Variablesby TheWittleScamperChaptersIIIIIII 1 - Fria Världen, Earth Russia The War Room July 7, 2357 8:37 AM “So what do you plan to do about it, General?” The formerly dressed brigadier questioned, concerned about the very nature of this particular assignment. General Sladeck stroked his ageing beard thoroughly in thought. “The solution is very simple. We have to send in a cleanup team.” “That isn’t extreme to you?” “It is.” He sighed heavily. The thought of potentially killing innocent civilians due to a few terrorist was terrible in its self, but to actually have to make the order was even worse. “Ever since this whole war with the M’Netai started…” He trailed off. To him, it was like a bad omen in a story. Genocidal extra terrestrials invade Världen’s colonies while the humans on Earth spilled their own blood. He shook his head, and stared at the holographic war table. The table displayed the Chinese Ghetto, which spanned from Beijing to Shenyang. He made a motion with his fingers to allow himself to zoom into Beijing, where the suspicious reports originated from. “It looks like I’ll have to send-“ He was cut off by a servant barging unannounced at the door. “General Sladeck. Forgive the interruption, but someone has requested to witness your strategies.” He spoke assertively. The brigadier was the first to respond, nearly grabbing his sidearm at the outburst. “What is the meaning of this? Who is so important that you would disturb a classified assignment for them to witness it?” “None other than the general’s son of course.” He spoke matter-of-factly. As if on cue, a young boy by the age of twelve entered the room in attire fit for the Emperor. The expressions of both the general’s and brigadier’s face changed into warm smiles. “Ah, Mattock! Have you come here to study the strategies of war?” “Of course, Father” He said with a smile “Aye, that there is smart boy. He is destined to become a commander under your wing, General.” Sladeck chuckled at the compliment. He motioned his son to the war table. The boy was just high enough to see it. “This assignment, my son, is going to be a small battle with the Resistance.” The General started. He flipped a couple of switches at the base of the table. Faces of soldiers lined up on top each other from highest rank to the lowest. Sladeck looked to his son. “Can you find out what these individuals specialize in by their emblems?” He asked like a teacher would to a student. Mattock beamed with excitement, ready to impress his father. He read from bottom to top. He pointed at the photo. “Corporal Randy “Wire” Rison. He’s a Combat Engineer.” He stated, earning an approving nod from his father. He continued. “Sergeant Sarah “Spark” Evans. She is a Field Medic. Lieutenant Richard “Hashtag” Hashwell. He is a Demolitionist. Captain Steven “Yang” Nipson. He is a Sniper. And finally, Major Cottev “Firebird” Parker. He is…” He examined his emblem, but it was unfamiliar to him. It was in the shape of Fria Världen’s insignia: a phoenix with its wings outstretched. His father chuckled, knowing that his son didn’t know what he was. “He is an Agent.” “An Agent?” “Yes. They are our new breed of soldiers. They volunteered to have machines implanted in them to make them the jacks of all trades. If you look closely at his eyes, you’ll see the digital optics in his irises.” He zoomed into the Agent’s eyes. They were blue, but not naturally so. The pupil was like a camera lens, and it had smaller versions of these lenses around his irises. “Amazing isn’t it? With these soldiers, we have a good chance of winning both our civil war and the Xeno War.” His son brightened up. “And I’m going to watch them battle from here?” “Yes. Make sure to take notes, you may need them in the future.” He pulled up another holographic profile labeled with the name of the team’s commander, Levi “Nest” Karken. Under his name, an audio wave was shown. “You called me, General?” “Yes, Commander. There has been suspicious activity in Beijing, near the Wangjing District. I want your team to investigate, and eradicate any confirmed terrorist.” “What kind of suspicious activity was reported?” “Murders and possible abductions.” “Alright, sir. We’ll get on it.” He cut himself off from the communications. The aging general sighed. “Let’s hope they’ll keep civilian casualties to a minimum.” Beijing, China Wangjing District Raptor (Armored Personal Vehicle) July 7, 2357 10:56 AM It was cramped inside the monster of a vehicle. Small rays of sunlight shined through the miniscule excuses for windows near the roof of the vehicle. Inside sat a small group of five soldiers, doing their own little task while waiting to arrive to their destination. One man was cleaning his