Chapter 5: Wake Up Call
The three continued their trek across the orchard to the doctor's office. Big Mac, worried as ever had taken a small lead with Applejack close to his side. The farmer pony shifting her head to her brother to watch for any sign of another rout. Flynn, meanwhile walked on the opposite side of Big Mac, the three creating a tight wedge formation.
“Sorry, he's not like this usually,” Applejack spoke up as the group's course shifted to the right to move down the current column.
“I am sure he is not,” Flynn replied impassively, turning his head to notice a small street lined with colorful houses and shops beyond the apple trees.
Applejack was curious of this creature, he was nothing like the monkey he seemed to emulate. For one, he was sentient. Granted, there were a lot of sentient species in Equestria, but with the exceptions of dragons and griffons the majority of self-aware beings - such as ponies, minotaurs and to a lesser extent goats - were hooved. However, since dragons and griffons were originally from foreign lands, chances are the 'monkey' was too. She just needed to raise the question. “So Flynn, where ya from?”
“Circe,” came the reply.
The hay is Circe? That ain't a town Ah ever heard of. Applejack thought as she followed up her first question. “And where's that?”
“Sixteen hundred light-years from this place.”
This bit of information did not help either, but it was surprising to Applejack nonetheless. She had no idea what a 'light-year' was nor what it meant in distance, but if the inclusion of the word 'year' was any indication, Flynn had gone a long way to get here. “You traveled for sixteen years just to get here?”
“Neg, I am here because the Founder has brought me here,” Flynn corrected, mildly irritated.
“And who's 'The Founder'?” Applejack first thought was Princess Celestia, for she 'founded' Canterlot, and by extension modern-day Equestria. But that was a stretch at best and it was unlikely that Flynn was referring to her.
“Nicholas Kerensky - son of the Great Father Aleksandr Kerensky - is the Founder. He invented the Clans, whose purpose is to restore the Star League. Unfortunately, I perished from dezgra tactics and am unable to participate in Operation Revival when it would restart. However, I have been gifted the opportunity to explore Terra and meet the Founder personally.”
The orange pony just stared back at Flynn the whole time. “Uh, Flynn,” she briefly paused to think up the words to say. “Ah'm sorry but most of your speech flew over mah head.”
Flynn groaned to himself, finding the pony's ignorance grating. However, it was somewhat understandable. It was doubtful the populace in the Inner Sphere knew about the personal history of the Clans - not if the nobles in the Houses wanted their populace to stay loyal to their despotic regimes. Not to mention, she was a pony. A talking, orange pony that inhabited and apparently tended an apple orchard on Terra, but a pony nonetheless.
Still, her bold honesty was commendable. It at least meant that she understood the concept of honor. But it also brought another question that hanged at the back of his mind. What if this is not Terra? Flynn only held the question in his mind long enough to take note of the ludicrous shape of the mountain 'Canterlot' rested on before dismissing it. He had to be on Terra.
Applejack checked up on her brother, who was still trotting along faster than need be. He seemed to have calmed down a bit, as his rhythm was more relaxed. The pain of hitting the statue was only now strong enough to be noticed, which led her to her next question. “So, why is there a statue in the middle of our orchard?”
“That was not a statue, it was a BattleMech,” Flynn corrected.
“BattleMech?” Another word Applejack learned to say, and another word that Flynn seemed to assume knowing was a given. She was not sure what 'mech' was supposed to mean - possibly short for 'mechanical' given its metallic appearance - but the 'battle' part made her grit her teeth in concern. “What's that?”
“A BattleMech is an unmatched machine designed for combat purposes. BattleMechs weigh between twenty to one-hundred tons, and have speeds as fast as one hundred fifty kay-pee-aych. The only true counter to a BattleMech is a second one, for no other vehicle can match its combination of versatility, firepower, speed and armor.”
Flynn paused briefly to see if Applejack was following along, the mare nodded and her facial expressions implied so, with a little hint of shock for good measure. “So, you brought a war machine into the middle of mah orchard without tellin' anypony beforehand?” Applejack questioned incredulously.
“Aff, I needed to get close enough to the town that I would not have to walk so far when I have finished my business. I apologize for this, but once I know where to find Unity City, I will be on my way.” Flynn answered.
Applejack blinked. "Ah'll accept your apology this time, but don't think that means you can just go around walkin' on other ponies property just because ya got a fancy machine. Got it?"
