Traveler

by totallynotabrony

Chapter 3

Celestia wanted us to go to Canada.

“What?” I said. “What does this have to do with a nuclear event in the Pacific?”

“It wasn’t nuclear,” she said. “Will you take the job or not?”

Her reassurance calmed me only a little. Okay, so it wasn’t a nuke. Then what the hell was it?

“Fine,” I said. “What do I need to know?”

“I understand that you’re in the defense business, Mr. Canvas. Do you know anything about something called the DEW Line?”

It took me a moment to remember. “The Distant Early Warning radar station network? I don’t really know much about it. It was built in the arctic for defense against Soviet bombers. That was way before my time.”

“You’ll have a while to learn about it,” she said. “I’d like you to head for a place call Durban Island. It’s located in Nunavut. I’ll get a copy of your contract sent to you.”

So she wanted to play the “I’ll tell you when you get there,” game. The CIA did that to me all the time. I commented, “We usually do contracts electronically.”

“Call me old fashioned,” said Celestia. “Where are you currently located?”

I looked around. I was alone on the bridge, and saw nothing outside but water. “I’m on a boat off the U.S. east coast.”

“I’ll find you.” The call cut off.

I shrugged. While I was more than a little surprised to get a call from Celestia, it probably didn’t mean as much to me as it might have to an Equestrian pony. There were a lot of people—and me, too—who were a little skeptical about the whole deity-ruler thing she had going on. I’d never thought about it too much.

That is, until a scroll of paper with a fancy seal popped into existence right in front of my face. I jumped backwards in surprise. Nothing happened for several seconds. I looked around and picked it up off the deck.

It was a contract. The language was vague, and all it really promised was that money would go in my bank account if I did what Celestia wanted.

I took it down to the CIC where Andy was on duty. He watched me jam the paper in the scanner and make a copy. Take that, magic.

“What’s that?” he asked.

I explained to him the conversation with Celestia and her unusual method of postal delivery. Andy nodded. “Probably saves on stamps.”

“She could have e-mailed it,” I grumbled. Grabbing a pen with my mouth, I signed the contract. As I rolled it up again, it suddenly disappeared in a flash of light.

Andy made a noise of surprise. I would have been startled if I hadn’t seen it arrive.

“So what are we doing?” he asked.

“Pull up everything you can find on the DEW Line and a place called Durban Island.”

Andy nodded and turned to his computer, tapping on the keys. After a moment he said, “We’re going to the Arctic Ocean?”

I sighed. “Get your Blues Brothers sunglasses. We’re on a mission from a goddess.”

Before heading north, we had to get everything squared away. Shep, our helicopter pilot, and Jeff, our chief mechanic, came aboard.

Below decks, Jeff had his four turbine engines to take care of although they were so new and smooth-running they probably didn’t need supervision. They were spread out and staggered side to side in the ship, so hopefully no single attack could disable more than one of them. The ship’s electrical system could automatically switch power between the generators and whatever needed electricity.

Shep’s helicopter was an old Huey that had been owned personally by him before he was hired to the company. While the first and fourth cargo holds concealed the ship’s weapons, the second one was a helicopter pad. The helo could be kept concealed and out of the weather beneath the domed hold cover. It was mostly for utility airlift work, but we’d gotten our hands on a pair of M240 machine guns that could be mounted to it. Since we had no reason for Shep to fly at the moment, he filled in as a regular crew member.

I had managed to obtain a couple dozen rounds for the ship’s guns. Nevis was working slowly and wasn’t able to provide lots of help. Well, it’s not like we should need many missiles. I mean, we were going to Canada. Compared to some places I had been, it sounded like a vacation.

Andy had dug up information. The DEW Line had been a joint U.S.-Canada effort to provide early warning about stuff in the far north. It had been built in the 1950s. Some of the sites had been replaced in the 1990s. The rest had been left to the elements.

We were going to a station that hadn’t been active since 1963. It was known as FOX-E. Hawker wondered if “foxy” meant the same thing back then. Jones asked if we were carrying the right equipment, since the summer temperature up there was only about sixty degrees. Nika didn’t seem impressed by the threat of cold.

Jeff asked if we had any more information. I shook my head. “Equestria can be as cagey as the CIA or any other three-letter agency.”

“Same old story,” said Shep. “The fungus treatment.” He and Jeff chorused, “Kept in the dark and fed a steady diet of shit!”

I shook my head. They were both former Navy and knew the same jokes. I said, “Regardless, we’ve got to stay sharp. This place, Durban Island, is a long way from anywhere. If something happens, help won’t be easy to get.”

We talked for a little longer and then the group broke up. It had been a nice little crew meeting. I felt that it was best to have them on occasion. As cheesy as it sounded, cohesiveness was important.

We set out for a long trip. Using Earth’s degree coordinate system, the equator was 0 and the North Pole was 90. Norfolk was about a third of the way up the globe at 37 degrees north. FOX-E was at 66. To put it another way, we ended up past the southern tip of Greenland, and entirely north of Iceland.

We arrived at the site to find tall cliffs and evidence of glaciers in the distance. The ship could edge up close to the shore, but it would be easier to just lift everything we needed to the site with the helicopter.

We had no sooner arrived on station than a message from Celestia appeared. Jones was on bridge watch when it came, and I wish I could have seen her reaction because that would have meant that I was there and not in bed with Nika when Jones opened the door.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise. I untangled myself from Nika’s hair and sat up. “I really hope whatever you have to say is important. The water’s kind of cold to have you walking the plank.”

Nika was not naked, not this time. She sat up too, and we glared at Jones.

