Stolen Minds

by TcogArchitect

Mission Log 1: New Evidence

Published February 11th, 2013

"This is Shadow Soldier Kuro. Stealth Drop successful. Commencing mission."

"Understood. Keep your guard up, we're getting a lot of non-Emrini signals down there. You go loud down there, we won't get another chance."

"That's why I'm here and not a bunch of marines."

"Copy that. Primary objective is destruction of the forward command post and acquisition of enemy battle plans. Good luck. Initiating radio silence. Over and out."

I pulled my Stealth Popper off my back and pulled back the bolt, chambering the first round as my brain's conditioning ran through the guns specifications automatically. 30-round magazine. Sub-sonic rounds. Built-in suppressor. Variable zoom scope from twice normal up to five times normal with helmet visor integration, allowing me to aim accurately no matter where the gun is in reference to my head. Bull pup construction. Side slots for extra magazines on either side of the stock. Semi-automatic or three-round-burst fire capability. Big enough for one-shot kills. Small enough not to dislocate your shoulder during rapid trigger pulls. Versatile enough to hold its own in any situation. The perfect weapon for a stealth operative like me.

After a quick check to make sure everything on my Popper was still in working order, I checked my sidearm, a not-quite standard version of the Guardian. What's a Guardian? A magazine fed pistol that fires 14-gauge shotgun shells. Why is mine "not-quite" standard? Because I use incendiary shells. An eight-round magazine full of cylinders of fiery death. Some people say I'm paranoid. I prefer the term "well-prepared".

I grabbed the det-sticks, throwing knives, and combat machete out of my pod, put them in their spaces on my armor, and did a systems check of my suit to make sure my HUD and stealth camo weren't damaged in the crash. Satisfied that my power catcher was still functioning as well, I moved forward towards the small blip that signified the location of the command post. It was almost a full klick away, but if I was able to get through the forest here without issue, I would be able to get there in about an hour. Now it was just a matter of navigating the brush. I returned my gun to its resting place on my back and drew my machete, cutting through the foliage to make my trip a little easier.

After about twenty minutes of hacking, I could hear the sounds of heavy machinery. I stashed my machete and pulled out my gun again, moving forward and activating my camouflage. I saw my limbs melt away into nothing more than distortions of light, and poked my head past a branch to look down a small cliff at where the machinery sounds were coming from. What I found was a large mining operation filled with heavy digging vehicles, Emrini workers, and about five Earth Crackers.

But what caught my eye was a raised platform in the center of the area acting as a stage for a single Emrini. He had spines at the end of his scaly tail, three spikes curving backward protruded from his spine, and his saurian body was visibly larger than the others in the area. All the physical signs of an alpha. But none of the decorative ones. Alphas were military commanders and spec ops soldiers, not dig site managers. I used the camera in my helmet to get several pictures of him from every angle he gave me, zooming in enough to see two large claw marks across his left eye. The mark of an alpha who lost a duel with another alpha. I just wish I knew why they did that sort of thing. There were lots of guesses, but no definitive proof to support any of them. That explained why he was here, though. Not good enough to fight, but not useless enough to discharge.

I kept the pictures, but continued moving. I had bigger fish to fry than a simple digging operation. I moved around the enormous hole that the machines had created, turning off my camo and moving back into the forest to conceal myself instead of wasting power. I managed to get away from the site without attracting any attention, and soon found myself following a river through the small ravine it had cut in the ground. The forest steadily grew thicker, until I was pretty sure it had passed into the classification of 'jungle'. The river then decided it was a good time to turn away from my destination, and I had to climb up the wall of dirt, roots and vines in front of me to continue moving forward. Before I had gone ten feet, though, I heard a loud, metallic clang. I moved toward the sound and activated my stealth unit again as I got closer. I pushed aside a branch, and through the leaves in front of me, I could see a large, egg-shaped object in the middle of a clearing with a number of Emrini and an Energy Keeper.

I froze when I saw it, having heard the stories of what they could do, but never having been unlucky enough to have to fight one. The ability to control almost anything, like some sort of telekinesis, with no regard for the laws of physics. I stood still for a minute, and did a count of the Emrini. Seven total, and all with melee weapons only. Their predator instincts and far more deadly adaptations gave them a preference of melee weapons over ranged weapons, unlike humans. They were already outfitted with claws on their hands and feet, not to mention their thick, powerful tails and mouths full of dagger-like teeth, but natural weapons could only do so much against manufactured armor. Six of them were minors, with a single major as a leader figure. Not too much of a problem, but only if I could kill them all before they called for help. They didn't need to run for backup when their large lungs and low-pitched vocal chords allowed their calls to be heard for miles in any environment. I decided that getting rid of the Energy Keeper first would be the smartest move, since its back was still facing me, and I brought my gun up, zooming in to the back of its head to see if there were any obvious weak points.