"Aff," Flynn complied, he was by no means intimidated by the pony's attempt at sounding strict, but he would consider her request.
The farmer pony breathed deeply to calm down and continued the conversation. “So, you were saying about 'BattleMechs'?”
Flynn took that as a cue to continue. “There are hundreds of different BattleMech designs that have been made over the centuries, each having a role in which it is best utilized in. The BattleMech I have is a Firemoth, a light, twenty ton machine designed for reconnaissance and Elemental transport.”
Applejack widened her eyes and picked up the pace to slightly above her brother's, the other two slowly matched her new speed. The monkey's - probably should ask what exactly is he supposed to be soon, she thought - explanation helped her out. It still did not help her bruised pride after running into the Firemoth, but she decided that it would be best to let that go.
But while Flynn's answer helped, she still had a few new questions to ask in the wake of her insight. “So ya don't actually fight in it do you?”
“No, not really,” Flynn said, withholding his tongue for a moment as the trees gave way to a moderately worn cobblestone road lading inside the town. “If I issue or am issued a batchall, a challenge by another warrior, and they had a 'Mech of approximately equal weight. Then yes, I would fight once the bidding is bargained well and done.”
“So you don't pick fights just for the hay of it?” The orange earth pony checked her brother, and found his return to being his calm old self while she talked to Flynn. At the back of her mind, however, she knew that may not last.
“Of course not. Such carelessness is wasteful, and waste is frowned upon in my society.”
“Interestin',” the pony said with faint relief as the three passed a deserted intersection. Shops, empty stands and and restaurants of various kinds laid closed, or unattended. Where is everypony? This part of Ponyville's never this empty during lunch time - it's where all the restaurants are for cryin' out loud.
The Cadet opted to change the subject. “Your brother does not talk often.” Flynn stated the sentence as a fact instead of question.
“Not if Ah don't have to. Still don't want to go to the doctor though,” the colt replied, lazily rolling his head to his left. He then turned his attention to his sister. “Do Ah really have to?”
Applejack groaned, and gave her brother a stern, if slightly annoyed look straight in the eyes. “Ah told you this a dozen times before, Big Mac, yes ya have to go to the doctor.” She shook her head as if to point to the structure at the end of the street. It was a small, one story building with a red cross and... whatever that snake-staff-thing that's name was beyond all three on opposite sides of the glass door (caduceus), but otherwise near-indistinguishable to the other straw, medieval-style buildings around it. Despite being well-kept, the clinic was due to be closed down once the new, larger hospital outside town had finished construction. “If you end up aggravating your injury buckin' apples or somthin' else, you might have have to stay at the hospital all the way in Manehatten or somethin'. And you wouldn't want that to happen. Would you?”
Big Mac lowered his head in defeat without offering further resistance. He had to admit that a handful of two-hour visits once a day preferable to potentially an entire week or longer in the recovery ward. Both were undesirable to him, of course, but still.
“Well?”
Big Mac shook his head as they reached the front door. No.
“Thought so,” Applejack pushed open the door halfway with her foreleg, the colt sighed dejectedly and slowly but surely stepped through the glass door, closing it behind him. “Does this every time, you'd think he'd have realized this by now,” she said to Flynn, then peered through the window to see if her brother was actually checking in with the receptionist.
“Why does he despise seeking medical help, and why does he even need it in the first place?” The Cadet asked, scanning the street for anyone else. Still no-one in sight. Had they seen my 'Mech incoming and are hiding? No, probably some other reason, there is no sign of a rush.
“Well for your second question, it was Applebuck Season, and he hurt his foreleg warmin' up - he forgot to stretch first, Ah think. And for the first Ah don't really know. He just doesn't like the place is the best answer Ah can give. He doesn't talk about if Ah ask him, but it's not like the curses or doctors are cruel to him, they're some of the nicest ponies in town.” The mare shoulder shrugged at the last part.
“Where I am from, a Trial of Refusal would be declared when someone refused to accept another's demands. If your brother was victorious in this Trial, which is most commonly a fight between both parties, he would be allowed to not see the doctor. If he lost, he would be obligated to go under penalty of gaining dezgra status,” Flynn explained.
“That just sounds like he'd be worse for wear then,” Applejack pointed out, “Besides, fightin' him wouldn't solve anything, it'd probably just only make things worse.”
