shaft visible to one side and a set of stairs on the other. Ahead of them was another smashed open door which led to what looked like a recreational area of some kind.
“Let's check out the rest of the floor first. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, you two remain here for the moment,” Twilight commanded.
“Yes, my queen,” Applejack replied with a nod.
“Sure thing, boss,” Rainbow Dash answered.
Twilight gave them both a nod before proceeding towards the broken door and into the room beyond. There she found that her previous inkling had been correct as this was a mess hall slash entertainment room. Two hallways extended from this space on either side, linking to what looked like two sets of barracks, likely to house each sex.
“Let's split up and give them a look. I don't sense any life forms but stay vigilant for traps,” Twilight stated.
And like that they went in each direction, searching the many rooms, all to find a variety of destroyed items. Once they met back up, they knew that they had found nothing of value given that their fellows shared their expressions.
“Busted?” Spike asked.
“Everything of note was destroyed,” Twilight answered.
We go deeper then, Zecora stated.
“It seems as though we must,” Twilight replied.
They reconveined with Rainbow Dash and Applejack a few seconds later, with Applejack relaxing visibly.
“Oh good. You’re back, find anything?” asked the infested earth pony.
“No. We’re heading deeper. Same formation,” Twilight exclaimed.
No words needed to be spoken, and the group immediately fell into a similar arrangement as before. This time they trotted down the long, wide steps before reaching a landing and continuing even further still. There at the bottom lay another broken door, and another hallway with an empty elevator directly across from them.
The layout of this floor seemed to mirror the one above to some extent, with the other set of barracks being to the right. These seemed more combat oriented, as they were more spartan and featured an armory devoid of weapons. There was also a shooting range which like everything else, was completely destroyed and had seen a good amount of fighting.
“This place was the site of a rather intense amount of combat,” Rainbow Dash remarked.
Twilight nodded slowly, noting that the number of bullet holes had dramatically increased from the top floor.
“It seems like the security managed to suit up in time to try and stop them, but if that's true, then how did topside get caught unaware?” Twilight inquired.
Perhaps one of the zerg managed to cut the communication long enough to strike, Zecora reasoned.
“That seems to be about the only logical explanation,” Twilight murmured. “Which also explains how they overran the defenders but were unable to stop some of them from escaping. The final elevator was a bottleneck they couldn't easily overcome.”
“The other side is half lab, half supply area. There are a bunch of redundant systems in there as well as a water treatment facility and a small hydroponics farm,” Rainbow Dash declared, stomping back into the room. “Everything’s busted as usual.”
“Someone really took out their aggression,” Fluttershy whispered.
“Whoever defeated the guards had obviously been contained here, which would explain all the misplaced rage,” Twilight remarked, gesturing to the torn up room absently.
“Ready to continue?” Spike asked. “There is still another set of stairs that go deeper.”
We should peer down the elevator shaft first, Zecora suggested.
“Good thinking. Wait here,” Twilight commanded, stepping over to the hole and peering deep into the abyss.
Though she could see much further than the average pony, even Twilight's enhanced vision couldn't find the bottom. She also couldn't make out any other floors either, so she conjured another ball of light and urged it down. And down, and down until finally after a full minute, it reached its destination.
“Only one floor left, and it's deep,” Twilight muttered, giving her brood the memory of what she had seen. “Looks like we’re in for a walk.”
“Meet you down there,” Rainbow Dash remarked.
Twilight caught the pegasus by the collar before she could jump down the shaft.
“Thank you, my queen,” Fluttershy whispered before turning and glaring at Rainbow Dash. “And you should know by now the importance of looking before you leap.”
Rainbow Dash was ready to argue the point, or at least it seemed that way. Right up until she sighed and shrugged her shoulders.
“Fine,” muttered the wingless pegasus. “I just don't like stairs.”
“Well s-some c-c-cardio is good,” Fluttershy whispered.
Twilight released her hold and turned to the slow way down before trotting in that direction. A few minutes later, the group finally made it to the very bottom and put the many metal stairs behind them. There they found another door which had been unceremoniously removed from its hinges through a considerable amount of force.
Twilight held up a hoof and used a quick scanning spell followed by a psychic ping directed at the room beyond.
“Nothing,” Twilight declared. “We’re alone here, but the room beyond is… very large.”
“How big exactly?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“A hoofball field? More? It's like one big warehouse for test subjects,” Twilight replied.
“Lead the way,” Spike offered, extending a hand.
Twilight nodded and eagerly trotted past through the threshold to where she beheld a rather strange sight. Dozens, hundreds, no, thousands of empty pods sat atop one another, each of which fed up to a small number of holes in the ceiling. There, nearly five stories above Tiwlight’s head, the tubes merged into groups, and continued on, likely going up to the floor above.
“Woah nelly,” Applejack murmured, her shoulders sweeping over the many, many smashed out cases. “Looks like one helluva jailbreak occurred down here.”
“No wonder they don't have any supplies for the zerg they captured. They kept them frozen until they needed them,” Twilight remarked.
Efficient, Zecora added.
