Inquiry

Michael began making his rounds around the newly constructed complex. He had slept in a Gladiator VTOL during the day in which they constructed the whole thing. The mere prospect of them being able to build an entire base with communication, crew quarters, cafeteria, and airstrip was awe-inspiring.

We've come a long way, haven't we?

His helmet lay at the side of his hip, held in his forearm and supported by the palm of his gloved hand. He pulled his arm up and snapped the dome over his head as it hissed. He approached what vaguely resembled a vehicle depot and pushed his hand against it. A small box closed over his digits and a small display read, "X-Ray scan in progress..."

It soon read "Admitted!" and an armored grey door opened.

"Hey there, chief," Michael greeted his boss warmly.

"Huh? Oh, hi. Hey, uh, we gotta pick out some science guys and take them out for a scouting run. You know any that won't get on my nerves?" The military police chief quietly asked.

"Yeah, actually. I've got a 'friend'-- if I could call him that --in science team 200 something. Want me to ring him up?"

"That'd be great," he sipped his coffee, "Now then, let's get to work!" He slammed his mug on the table, a few drops managing to stain the pristine metal. He made his way to an APC and gestured for Michael to follow. Michael tapped the TacPad on his left arm and started toward the car. He craned his up and stood on his toes to reach the handle and yanked down. He pulled a ladder rung on the door to open it and leaped through the small doorway to the controls for the topside turret. A massive garage door opened and the six-wheeled vehicle dipped downward on the small ramp.

The admittedly huge car cruised down a small, makeshift street as a lone figure stood outside his tent, obviously tired and not entirely awake. Upon hearing the crunching of concrete and rocks under the weight of a 4 ton vehicle, he banged on a large tent door. He slipped on his helmet and four other figures followed suit as they stepped out of the door.

The APC stopped outside the tent and the 5 climbed in.

"So where are we going?" The speaker crackled, the chief's voice flooded the cabin.

"Can you see that little castle on the hill over there?" Joseph spoke toward the ceiling of the cramped cabin

"No... wait-- yeah. Yep," The chief correct himself, "Wait, what? A castle?"

"Our thoughts exactly," 3 of them spoke in unison.

"Give me a sec then," The static of the speaker stopped and all was silent except the occasional brush of carbon nanotube jumpsuits rustling under plates of armor. "Alright, I've managed to get 2 more APCs to come on with us. If it's a castle, it might have something inside," he cautioned.

Everybody looked at each other and immediately patted their firearms. The cabin began to move and the faint sound of two more engines behind them rumbled. They were on their way.

The deck of the Inquiry was near bare, only maintenance and administration present on the massive starship. They were receiving communications from the ground base, informing them that everything had gone smoothly and set up properly. A man stood at the helm of the starship, in front of a massive, 8 yard thick glass window. His hands were tucked behind him, his right hand gripping his left hand tightly. He was the only man in the building wearing a jumpsuit that wasn't some shade of gray or white. His navy blue suit stood in stark contrast to the rest of the deck, his armor significantly more than that of a soldiers'. In lieu of a helmet he sported an almost turtleneck-like collar and hid his neck, adding a layer of mystique and authority to the already authoritative looking man.

"Captain?" A young female voice called out from behind him.

"Hmm?" He muttered inquisitively, not bothering to turn around.

"We just received a message from the Greenland-Canadian Federation's interstellar program, stating that the Peregrine Spearhead just started up her engines for the first time and is on her way here," she simply stated.

"Tell them that I don't want to see any weapons online when they get here. This is a colonization project, not a war," the Captain spat.

"Understood."

"Sister, I feel it again," Luna whispered during lunch.

"Come again?" Celestia didn't quite hear her.

"The star is laughing again. Not a laugh of ridicule, I fear. A laugh of satisfaction,"

"Luna, this could be very serious. Are you hearing the star, or are you thinking you're heari--"

"No. I can hear it..."

Celestia could say nothing as she watched her sister somberly lay her head on her forehooves at the table.

After a 20 minute trip, the APCs had arrived at a wide path near the base of the mountain.

"Alright boys, I know you're cramped in there. Get out, get some fresh air. Come back on in when you're ready. So far, you haven't been loud and arrogant like the other teams. I respect that," The chief congratulated them. The 3 crew transports were lined up in a "C" pattern, the solid part facing the winding path that lead upwards. As the 5 stepped back out into the world, they looked to their left to find that 2 teams of reconnaissance soldiers had been accompanying them. Joseph waved and awkwardly held his hand in the air, none of them waving back.

The team quickly bit chunks off of nutrition bars and chugged flavored waters before stuffing them back into a bag and making their way back to the APCs.