To a (former) member of the Warrior Caste, the idea that might did not make right was a foreign and ultimately faulty mindset. However, it was not the place for the lower castes to fight anyway. “The Trial does not have to be combat, it can be some other type of contest, such as a race.”
“Naw, that wouldn't be right either,” the orange pony shook her head. “We're tryin' to do what's best for him, letting him potentially get off the hook like that wouldn't be very responsible, now would it?”
Flynn could see the genuine concern in Applejack's eyes as she spoke and nodded. “So be it.”
“Anyway, might Ah ask what 'dezgra status' is supposed to mean? Is it some kinda insult?” Applejack inquired, trying to change the topic slightly.
“If a person or group is labeled dezgra, it means they have done something dishonorable in the eyes of the Clans. In my case, I was marked dezgra for insubordination.” Flynn's manner of speech grew bitter as he spoke. “Due to the circumstances involved, I was unable to justify myself. My 'Mech had been hijacked by an unknown third party. I was knocked unconscious when my 'Mech fell over and subsequently killed afterward.”
“Um, ya don't look dead to me,” Applejack prodded the Cadet's shin curiously with her foreleg. “You're pretty solid for a ghost.”
“Indeed, but you are also solid, as is your brother and every pony I have seen thus far.” Flynn's use of the words 'every pony' felt weird to say after hearing Applejack and Braeburn use them to refer to their kind, even if it was appropriate in the context currently used. “Therefore, spirits in the afterlife are solid.”
“But you're not dead, you're as alive as anythin' else around here,” Applejack reiterated. “Besides, that isn't very sound logic anyway.”
Flynn stood his ground. “All other explanations for my presence on Terra would make no sense. Now, may we go to Twilight so that I can be on my way?”
The orange pony thought about the question for a moment before giving an answer. “Well, it doesn't look like there's much goin' on in town anyway.” No sooner than Applejack finished her sentence did she notice two of her friends walking - hovering in one case - towards her.
“I'm tellin' ya, Rarity. I don't like that thing walking around AJ's farm like that,” Rainbow Dash said as the two trotted down another deserted street. Virtually everypony on the weather patrol had seen the beige, thirty-foot monster-robot-thing rush up the train tracks. It was nothing like they had seen, and already rumors that it was straight out of the Everfree Forest were spreading. As the thing got closer, many of the pegasi either hid behind clouds, descended to the ground or flew higher into the sky hoping it would not notice them. Rainbow did the latter.
“This has not been the first time a monster left the Forest and wandered around her farm, dearie,” Rarity countered. “And every time they eventually go back not long after without causing harm.”
“This is different though, this thing didn't even come from the direction of the Forest. Plus, I'm not talkin' about hanging around the edges near the woods. It actually walked up to her barn and then just stood there. Last thing I saw it do before I flew down here was a ladder coming out the back of it, but who knows what that could actually be.”
“Is that so?” Rarity raised a brow, skeptical at the notion the thing was a malicious beast when it had done nothing particularly threatening. “Perhaps the 'thing' is some kind of riding animal or even a machine belonging to someone. While that does not explain why it is at Applejack's home, I am sure we will find out soon enough. She most likely has met the rider by now. Until then, we should only worry about getting her to the premiere on time.”
"I don't think you're taking this as seriously as you should, Rarity.” Dash sighed, outstretched her wings and lifted herself a few feet off the ground. “But maybe you're right, but if that's true and there's someone controlling it, I say we keep an eye on 'em. Can't be too careful after last week, yanno?”
Rainbow Dash was referring to when Gilda, a griffon she knew for some time, visited Ponyville. At first Gilda and Rainbow had the time of their lives as friends reuniting after so long, but by the end of the visit the relationship turned sour when Gilda turned out to be a jerk to everypony behind Rainbow's back. Ultimately Gilda walked out, essentially calling her former friend and everyone else present lame and had not been seen or heard since. Good riddance.
“Innocent until proven otherwise, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity replied as the two reached the end of the street, both mares searched opposite sides of the intersection until Rainbow nudged the white unicorn to look to her right, finding Applejack talking with an unfamiliar being. Both proceeded to approach the two until they were noticed.