weapon with a smooth cloth, another man was reading a book, a woman stared at a picture of a family member, and another man taking a drag of a cigarette, and one man stared at his crew. The one cleaning his weapon took an interest on the book another was reading. “So, what ya got there, Yang?” He shouted over the bumps of the road. Yang lifted his head to look at his comrade for only a second. He looked back down to continue his reading. “A book made out of paper. I’m reading it. Something you wouldn’t be interested in doing in, Hashtag.” Hashtag read the title while Yang spoke. “Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix. What’s it about?” “Ha! You’re shitting me, Hashtag. Have you never of the Harry Potter series?” A man said, taking another drag from his cigarette. “As a matter of fact, no. Enlighten me with your vast knowledge on the subject, Wire.” Hashtag said with annoyance, eager to know what Harry Potter was. “Harry Potter is a book series about a young wizard. It starts from Sorcerer’s Stone to The Deathly Hallows. It’s pretty entertaining.” Wire puffed a cloud of chemicals, filling the air with the scent of cigarette smoke. “And you read them all?” “Well, yeah.” “I’ve read them all too.” Yang butted in, flipping the page. The woman lifted up her head as she put the picture away in a pocket. She flipped her hair and began the process of making a ponytail. “Why do you have a paper copy anyway? That’s kind of old fashioned.” She chuckled. “I like being old fashioned, Spark. Ever since I was a kid, I always wondered how people got by in the twenty-first century.” He replied. “You sound like my grandfather.” She turned to the only silent person in the vehicle. “You’ve been awfully quiet, Firebird.” She commented out loud. The rest of the crew turned to face their field leader. He snapped out of his trance. “Is something bothering you?” He was silent for a moment. “It’s just the order we’ve been given by Nest. He said that a total cleanup was needed. No survivors.” He said darkly. “And they expect us to be okay with that?” Hashtag replied with a growing anger. “We have to be.” Firebird spoke plainly. “Let’s just look at the bright side. We might be doing them a favor. Some say death is better than living in the Chinese Ghetto.” Wire tried to lighten them up. “They’re still innocent civilians, Wire! Men, women, and children just trying to get by.” Spark’s outburst brought water in her eyes, but she held back some tears. “It’s all the fucking M’Natai’s fault anyway. Let’s face it, we could’ve solved the terrorist problems, but then they showed up.” Yang spoke calmly. They were all silent for what seemed like an eternity. They were on the frontlines, fighting against the alien threat. They saw what they could do, and how they didn’t show any guilt by killing families. “If those bastards ever get to Earth, we’re fucked.” Hashtag finally broke the silenced. “Just don’t jinx it, ya dingus.” Yang replied, once again flipping a page. The intercom which allowed the driver to speak with the passengers came on suddenly. “Five minutes ‘till drop off.” He spoke in a monotone voice. The team immediately stopped what they were doing. Wire stomp on his smoke, Yang put his book away in a bag where he kept some miscellaneous items, and Spark put her photo away in one of the abundant pockets in her pants. “Right. Let’s suit up.” Firebird ordered. He was followed by a hardy “yes sir” from each of his crew members. Each of them took bits and pieces of their standard issue combat armor. It was mostly a fiber metal material. It was specifically designed to be flexible and light, but tough enough to stop a titanium blade. Once the fiber metal was equipped, they strapped on immobile breast plates, bicep plating, forearm gauntlets, thigh plating, shin guards, and armored shoes. Along with all the raw armor protection, each set of armor had a shield generator powered by a solar-powered cell. The whole set took at least two minutes to be equipped and armed. They each grabbed their customized weapons once they were outfitted. Everyone had an assault rifle that used conventional ammunition, a sidearm that used the sun for ammunition, and special items that was dedicated to their unique skills. Wire had an auto-turret which he could place in strategic locations, Spark carried medical equipment not normally found at the frontlines of the twenty-first century, Yang wielded a powerful sniper rifle, Hashtag equipped a variety of explosives, and Firebird sheathed a thin katana. “Thirty seconds.” “Are we all ready?” Firebird clicked his weapons as he took a look at his crew. “All set.” Hashtag smiled. “Let’s kick some ass.” As if on cue, the vehicle came to a complete