The CIA agent fumbled for a moment and then held up a scroll. “This just arrived. It’s orders.”

I gestured with a hoof. “Read them.”

“We’re supposed to establish a base of operations and wait for further instructions.”

I grumbled and got out of bed. “All right, I’ll go have a look. Go tell Shep to prepare the helicopter and get things ready.”

After finding a camera, I put the strap around my neck and went outside. Despite the sun it was chilly, and the wind didn’t help. I felt like I should probably have a scarf, but decided not to go back and get one. After stretching my wings I took off.

I remembered Andy telling me that the island was only about fourteen square miles. The radar station was located near the center, at the highest point. There were a few small boxy buildings and one tall tower. It certainly looked like it had been abandoned for more than half a century. I snapped a few pictures and circled lower for a better view. There was no guarantee the place was actually deserted, and I was careful.

There were a few patches of blown snow in places. I touched down on a relatively clear piece of ground. The main building looked like it had been constructed of prefabricated panels. It was rectangular, and about the size of a couple of semi trailers parked side by side. The windows were dark. I tried a side door and found it unlocked. Poking my head in, I noted that the interior was not in great shape, although at least inside would be out of the wind.

Closing the door, I went to check the other building. Halfway across the compound, I stopped suddenly. There was a small depression in a patch of snow. It had been mostly smoothed over by the wind, but I could tell that it was a hoof print. There was no way to tell how long ago it might have been made, but I was definitely not the first pony to have visited.

Back at the ship, I made a report on the condition of the place. I had managed to locate the old helicopter pad that had been used for transport back when the site was active. Shep, Jeff, Nika, and I piled into the helo with plenty of gear. Celestia had neglected to tell us how long we would be staying.

On the island, we got the Huey secured, and then began setting up camp. The old building was full of animal nests and dust, but it would work. We had cots, arctic-rated sleeping bags, a stove and heater that ran on propane, and plenty of food and water. It was almost like camping.

Andy called from the ship as we were almost finished setting up. “We have an air contact on radar coming in. I’m guessing it’s a helicopter.”

It was not a good situation. If our visitors were hostile, we were probably screwed. The four of us had personal weapons, but nothing too serious.

We watched from the window as a grey helicopter appeared. I recognized it as a CH-148 Cyclone, noting the Royal Canadian Air Force markings. It circled the area and passed over the ship before coming in to hover at a reasonably flat place since our helicopter took up the designated landing area.

After the helo touched down, the door slid open and armed men wearing camouflage began climbing out. They seemed more confused than anything, and weren’t rushing to storm the building. After a quick discussion, we decided to go out and politely meet them.

They didn’t point their weapons in our direction. One of the men separated from the group and met us. He raised his voice over the shutting-down helicopter. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Sail Canvas.” I glanced at his nametag and uniform insignia. “And I’m guessing you’re Major Hiller, of the Canadian Army.”

He nodded. “Correct. What, may I ask, is your business in Canada?”

I shrugged. “I wish I knew. Princess Celestia asked me to come and await further instructions.”

“I somehow doubt you have authorization to be here. This is government property.” Hiller glanced at Nika, Jeff, and Shep. “Who are they?”

“They’re part of my crew. We belong to that ship sitting out there.” I nodded in the direction of Traveler, which was plainly visible off the coast.

“I noticed that you’re flying a U.S. flag,” he said.

I nodded. “Yeah, it’s where I’m from.”

Hiller’s eyebrows went up. I sighed. “Yeah, I get mistaken for an Equestrian a lot. Just one of those things.”

“So how does an American pony, under direction of Princess Celestia of Equestria, end up at an abandoned radar station in the middle of nowhere?”

“Like I said, I wish I knew. Now, what are you doing here? Meeting here of all places can’t be random chance, and some of that gear your guys are packing looks like the best-of-the-best. Why were you expecting trouble? Who are you, anyway? JTF2?”

Joint Task Force 2 was an elite special operations group usually tasked with counter-terrorism. On a scale of one to funny, Canadian special forces scored pretty high, although from what I’d heard that reputation was undeserved. They were not really who I wanted to have angry at me, but sometimes I just couldn’t resist. After all, the Major had asked me some things. I might as well ask a few of my own.

Hiller did not answer any of my questions. Instead, he pulled out a sat phone and spent a few minutes talking with someone while his guys kept a careful eye on us. I was surprised when he came back and presented me with a document he’d taken from his pocket. I asked, “What’s this?”

“Mr. Canvas, I just got off the phone with someone very important in Ottawa. As I understand it, you’re cleared for this.”

I looked at the paper he had given me.

(TS//FVEY)

DNI

(TS) Decommissioned DEW radar station Durban Island: Possible cross-dimensional activity anticipated. Embedded sources unable to determine further details.

TS stood for Top Secret. FVEY was “Five eyes,” a name for Canada, the UK, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Those were the only countries authorized to see the message. And DNI, that was the source of the communication. It was the Director of National Intelligence, an advisor to the President.

What I was able to gather from the brief paragraph was that someone was worried about crossing to the other dimension here of all places. Also, it was so important that the top leadership in the United States was involved. Furthermore, Equestria had not been included in the sharing of this intel.

It all added up to more questions than I had started with.

Comments

[Enceledus]

MOAR!

[Piquo Pie]

Ohhh, I like where this is going.

[Lesolan - Rest In Peace]

Sail's rating system just got STOLEN. :D

[sockeye101]

Oh man... oh man....

This just became my favorite story on Fimfiction... Nunavut? Cyclones? JTF2?

denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1126_my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-im-with-twilight-on-this-one.gif