Flynn inspected the two newcomers, somewhat surprised by what they were. The feeling was mutual. Up until then he had only seen the 'normal' ponies - as normal as oddly shaped, brightly technicolor, talking ponies could get at least. If he knew his mythology well enough, the first one was a unicorn. It was a somewhat off-white mare with a long, well groomed, purple mane with a coiled tail of the same color. It seemed to wear eyeliner to compliment its almond-shaped blue eyes, while its horn seemed vestigial due to it being quite small and dull. The symbol on its flank were three diamonds shaped in rhombuses. What are they even supposed to mean? he pondered.
The second was an entirely different creature - a pegasus if he recalled. This one, also female, was a light blue, similar to a cloudless sky on a sunny day and had rose colored eyes. The wings it used to stay off the ground seemed too small to support the horse so easily in flight, yet there it was floating effortlessly. It had a cloud puff shooting a bolt of multicolored lightning for a symbol. However, the most striking feature of all was not the wings, nor the symbol, but its hair. The pony's shoulder-length mane was a literal rainbow, evenly striped in red, orange, yellow and so on in such a way that it would have been a pain to dye. It was practically the opposite of his short but thick black hair.
Simply having to consider the hair colors being a natural trait, on top of it being a no doubt sentient mythical creature coupled with another mythical creature was pushing Flynn more and more out of his comfort zone. The seed of doubt planted from questioning whether he was really on Terra was sprouting, but Flynn rejected it again, albeit with more difficulty than before. Much can happen in almost three hundred years.
Rainbow Dash felt two things upon seeing the creature standing by Applejack: unease, and a vague sense of deja vu. The former because of the unknowns the thing represented. Plus, it had brown, forward facing eyes - the latter detail being the trademark of a carnivore such as a manticore, or less derisively, a griffon or a minotaur. Not that I'm scared of those, she reassured herself without a shadow of doubt.
Indeed, more than anything it was the lack of trust with a hint of simple evolutionary instinct giving her unrest. That likely also justified the second feeling, she had a similar, albeit lesser bout of anxiousness upon seeing Gilda the week before after so long. It nailed the middle ground of being just strong enough to be noticed, but also too weak to influence her state of mind or actions. Just what the hay is that thing?
Meanwhile, Rarity had a similar disposition, but had a question not-entirely unlike her friend's. What on earth is he wearing? She asked herself, her eyes widening more in disgust than in curiosity. Is that... camouflage?
“There you are, Applejack, we've been lookin' for you for like a half-hour,” the blue pegasus spoke to Applejack, it made a quick glance at Flynn before returning its attention to the orange pony. “And who's that?” Suspicion lined its words as it spoke.
“I am Flynn,” The Cadet answered, now finding it unnecessary to state his rank and affiliation unless explicitly asked.
“Do forgive my friend, she is not always so... impolite.” The white unicorn apologized, its voice soft and polished. “This is Rainbow Dash,” it turned its head to the blue pony.
Rainbow Dash was quick to add to her introduction. “Fastest flyer in Ponyville,” she said with an aura of confidence.
“Indeed,”the white unicorn returned her attention to Flynn. “And I am Rarity, but you may address me as 'Miss Rarity'.”
“Are you the noble of this town, Miss Rarity?” Flynn asked, he thought it was a valid question considering that the unicorn looked, sounded, and somewhat acted like one. Then again, the fact that she did not insist on being called 'Countess', 'Lady', or a similar arbitrary title may have meant he was jumping to conclusions.
“Oh, no, I am not,” Rarity answered, blushing lightly. “I merely run the Carousel Boutique where I work as a seamstress.” Rarity was flattered by such a question, even if it was not true - yet. She was holding out for a hero that she would no doubt meet at the Gala, a prince to adore, wed and who would induct her into the royal family. For the time being however, she was just a dressmaker.
“And what are you supposed to be?” Flynn queried to Rainbow Dash as he crossed his arms, less than impressed by her claims. “What do you do here?”
“Me? Oh yanno, I just clear the sky of runaway clouds, make sure the weather is on time, that kinda thing.” Rainbow Dash smirked proudly, letting the words sink in for roughly a second before adding to them. “The difference is, I can do it faster than anypony else.”
Flynn might have have labeled the horse as arrogant and asked for a demonstration if he was not so caught up with the first part of her boast. “Did you just say that you control the weather?”
“Yeah, pegasi can change the weather, how do you not know that?” Rainbow replied, silently grunting in annoyance. “It's common knowledge.”