stop. “Open the hatch!” Firebird ordered the driver. The gears and pistons hissed as the door opened dramatically in a ramp style. Sunlight breached through the once dark chamber, forcing the soldiers to squint their eyes. Each of them trotted outside of the vehicle, forming a semicircle around the ramp that led inside of the vehicle. It was a literal hellhole outside. Almost every single was decimated from terrorist attacks from the resistance. The streets were cracked to a point where they had massive foliage growing from the cracks. The building ahead of them wasn’t as bad as the others. It was a massive warehouse complex, and it still had some of the white paint on the war torn bricks. “Leave it to the Resistance to choose the nicest and largest building in the Ghetto.” Hashtag commented. “Fucking assholes.” “Tell me about it. We could’ve used this as a homeless shelter.” Spark said with a little sympathy for the people who lived there. “I don’t think it would shelter about two million people.” Yang scanned the area around him. “Let’s just clean it up. It’s not our choice what the government does with it. Move in quietly.” Firebird ordered. The team moved up with as much stealth as they could muster. “Nest? Can you read me? Nest?! Dammit, they must have a jammer.” They continued without there communications. “It’s clear outside. A little quiet, don’t ya think?” Wire muttered. They got to the entrance of the warehouse, still cautious about their surroundings. Firebird attempted to open the door, and just as expected it was locked. “Holographic locks. Hashtag, place an EMP charge.” Hashtag did what he was told. He placed a sticky strip, and placed it on the lock. Once he stepped back into his place, the explosive combusted into electrical sparks. “Breach!” “Breaching.” One by one, the team reformed their semicircle inside of the building. The entrance looked like a lobby of sorts, with many other doors leading to different parts of the building. It’s was also devoid of anyone besides the soldiers. “It’s clear. I’m expecting an ambush now.” Hashtag spoke with a slight sarcastic tone. “Are they even smart enough to plan something like that?” Spark asked no one in particular. “Stay focused. Let’s move to the next room.” “Aye aye, Firebird.” Yang spoke for all of his team. The door was conveniently unlocked. The next room led to many metal containers with a second floor terrace. It was also empty. “This is fucking pointless. Where the hell are the-“ Sounds of gunfire echoed in the chamber, cutting off Hashtag midsentence. One of the shots made their mark right on the side of Hashtag’s torso. “ARG! MOTHERFUCKER, I’M HIT!” Gunfire still echoed through the room. They all took cover behind the crates. Spark immediately started tending to Hashtag’s wound. “Calm down!” She took a stimpack from her medicine bag. “Deep breath.” Hashtag obeyed, and Spark slammed the needle into his wound. He cringed from the pain. The medicine stared to work, rejuvenating the muscles and skin that were torn from the bullet. “How the fuck did they get the tech to rip through our shields and armor?!” Wire shouted over the storm of bullets. He started to return fire blindly. Firebird used his machines to return fire with precision. One of his shots sprayed red blood and brain matter on the wall behind his target. “Nice shot, Firebird!” Yang complimented. A metal cylinder clinked right next to them. Wire was the first to notice it. “Shit, gas!” The cylinder spewed a purple cloud of smoke. The team activated the foldable helmets on the back of their necks. The helmet was made with scale-like versions of the hard composite armor with a glass face visor. “Those fuckers shot my ass, and now they throw gas at us. They’re gonna pay!” Hashtag snarled, manning up to return fire with the team. After a couple of minutes of intense gunplay, the soldiers got through unscathed. “We good?” Wire asked hesitantly. “We’re good!” Yang replied. “Let’s check the bodies. Take off their helmets and make sure they don’t get up.” Firebird ordered. “Got it.” Yang followed his leader’s orders. He approached one of the mangled bodies. He bent down and took the dark helmet. He jumped back in shock. “Hashtag… check that body.” He pointed towards another riddled corpse. Hashtag removed the helmat from the corpse He too had a horrified face. “Pale face, white hair, and white eyes?” “Shit… Shit!” He started freaking out, pacing around the body, and tracking blood on the floor. “It’s the fucking M’Netai! They’re on Earth!” He dropped his rifle to grab his hair. “Then we need to retreat. Right now. There could be a whole army of them here.” Wire suggested. “Agreed. Let’s retreat.” Before he could even turn around, another