Joseph nearly walked in and missed it.

A caravan was making its way down the pathway, evidently unaware of the 40-something foot white and gray barricade in from of it.

"Hey. Hey. Guys, look," Joseph called the others that were inside as the turret, operated by Michael, began to point toward a line of moving objects. Michael zoomed in to find that they were... horses? And an eagle?

"What in the actual..." Michael whispered.

"That's a griffon! And that's a unicorn!" Michael gasped.

The chief opened the door to the APC and slammed it, needing a look for himself. He squinted his eyes, straining to see the collection of dots moving in the distance. He withdrew a pair of binoculars from a hip-mounted pouch.

"Holy Christ," the chief muttered and agreed to a question that was not asked, but certainly thought.

"Get in. We're checking it out," the chief hollered.

Everyone quickly filed into the crew transport as it sped forward at a dangerous 120 miles per hour. It slowed to a still-fast 50 as it jumped over a grass hill, the two backup APCs following further behind. The driver let off the pedal and let the car slow to 25 mph as he turned on the holograms on the windshield. He selected "Video Messaging" and called the comms. tower.

"What's the situation?"

"No time to talk, changing camera to windshield view. Take notes," he hastily explained, narrowly avoiding potholes and giving the passengers the joyride of their lives. The transport neared the caravan and they began to acknowledge the presence of the now dirtied, matte white APCs.

"Michael, guns trained on them," the chief ordered.

The speakers in the back area, the passenger seating, crackled dead. The team of five began to fidget in their seats with uncertainty.

"Can't we take pictures and, you know, do our job?" A rebellious young woman in Joseph's group complained.

"Hell no, you're not going out there," Michael retorted, his eyes never coming off of the monitor.

"Well, why not?" Joseph added.

"What comes with caravans?" He answered with another question.

"Goods? Food? Wea--" Joseph paused, "Oh. You think we're going to get hurt?" Joseph snickered at the prospect of being shot by a little unicorn.

"I get held responsible. So, don't."

The recon team of 12 burst out of their APCs, kicking open the doors and sprinting toward the caravan only a quarter of a mile away. They quickly surrounded the 3 creatures and escorted them toward the "C formation of cars. Joseph's team took it upon themselves to open the door and get a closer look.

"Goddamnit," Michael swore.

"Alright, first question: Can you understand us?" The young woman asked this time with a motherly, comforting voice while 12 rifles were pointed toward the aliens. Their bright white scientist armor stood in stark contrast to the darker steel color of the soldiers. They almost looked like leaders to those untrained in what the colors meant.

"Cheerum furrup ferruoom liep?" The pony squeaked and cringed.

This is a secret message. If you have your formatting color set to dark gray, you'll be seeing more of these in the future.

"That's a no."

"Second question: Where are you going?"

There was no response other than raised eyebrows and terrified eyes. She backed up, pointed at the caravan, and then to the castle.

The ponies and griffon nodded furiously, "yes" and some of the soldiers thought they were going to give themselves a concussion.

"Alright alright alright, I think I get it. They're probably traders, farmers even... You all can stop pointing your guns at them." The soldiers looked at each other and reluctantly complied. The ponies noticeably slumped in relief while the griffon stayed tense as a bowstring. Its eyes darted back and forth between the scientists, panicked and terrified. The soldiers and scientists and even the ponies backed away from the griffon. It shuddered and shook.

All of a sudden, it exploded upwards and feathers floated downwards as an entire bag of valuable trinkets and pearl jewelry poured out of the bag.

The griffon dove downwards toward Joseph in an attempt to murder the creature who busted him.

And it lit up like a Christmas tree as Joseph, quick on the draw, shot it between the eyes before all 3 turrets, 12 men, and his 4 companions pumped it full of at least 20 pounds worth of bullets.

The ponies screamed and crouched, their forehooves stuffed over their heads. A corpse landed on Joseph's chest and planted on him of the ground, the heavy avian lion forcing the air out of him.

"Help," he wheezed.

Two soldiers grabbed the corpse off of the poor scientist by a hind leg and talon, tossing it back to the ponies.

They screamed and quickly covered their mouths, fearing they were get shot for being too loud.

"We need to get out of here. We came here for one reason, let's go check out that one reason, get out, and hope we don't get locked up for a terrible attempt at first contact," Michael was now outside, hoping that he could keep his job. "Jesus... don't-- shit." He was pacing back and forth, his hands firmly placed behind his head. "Get in the car, damnit,"

There was no argument. All the bipedals in the area immediately flocked into the APCs as they turned around, continuing their way up the mountain as the thieves tried to hide the body of their accomplice without throwing up. They hardly wanted the gold now.