“He's not from around here, Rainbow,” Applejack pointed out, to which the blue pony responded with a 'no duh' expression. “He says he's from 'Circe', sixteen hundred 'light-years' away, wherever that is,” Applejack stood on her hind legs and made the approximation of air quotes where it was needed.
“She is right. Where I am from, we do not have talking horses, let alone ones with wings that can control the weather,” Flynn added, he contemplated pointing them the direction of where Circe would likely be, but felt it would be of little use. They would probably just think he was pointing to the sky for no reason.
“Anyway...” Rarity spoke up in an attempt to change the subject before things could potentially get out of control. “Applejack, the reason we were looking for you is because a caravan showed up in town not too long ago. Apparently the owner is a traveling showmare and wants to present to the crowd, hence the lack of activity around here.” The white unicorn rolled her head as if to point around her. “It is set to begin in a few minutes, and we would-”
Dash decided to simply cut to the chase.“You wanna go see it with us? Not like there's anything else to do in town right now anyway.”
“I'd like to, but I was going to go introduce Flynn to Twilight, it's kinda the whole point he's here.”
“Aff, just lead me to this Twilight so that I can get my questions answered and be on my way. You may then go back to whatever business you had.” This is a very odd afterlife, he thought. And yet, it is no doubt going to be even stranger as I go along. Is the afterlife supposed to be a joke, a long, complex prank that these horses are all in on? A joke where they trick me into believing this is Terra, yet create all sorts of anomalies to it just to mess with me?
While Flynn pondered over his circumstances, he half-heard the three ponies talking about how the 'showmare' was apparently overly boastful or something along those lines. He lacked the full story, and could care less about it. Frankly he needed to get away from these talking horses for a moment, but he had to keep going if he was to reach the Founder anytime soon. Almost on cue, new doubts as to whether Kerensky was even there rose, and swiftly Flynn denounced them, if for no other reason for his subconscious faith to retain hope for the better.
“Applejack, you may go with your friends to the spectacle. I will meanwhile reposition my 'Mech so that it is no longer so deep in your orchard,” while walking through the rows Flynn scanned the landscape somewhat, and he had found a more suitable location to park his Firemoth anyways. Particularly some older, taller trees he could potentially hide his 'Mech around. While he would probably be noticed by the town in doing such a task, he reasoned that it was only a matter of time before he was discovered if he was not already.
Applejack could tell by the Cadet's lack of eye contact, among other subtle aspects of body language that he had another reason why he wanted to go - a lie of omission. However, she put that aside for the time being. “Didn't you hear anythin' we said? If there's a show goin' on, Twilight's probably gonna be there. Then, you can meet her and ask your questions to her. It's a lot easier, don't ya think? And no, Ah don't want you stompin' around mah orchard more than you already have.”
She actually has a point, Flynn noticed, Still, I need time to process this. Up until now I could accept the oddities of the afterlife, but I will be overwhelmed if I do not stop to breathe. Flynn knew that if he was going to spend any significant amount of time here, and deep down he knew he was, he would have to adapt. It is what wolves do best after all: adapt. To the others, it seemed Flynn stared off into space, which was exactly what he was doing. Of course, things are different here, he reasoned. Had this been a war zone, or some other dire situation, adaption would come easily and without conscious thought. This... He weakly pointed his left hand at the three subconsciously. How could anyone anticipate this?
“Flynn, are you alright?” Rarity inquired, trying to break up the awkward silence. She could also tell by the look in Rainbow Dash's eyes all but outright saying to her 'I told you something's not right about him'.
“Aff,” Flynn replied almost immediately. Forget it, Flynn, running from this nonsense is beneath you. You should be ashamed for even thinking such freebirth thoughts. “How long will this show last? I do not want to be here longer than necessary.”
“It should only take a few minutes, but we must hurry if we are to avoid being late.” The white unicorn assured before cantering off, Applejack shrugged before following suite.
“Then let us go and I will not get upset, I-” Flynn stopped himself, trying to quote his instructor word-for-word may not be the best decision to make. “I have had a very eventful day so far and I am low on patience,” he said as he speed-walked after the two. Out of the corner of his eye, Rainbow Dash placed her hoof up to her own eyes and then pointed at Flynn in a 'I am watching you' gesture before forming up with her friends.
Not twenty minutes had passed since Derek had fallen asleep when the howling of sirens awakened him. He snapped to attention the best he could, but a lack of experience in such a situation meant his grogginess would not fade so easily. For a second, the pulsing red florescent lights tracing the edges of the ceiling provided the only light in the room. This quickly changed once the door to the room opened by itself, casting the lights from the hall in.