shitstorm of bullets were fired at them. “Shit! Let’s get the FUCK OUTTA HERE!!” Hashtag grabbed his rifle to return fire. They all struggled to return to the lobby. They were successful, but barely. “Wire, can you set up your turret?” “No. Too much time!” They continued outside. It was raining hard and thunder cracked oddly close to them. “How the hell did a storm show up? It was sunny ten minutes ago…” Spark noted. “Get to the Raptor, go!” Firebird returned fire to buy his crew some precious seconds. The driver stepped out on the ramp to give the team some extra firepower. “Come on!!” He gestured with his hand to encourage them. One by one, the team hopped on the ramp. Finally, Firebird made it inside. “Shut the hatch.” The aliens crawled out of the door like roaches. One of them got lucky, and killed the driver. His ichor spewed on Firebirds face. “Shit!” The hatch door slammed shut with the hissing sound of the airlock. “Fuck, man! We need to drive.” Hashtag shouted between heavy breaths. “I’ll drive. You guys hang on tight.” Wire approached the cockpit, but something like an earthquake interrupted them. “What the hell is that?” Yang asked with increasing fear for his and his friends’ lives. It grew more intense every second. They started shaking. And shaking. Soon they were suspended in the air. And slammed down like ragdolls. Every single one of them blacked out. Ponyville, Equestria Golden Oak Library Twilight’s Chamber July 7, 2357 (Summer Sun 38, 1004 AB) 9:18 PM “Come on, Twilight. Shouldn’t you be going to bed instead of reading that?” The annoyed Spike moaned. Twilight smiled, closing the book with her magic, and leaving it on the desk. “I’m sorry, Spike. I guess it is getting kind of late…” She gazed outside for a moment. She caught a glimpse of Luna’s beautiful night. Celestia’s day was wonderful too, but you can only do so much to a sky that doesn’t show any stars. Luna had the opportunity every night to create one of most spectacular scenery’s of Equestria: the night sky itself. She took advantage of that opportunity every night as well. “Tell me about it.” Spike replied sarcastically. Twilight merely chuckled at his tone. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll go to bed in a minute.” Spike yawned in an exaggerated manner. He immediately hopped in his basket, wrapping his blankets around him. In less than a minute, he was fast asleep. Twilight shook her head. She approached the window to blow out the candle for the night. She marveled the night sky once again, admiring the placement of the stars, and catching a glimpse of a shooting star. Then, all hell broke loose. The sky exploded with a bright flash of light, blinding the unicorn. It only lasted a second, but it was more than enough to wake the quiet town of Ponyville. After it was over, the townsfolk started screaming in a panic. Twilight regained her composure to shut the window, muffling the voices of the ponies outside. She quickly turned around to check on Spike. To her amusement, he was still sound asleep. She pondered on what to do next. Part of her was curious about such a spontaneous phenomenon, and wanted to investigate it's origins, while the other just wanted to go to bed. I should wait until tomorrow to find out where it came from. I guess I could bring the girls along with me too. Still, I wonder what could have caused it. And why was it silent? Questions formed in her mind while she slowly trotted into bed. They continued to linger in her head until she finally met the state of unconsciousness. II 2 - Fria Världen, Earth England The Council's Palace July 7, 2357 4:42 PM (A few hours after the incident) Chaos is the only word to describe the arguments of the Council during that day. They all bickered at each other for a plan of action to respond to the events that occurred earlier that morning. "I propose a vote!" One of them raised there hand to make herself the center of attention. "Forget the votes! There is only one solution: we destroy the whole ghetto." One of them suggested in a callous tone. "Are you mad? Seventy percent of the population are citizens! What about them?!" "Acceptable losses." He immediately retorted. They continued to argue as if they were school children fighting over a mundane toy. The audience sat at watched them throw curses, threats, and suggestions at each other while whispering their own thoughts and opinions themselves. Among them sat a lone man in formal military attire. It was mainly a nice black suit covered with a blue sash that was decorated with medals of honor. On the shoulder, there was a patch that show the insignia of his rank. He observed the meeting silently before another man decided to sit next to him. "Did I miss