Instead, I found something far more interesting: a small bulb of glowing electronics in the back of its helmet. I studied it for a moment, trying to remember where I had seen it before, until I suddenly flashed back to the group of humans about ten years ago who had 'defected' and started riots on the planet Archimedes. However, when some of the 'defectors' started to have mental breakdowns in public areas and pulled the bulbs out of their own heads, it was obvious these people were not in control of themselves. Further attempts by the Emrini to mentally enslave humans were even less successful, and were eventually given up on. Apparently, though, these creatures didn't have the same mental power we do, because nobody had ever seen one of them go against their masters.

With the knowledge that the Energy Keeper might not want to be fighting for its controllers, I moved around to one side so I could get a clear shot at the bulb without hurting the creature itself. Unable to do so, I climbed a tree and moved closer along a branch, allowing me to see everything in the clearing without being detected. I chose the order of attack that I would use to kill the Emrini present, then took aim at the bulb on the back of the Energy Keeper's helmet. I squeezed the trigger, and a small pop came from my weapon as the bulb shattered, attracting the attention of the Emrini. I quickly took aim at the one farthest away, which was not being looking at and another pop sounded as I fired a bullet directly into his forehead, killing him instantly. I rapidly took aim and fired at each other Emrini, from back to front, killing all of them before they knew what was happening and could call for help. This was made easier due to their interest in the staggering Energy Keeper. The major was still trying to get the Keeper to respond when his head caved in and some of his blood exploded out from the bottom of his jaw. This got her (at least, I was pretty sure it was a her, based on body parts) attention, and she fell backwards with a small squeak.

I jumped from my perch, allowing the impact gel in my boots to absorb the shock of the fifteen-foot drop. It was obvious she knew where I was, considering how loud the thud from my landing was, and I dropped my stealth as I walked over to her so she wouldn't feel like she was talking to thin air. She scooted back a bit before she hit a tree, and I could tell she had been under the mind control's influence for a while from the clumsy movements she was making. There's a difference between fear and lack of muscle control. I crouched down so I could be on eye level and slightly less intimidating. This was, after all, why I never painted a skull on the front of my helmet.

"Are you feeling better now?" Her head moved backward a bit in surprise, and I could imagine her eyes widening under her faceplate.

"Well?" She nodded this time, and I continued. "Can you speak?" She tried to answer verbally, but all that came out was a garbled mess of sounds. She shook her head like she was trying to clear it, and I could sense the rising panic in her as she unsuccessfully continued trying to speak. "Okay, okay. Calm down. Your brain hasn't fully recovered from the mind control yet, so you don't have total control over your fine motor functions. They'll come back, don't worry. For now, let me get that plug out of your head." I leaned her forward slightly to reach the back of her head, and felt around until I had the remains of the bulb in my fingers. "This is going to hurt, but it will let the wounds start healing sooner. Whatever you do, don't scream. We can't afford being detected yet, okay?" She nodded her understanding, and I counted to three before yanking the plug out. It was different than the ones that had been used on humans. Like it was designed to be pulled out on a regular basis. I checked the holes in her head to find that they weren't bleeding. They had been drilled or similarly opened before the plug had been inserted, most likely to allow the plug to be removed easily so it could be adjusted. This explained more fully why they had never been able to break the control. It was constantly being readjusted so their minds wouldn't become accustomed to it. I crushed the remains of the device to ensure its uselessness, and turned back to the Energy Keeper. She was flexing her fingers and legs to try and get feeling back into them, and I helped her up to see if she could walk. She stretched some more, before turning back to me and wrapping me in a hug.

"Uh... You're welcome?" She gave a short laugh at my uncertainty of being hugged, and removed herself from my personal space. "Anyway, not to sound rude, but you're not my actual objective here. There's a command post about three hundred meters that way, and I need to get rid of it. You can come along, if you can stay out of sight and quiet, or you can stay here, and I'll leave a track beacon with you to mark this as the LZ for pickup. Your choice." She put a hand to her chin for a moment before pointing at me. "So you're coming?" A nod. "Then you'll have to do exactly what I tell you. No questions, no hesitation. Understand?" Another nod. "Good. Now come on, we've got a command post to blow up."