Derek could not think to his best ability, but he knew he needed to move. With a jerking motion he rolled off the bunk and landed on all fours. He stood up trying to reach for his datapad, but the low light and his own recklessness caused him to slam his hand into the underside of the top bunk. The scientist grunted more out of frustration than pain and snatched his datapad on the second try. Not even bothering to put his hazmat suit on, Derek rushed out of the door to see what was happening.
“Alert, incoming Jade Falcon forces have been detected. All non-combat personnel are to evacuate to the nearest vehicle bay immediately.” A commanding voice evenly said over the intercom, causing Derek to run faster down the hall. Other inhabitants of the best, mostly technicians or the occasional Solahma guardsman scrambled to where they needed to be. Thankfully Derek managed to stop just short of slamming into Quartermaster Ignatius in the process of watching the semi-chaotic show.
“We must go,” Ignatius stated, his huge hand completely wrapping around Derek's comparatively meager bicep as he nearly dragged the scientist off.
“What is happening here? Can I not get a good night's sleep for once?” Derek yelled over the sirens, sarcasm being his preferred way to 'keep the edge off' in stressful situations.
“Hostile Jade Falcon forces are on route to this base, we cannot stay here, therfor-”
Derek irritably cut the Quartermaster short, “I know that, you stravag! How can they be attacking when the Jade Falcons only have a small research enclave on this planet? And why would they strike here of all places?”
“While you were sleeping, scientist,” Ignatius started as the two rounded a corner which led to an emergency staircase leading both up and down. “Two Aerospace craft were detected on long range sensors approaching this facility. It is unknown what model or type they are, but their aye-eff-effs indicate they are Falcons. According to the Star Captain himself, the craft are currently not on an intercept vector, and may very well be actually going after some target of interest elsewhere. However, he is not taking any chances and wants us non-Warriors to get out of harms way. Other than that, I do not know. I was in fact sent to retrieve you and escort you to the vehicle bay.”
“Is our own fighter intercepting them?” Derek asked rhetorically, to which he was replied with a simple, almost casual nod.
“While I find you treating this all so calmly unsettling, what about the investigation? Surely you cannot expect me to just abandon it after you went through the trouble of dragging me from my lab on the other side of the planet. Quineg?” Derek tugged against the grip of the Quartermaster, signaling him to let go as Derek stood at the top of the steps.
Ignatius descended the first flight of stairs before turning to face Derek. “The Star Captain says that you can go up to the control center and back up all available files regarding the incident, which you can analyze at your own leisure.” The Quartermaster paused for a couple seconds, which the scientist interpreted as a not-so-subtle way of implying 'But wait, there is more!' “At the bottom of these steps is the vehicle hangar, and the estimated ETA for the Aerospace craft is eight minutes. If you fail to enter the wheeled APC within five minutes, it will leave without you.”
“Very well,” Derek muttered as he climbed the stairs the fastest he could, reasoning that the elevators had been disabled due to the alert status. The scientist briefly pondered transferring the files via a wireless signal but opted against. Downloading the files that way would take too long. The service here is downright pathetic, he noted as he climbed his second flight of stairs, with three more standing in his path. I will have to directly hook up to the terminal if I want to get out of here fast.
Derek was gasping for breath when he finally did reach the top. The door to the command center laid to his right, the elevator he took down at the opposite end of the hall. Wasting no time he jogged up to the door and banged on it asking for admittance - an unnecessary move, but it allowed him to illustrate how desperate he was. The door slid open and Derek swiftly entered the empty room, where he hastily hooked up his datapad to the mainframe via a cable adapter he fished out of his pocket. He could only assume the warriors were getting into their 'Mechs to try shooting down the fighters should their own fail.
The next two-to-three minutes composed of watching the progress bar of the transfer. The scientist needed to be thorough, and planned on backing up all data logs up from the previous week, files on all base personnel, inventory as well as other tidbits of information that he knew would be totally useless but was obligated to retrieve in the off chance that they did, in fact, have clues. Derek noted with intrigue that the Star Captain had allowed him access to everything, if for no other reason that Derek was expected to erase the archives when finished, which he did with all due haste.