“Should we even bother checking the place out? I doubt we’ll find anything useful,” Spike exclaimed.
“No,” Twilight replied. “Remember, no stone unturned. A mystery is solved by gathering the smallest of details.”
“Right, right,” Spike muttered, waving a hand in the air.
“Split up and spread out,” Twilight declared. “Choose a row and inspect any you can see while Rainbow Dash checks out what she can about the higher ones.”
A chorus of agreement soon met Twilight's ear, and she nodded slowly as her group dispersed throughout the room. The sound of their limbs impacting the hard metal grating drew Twilight's attention downwards. To where she saw a small sub level beneath the floor, likely made to house the minimal life support systems of the pods.
She ripped a small section of floor out and began to follow up on that thought. Sure enough, though she knew little of engineering or the like, Twilight could tell that every system was tied into the pods. Tubes extended to large vats of greenish liquid, which, once scanned, told Twilight that they were housing a calorie dense slurry of organic material. The exterior of which suffered numerous scratches, as if someone had tried to get inside but had given up.
“Interesting. This will make initial expansion relatively easy. Though that would mean I’d have to start all the way down here,” Twilight thought aloud.
“Boss, I think we found something!” the familiar voice of Applejack shouted from up above.
Twilight ignored her more far off concerns and focused on the odd tremor in the other infested’s voice. It contained a bit of fear, a bit of worry, and a small amount of hope. Twilight was eager to find out why, and all but sprinted across the room to where her group had gathered.
There, at the very end sat a much, much larger pod, which, like the others, had been smashed open from the inside. Though unique due to its increased size, there didn't seem to be anything notable about it.
“What is it?” Twilight asked, walking to the forefront of the small gathering.
Spike pointed to a small section of jagged glass. “Look. There’s writing on the inside,” he whispered.
Twilight leaned inside and inspected the interior of the pod, angling her light above her head the entire time.
“Are those the lyrics to Hush Now?” Twilight whispered in shock.
“There was more writing, but that's the only one that's even a little intact,” Spike replied.
“What does it mean?” asked Scootaloo curiously.
This must have housed an infested, Zecora reasoned.
“Perhaps even someone we might know,” Spike added.
Twilight snorted. “I know you’re thinking of Cadance, but that's impossible. I know she died in that attack, I had the necklace on me.”
“But they flew off with her, this has to be it,” Spike urged.
Twilight shook her head. “I appreciate you holding out hope, but the life detection spell was perfect. It would have worked even if Cadance was a hundred miles away.”
“Do you still have it?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“No,” Twilight answered. “I disposed of it after the funeral. It hadn't worked since her death.”
“So she was dead for at least a few days,” Spike murmured.
“And she's still dead,” Twilight growled. “I can appreciate that this all seems very convenient, but these lyrics are incredibly common and the fact remains that she died. Cadance wasn't just gone, but she would have had to have been gone for half a week at that point. There is no coming back from that, Spike. Not even necromancy could stall that.”
“But these zerg were experimented on, as were the ones we fought all those years ago,” Spike retorted.
Twilight leaned down in front of the dragon and pulled him into a hug. “No amount of magic can bring you back from that point, and there is no technology capable of such either.”
Spike sniffed. “I just always hoped, you know? It's hard not to when you don't get to bury a body.”
“I know,” Twilight answered, tightening the embrace. “I know.”
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It is a happy day when this story gets an update. Keep up the good work and I can't wait for more.
She may have died but it's possible damaged echoes were reconstructed. Wait and see.
Well at least they have a gigantic complex to seed operations, much larger than we had expected. Time to initialize one covert operation in the grave of a prior one...
So there is not just 2 sets of Zerg fictions But 3 And it sounds like Cadance has gone Kerrigan, I hope she is still on Twilight's Side for if Twilight can get Cadance back that's going to be great for moral
Famous last words Spike, famous last words
I see...using the fact that a cerebrate managed to resurrect Alexei Stukov through infestation in the Starcraft universe, you were able to apply the concept of bringing the dead back to life in the story.
11138700
This is not thier grave... but they are welcome in it.
11138886
The operation died here, not the subjects of the operation. But we can see how one might make the mistake.
I have come to realize what this reminds me off, The aftermath of the first mission in heart of the swarm (Lab Rat) if Valerain had no reason to keep Kerrigan happy, And in this world with it being Cadance and her not having a Jim Raynor to keep him from going to far i think Valerian made this whole mess him self, The rebels might have a really good reason for what they are doing they might be why she is free
11138941
Halo 2 ref
Did zecora eat an ice mage or maybe a frozen princess that she's resistant to cold?
11140823
She must believe this because of her sister.
11139403
Nope. She just doesn’t care if it makes her uncomfortable.
And from the shadows of my grave I rise again, having caught up to this story I feel a solemn sense of emptiness.
Great update.
-
sabotage? Base decommissioned. Witnesses eliminated. Evidence destroyed. It's the only way that I can think of that ALL evidence was destroyed.
When I heard the lyrics to Hush Now all I could think of was:
Hush now, hide, all you little ones
Rush now, into the middle of nowhere
Singing and laughter will die