After another twenty-five minutes of moving through the jungle, we came to the top of a large cliff overlooking the command post. We laid down to minimize our chances of being detected, and I flipped down the binocular attachment on my helmet. I zoomed in to get a good look at the box-and-bubble shaped structure, and found that there were Emrini everywhere, including five alphas with firearms patrolling the perimeter and two snipers on the roof. I studied the movements of the guards for a minute, once again grateful for being born with photographic memory. I had been expecting this to be difficult, but the fact that there were snipers here meant that this post was more important than we originally thought. Which also meant that its destruction was even more critical. I zoomed out, and started looking for a way down that didn't involve jumping off or being detected. I found it off to our right, where the cliff was sloped enough that trees and other foliage could grow on it. We moved to the mostly-concealed incline, and worked our way down. When we got to the bottom, we went further to our right, staying low behind some bushes as we went. There was another cliff here, but much larger than the last one, dropping straight down to the ocean below. Perfect for a drop-catch pickup. I pulled a track beacon off my leg plate, and handed it to the Energy Keeper.

"Here's the plan: I'm going to go in and plant the explosives. You stay here, and when I go in, count to ten, then press this button. When I come back out, we're going to jump off this cliff so that the Cormorant can catch us and be out of here without stopping. Understand?" She nodded, and I turned back to face the command post. I drew my Popper, and waited for the guards to move where none of them would see me except the sniper. I then sprinted toward the building, putting a bullet in the sniper's brain as I ran, and caught his body and gun as I passed under them so that they wouldn't make any noise. Setting them on the ground inside where they wouldn't be seen, I switched my Popper to its three-round-burst setting and made my way to the main computer room. There was a single Emrini there working at the console, and I used my knife to kill him without wasting ammo. I then pulled out a data eater from my utility belt and plugged it into the console, allowing it to copy the data from the system while I planted the explosives downstairs. I moved to the generator room, and killed the two engineers working there before they could raise an alarm. I extracted the det-sticks from their case on my leg, and set the timers. I put one under the main control console, one next to the fuel tanks, and the last two under the generator itself. When I was done, I went back to the command room and activated the second function of the data eater: a virus upload into the system. When it finished, I unplugged it, and put it back in its place on my belt.

I was about to leave when something caught my eye outside the window. I wasn't sure what was wrong at first, but after staring out the window for a moment, I realized that no guards were moving outside. They were gone. As I turned to the door to make my way out, I felt a strange tingling all over my body. After my initial cautionary reflex at this feeling, I looked up as the door opened to reveal a very pissed-off Emrini, who started yelling just before everything went white, then black, then white again, and suddenly I was laying on my back, looking at the sky. I turned to see the Energy Keeper sitting there, panting slightly. I didn't have time to question whether my transportation was her doing, though, because I could already hear the cries of the Emrini inside. Looking up again through the cloudless sky, I could just make out a small, black dot. The Cormorant that would pick us up. I turned my comm channel back on so I could inform the pilot of the extra personnel.

"Cormorant pilot, this is Shadow Soldier Kuro. I have a friendly Energy Keeper in tow, and we need a drop-catch. Aim for the ocean next to the cliff." When I finished, I heard an excited voice that sounded like that of a road train driver answer me.

"Shadow Soldier, this's Cormorant five-two-five Big Wing. I copy your last, but did you say a friendly Energy Keeper?"

"Confirm. Friendly Energy Keeper for drop-catch extraction. Count it off, Big Wing."

"Copy that. Run on five. One... Two... Three... Four... Five!"

We ran at the cliff and propelled ourselves away to give the Cormorant room to move. I heard the engines screaming at us as we fell, and soon I saw the bottom of the flying wing pass over us. The rear cargo bay door opened, and braking flaps along the length of the aircraft opened to match our speed. I helped the Energy Keeper maneuver into the bay, and then lay down against the floor as the pilot pulled up sharply and our bodies were pressed into the floor. The ship leveled out, and we stood up. I checked my system clock as we continued and got her attention before counting down from three on my fingers and then making a motion like I was pulling on a train whistle. As soon as I did, the command post burst apart in a flaming explosion that we felt the shockwave from a few seconds later as it rocked the Cormorant.

"Damn, son. Ya think ya used enough explosives, there? Shit."

"Better too much than not enough, right?"

He laughed at that, before cursing under his breath.

"We got us a bogey at our nine o'clock, buddy. Looks like a Cloud Buster signal, but its goin' way too fast."

"How fast we talkin', here? Mach two? Three?"

"Mach seven," he deadpanned, with a slight touch of fear in his voice. My eyes went wide.

"MACH SEVEN!?! That's not possible!"

"But there it is. I hope you got a plan, cause my brain just dumped everything it had into my stomach, and then my stomach dumped everything it had into my pants."