Once he double-checked that he cleanly swept the databanks, Derek rushed out of the command center and down the flight of stairs. In some effort to descend the steps faster, he would leap from the fifth-from-bottom step, the only noticeable effect being that it made his feet hurt from having to absorb the shock. Had he more time, the scientist might have pondered that a base-wide evacuation in the response of just two Aerospace craft was excessive. However, he would rather be safe than sorry.
When the scientist ran out of steps to leap from, he knew he was at the bottom floor, of which could be described as cave-like. This level of the base was notably dimmer despite having the same relative number of lights as the others. Even the alarm had an echo, all the while sounding more distant than the above floors.
But Derek paid that no mind, he passed the door in front of him and ended up in a garage. Two vehicles inhabited the oil-scented room, both warmed up, grumbling and clearly ready to leave at a moment's notice. The first was a hovercraft of some model unknown to Derek equipped with what seemed to be an SRM launcher, which was totally useless against fast moving Aerospace craft. The second vehicle in front of the first was the one Derek cared about more. True enough to the Quartermaster's description it was a bulky, box-shaped armored personal carrier that used wheels for locomotion with a machine gun turret on top, also useless for combat.
As Derek rushed up to the driver side window, a thick metal door popped out slightly and slid to the side. Without delay the scientist climbed inside the fairly hot, cramped cabin and took a vacant seat next to the door. If one of the other occupants was keeping time for leaving, they counted down not long after. The APC lurched to a start and the weight of everyone inside shifted to their respective sides, indicating that vehicle was going up a ramp before resuming normal orientation.
The scientist was definitely the odd man out in the cabin, everyone else was either a tech or some other support personnel that could all conveniently fall under Laborer status. Igntatius and Pytor were present, and were also the only two that were not complete strangers. Derek looked at his datapad shortly, as though to acknowledge the significance of the data inside before looking back up at the others. With the sole exception of the Quartermaster, the group was definitely on-edge from the sudden evacuation. He could just feel it in the slowly thickening air.
Nearly a full minute passed before Derek spoke above the grumbles of the others. “Okay, I need to know. Just why are we all in an APC headed off to wherever?”
“Give it about another thirty seconds, and your question will be answered.” A tech from the rear of the cabin replied.
“I would prefer it if my question was answered now,” the scientist retorted.
“I assure you, you will find your answer most satisfying,” another tech said.
“Satisfying...” Derek muttered under his breath as he placed his hand under his chin, implying to the others that he was thinking about it. “Let me guess, the base is about to self-destruct. How would that be a good ide-”
Derek's sentence was cut off as he heard faint explosions behind him, of which he could barely hear over the engine. Making his own conjecture from the level of volume, it was likely only the critical areas of the facility were destroyed, in effect making it inoperable and worthless as a strategic target. Practical, if disappointing. Admittedly I was expecting a ground-shaking kaboom, Derek thought, to which he promptly told the others.
“The power plant should be on fire and all twelve Mechbays should be collapsing in on themselves, provided we did our work properly,” a third tech, this time a female, proudly mentioned.
Okay, maybe it was not just the vitals. “That still does not explain why that was necessary.”
“We received a personal message straight from Star Captain Christian himself passed down from the Galaxy Commander. A 'scorched earth' policy is in effect for several outlying Wolf training facilities on Circe, including this one,” the female tech added.
Derek blinked. “For two measly Falcon fighters? Is that not, oh, I do not know... disproportionate?”
“It is not just two fighters,” she continued. “Jade Falcon JumpShips are believed to have entered the system a few hours ago and may be carrying an invasion force to take our hold of the planet.”
“Has the situation really gone that sour?” Derek asked, finding the assertion uncomfortable, to say the least. Even more uncomfortable was the temperature of the cabin, there was no air conditioning and already he could see beads of sweat on the others as well as feel his own on his face.
Pytor, who had up until that moment kept to himself, proceeded to sit up and angrily educate the scientist on contemporary issues. “Have you not payed attention to the last few days, stravag?! When ilKhan Kerensky declared his Trial of Refusal, he did not bid a Star, nor a Cluster. He bid the entire Clan against the Falcons. Do you know what that means?” Pytor doubted the scientist knew the answer, and if he did he would not have asked such a question.
In the wake of the Truce of Tukayyid, the invading Clans were left with a problem. Because the truce was to expire in 3067 - fifteen years after being first implemented - as many as three generations of upcoming warriors had been deprived the opportunity of fighting for Terra. By the time the Invasion resumed, most of the veterans and incoming Cadets of the initial waves would be in at best Solahma units sent on suicide missions for what little scraps of glory thrown to them. Meanwhile, the Inner Sphere was on a slow technological recovery and fifteen years was precious breathing room for the Houses, especially the bordering Steiners and Kuritans to recover and face the Clans.
None of the Clans took the truce well, at least not their Crusader elements. Suspecting that their current ilKhan, Ulric Kerensky of the Wolves, had intentionally sabotaged the Invasion through underhanded means, charges of genocide were thrown at him in an attempt to elect a new pro-invasion ilKhan (ironically these charges originated from Crusaders within the Wolves themselves, who were predominantly anti-invasion Wardens). These charges, shocking as they were, were quickly disproved in the investigation.
Meanwhile, the Jade Falcons were secretly break the truce ten years early by covertly arming pirates with Clan-tech. When Ulric discovered this, he made a Trial of Refusal against the Falcons, who, because the Smoke Jaguars were bogged down by raids from both Nova Cat and House Kurita alike, and the Ghost Bears were on good terms with the Wolves, were the strongest Crusader Clan militarily and therefore the greatest threat.
At least, that was what Derek's casual observations implied. He did not have the time or interest to figure out the minutiae of Clan politics. “The Jade Falcons matched our bid?” he asked, wiping his head on his bicep.
“Exactly! Ulric Kerensky is literally throwing our entire Touman at them, and they are doing the same! The result is going to be an all-out war! A war that will likely only end when one side has completely destroyed the other, or probably, an opportunistic third Clan tries to get the Council's permission to absorb the leftovers like a carrion eater!” Pytor did not name names, but some of the more politically aware in the cabin seemed to have an idea of who he was talking about. Derek was not one of them. The technician sighed and leaned forward in his seat to try and calm down. “Chances are zellbrigen will be thrown out the window early on, and we may very well be in danger ourselves due to being targets of opportunity. But frankly, I am surprised it took this long for an invasion force to enter the system.”
“Maybe they were held up somewhere else?” a tech pointed out, “I cannot imagine all the fighting is going to take place in the Oh-Zees.”
“Maybe, but why try and take Circe? We have a much greater presence on Eden,” another said.
“Who knows what the warriors are up to,” a third added.
“So, if both sides are not going to pull punches like you say, Pytor. What is to stop those two fighter craft from just flying over and shooting us, assuming the 'Mechs fail to stop them?” Derek spoke up before the grumbles completely retook the cabin, finding the claims of the Head Technician as exaggerations.
“Let us hope that they do not,” Ignatius answered in his unnervingly tranquil tone.
Agreed, Derek thought. “I also need to ask, just where are we going again?”
“Well, the Star Captain said to relocate to some big firebase a few hundred clicks south, but he did not specify much else,” the female tech answered, wiping some sweat off her forehead due to the lack of air conditioning. “Problem with that is we do not have enough fuel to make it there in one go. Basically, we need to make a stop at Point Alpha before we can continue.”
“That is a Snow Raven town though, they might not want to get involved with our little feud. What with their own holdings being put Circe being in danger and all.”
“Unless you are volunteering to get out and push, we must try,” came the response, completely devoid of humor.
Derek did not comment further out of acceptance. He brought his datapad out of the sleep mode it entered and decided to best way pass the time was a few hands of solitaire. After a few minutes of playing, he realized something. It seems everyone just forgot about what happened today, he thought. Sure, a possible invasion is a little more immediate, but these guys do not seem even remotely shook up over the supposed incident. Then again, I have not asked them about it either. Derek shrugged and resumed his game.
He would no doubt have to figure out this mystery eventually, apparently on his own. There was obvious incentive to do so - something as strange as the supposed hyperspace anomaly was a one-in-a-lifetime occurrence. He doubted it would be easy, but to be able to figure out how it happened and why would give him great respect not just among his peers, but probably the entire Scientist Caste in the Clan. Yet, could not help but feel a bit sorry for the Cadet that perished, but Derek gave himself the benefit of the doubt and assumed that being instantly torn apart at the molecular level was a rather painless way to go.
For now, however, getting the ten of diamonds was his current priority.
And not being blown up by Jade Falcons, that too.
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You know i would be great to see AJ face when she find out that Big Mac tobles with nuse red hreat lol