I felt a tug on my arm, and turned my head to see the Energy Keeper gesturing in the direction of the enemy Cloud Buster and pointing to herself. It took me a few seconds to comprehend her meaning.

"You know this person? How can you be sure?" She put up a forefinger forcefully, and I had to think about this new gesture for another second before getting it. "There's only one person you've heard of that can move that fast?" She nodded confidently. I thought for a moment, and quickly had a plan. A sketchy, unlikely-to-succeed plan, but a plan nonetheless.

"Big Wing, turn away from the Cloud Buster."

"We gonna try to outrun it?"

"No, I'm going to give it a target. Keep the bay doors open until I say."

I turned to the open doors as the Cormorant turned, and watched as a black dot in the distance quickly got closer. I motioned for the Energy Keeper to get out of the way, and took on the most arrogantly confident stance I could. The black dot quickly came close enough to identify as a Cloud Buster. When it was close enough to see details, I extended an arm in front of me and held my first two fingers out slightly, before flicking them towards me twice. I saw the winged creature twitch, and then rush forward as it fell for my taunt. As soon as she (again, assuming based on body structure) was inside, I yelled into my mic as I was tackled to the ground.

"Close the doors, now!" I heard the doors start to close, and I began to grapple with the Cloud Buster in earnest. We rolled across the floor of the ship as she tried to strangle me and I tried to grab the mind control unit on the back of her helmet. I finally figured out that my current strategy wasn't working, so I let her get on top of me so I could pull her elbows down, putting the mind control unit inside my reach. I held her collar with my left hand and grabbed the offensive hunk of metal with my right. I yanked it out, and found myself able to breathe again as she screamed in pain and fell off of me. When she stopped screaming, she was very lethargic at first, like she had just woken up. I put the mind control unit in a pouch on my belt, then told the pilot to head back to the command ship as I moved the Cloud Buster to one of the seats and strapped her and the Keeper in for atmospheric escape. I moved to the seat across from them and strapped myself in just as the first rumbles of atmospheric escape started. After several seconds of increasing rumbling and rattling, everything abruptly went still and silent. I finally relaxed, leaning my head back and closing my eyes in the weightlessness as the tension and adrenaline from the last hour and a half wore off and left me mentally drained. I eventually felt us start to decelerate, and I could hear the pilot explain who was on board to the flight control monitor over the radio. When we landed, I didn't move, save to motion for the other two to sit still. The bay doors opened, and I continued to stay still as several marines came in, unstrapped us, and escorted us out into the hangar. Waiting for us was the ship's captain, Admiral Leeroy "Jenkins" Tornak. I saluted, and his mirroring of my gesture told me I wasn't in trouble. Yet.

Comments

[CartsBeforeHorses]

Congratulations, this story has good enough grammar to be included in the Good Grammar Directory, a comprehensive list of gramatically-correct stories on Fimfiction.

[Plaigh]

I lost it at the Admirals name.

[zdaysavior]

Only one thing caught my eye, and that was the captain's name, though good story so far

[Bronzer]

The ability to control almost anything, like some sort of telekinesis, with no regard for the laws of physics.

The unicorns in the show, barring Alicorns and pre-Alicorn Twilight, have not been depicted as dangerous with their abilities. I assume the Big Bads did something to change that?

Their predator instincts and far more deadly adaptations gave them a preference of melee weapons over ranged weapons, unlike humans.

Humans still feel predatory instincts, we just have good control over them. That would be a great advantage to us in a war with these guys if they have much less control over their predatory instincts than we do. Artillery and MLRS FTW! Plus, they'd be mowed down by VTOLs. Well, until one of them came out with like, a bazooka or something.

pulled the bulbs out of their own heads

Praise be to human willpower! HFY!

MACH SEVEN!?!

Apparently the Big Bads did do something to them. Especially if the pegasi going mach two or three is considered the norm when it sure as hell isn't in the show.

[Sketchy Markks]

"Here's the plan: I'm going to go in and plant the explosives. You stay here, and when I go in, count to ten, then press this button. When I come back out, we're going to jump off this cliff so that the Cormorant can catch us and be out of here without stopping. Understand?" She nodded, and I turned back to face the command post. I

This stretches my plausibility meter... But I'll try to give this a chance.
Edit: I mean, he JUST met her. and He's a military operative... He MIGHT be understanding, but he wouldn't be THAT trusting right off the bat...

[Cakebomb]

"MACH SEVEN!?! That's not possible!"

NO. NO. FUCK NO. NO. FUCK YOU. NO

[Golem Stone]

Admiral Leeroy "Jenkins" Tornak

This made my day.
Brilliant, just brilliant