anything?" He asked suddenly. The soldier turned to look at him. He was a young man, about in his late twenties, and wore an expensive suit. "Not much. They've been at each other's throats about the situation with my men today." He whispered back to him. The man seem to take an interest with the soldier. "Ah, so you are Commander Levi Karken?" "I suppose so." Levi replied in a less than friendly manner. The man reached to him with his hand to offer a greeting. Shrugging mentally, Levi returned the gesture, clasping his hand around the man's. "Ambassador Tristen Iechyd." He introduced himself, breaking the handshake he made with Levi. "I've heard a lot about you, sir. You and you're team are some of the only survivors from the attack on Edge." He stated proudly. Levi winced a bit at the mention of his now conquered home planet. He smiled weakly to seem friendly to the government official. "Yes. I guess we just got lucky. Forgive my curiosity, but aren't you suppose to be up there?" He pointed at the court, where the members of the council were still arguing with one another. Tristen chuckled. "I am not a Council Member. Well, not yet at least." He explained. Levi simply nodded. The council members continued their arguments, gradually getting louder and more out of control as time passed on. Finally, there was a loud and threatening shout in the room. "ENOUGH!!" The Council Members immediately halted their debate to gaze at the source of the outburst. Standing there at the back of the room was an near elderly man dressed in the finest blue and white robes that were outlined with gold. "Ah, the Emperor finally arrives." Tristen mused aloud to himself. The Emperor sat down on the chair the elevated higher than the Council Members to signify his position. "Have we really come down to the level as human beings to just simply kill the innocent citizens of our empire?" He asked rhetorically. He turned his eyes to one of the men in the front row of the audience. He instantly stood up. "General Sladeck, will you please brief me on the assignment that failed today?" "Yes, Emperor Amera." The Council Members and the audience gave the general their full, undivided attention. "The assignment was to confirm and eliminate all terrorist that were reported in the Chinese Ghetto, More specifically, Beijing. At around eleven AM, we lost communications with them, but they could still be tracked. This suggested that there was the use of a jammer. Approximately ten minutes later, we lost contact with them. Since then, they've have been declared MIA. The soldiers' names are: Corporal Randy Rison, Sergeant Sarah Evans, Lieutenant Richard Hashwell, Captain Steven Nipson, and Major Cottev Parker." Levi regretted hearing his team's names. Each of them were very close friends. They were born on the same planet, went to the same schools, trained at the same academy, and fought the very same enemy. Losing them was like losing a part of himself. General Sladeck was about to conclude his presentation. "Was has us intrigued about this assignment is that the Resistance used advanced technology along with the clever tactics to possibly kill them. Personally, I believe that there are two possibilities." The audience were at the edge of their seats to hear his opinion. "Either we have a spy or an imposter in our military..." He paused as he imagined his next theory. "... or the M'Netai have invaded Earth." The Council Members broke out in a chaotic ramble once again. The audience joined in with the Council, filling the room with mixed voices. "Order!" The Emperor shouted, once again returning the silence in the room. "I call for a vote." The Council stared at the Emperor, waiting for his suggestion. "I suggest we send in a strike team of a hundred men to investigate the area. If it is the Resistance, then that strike team will do what they need to do, and I'll conduct an investigation on our military to find the spy. If it is the M'Netai, then we'll do everything in our power to drive them back. Any agree?" "I!" Most of the Council Members raised their hands to agree with the vote. "Any appose?" None of them responded. "Then it is settled. This meeting is adjourned." About thirty minutes later Levi stood on the edge of a balcony, resting his arms against the railing. He slowly took a single cigarette from one of his pockets, and a light from the other. He stared off at the city below him. It was rush hour in the city streets. People were literally walking over the horrid traffic to get to their desired destinations. Holographic billboards showed a variaty of advertizements on the tallest of buildings. Levi flipped the switch to activate his lighter. Heat radiated onto his lips as the cigarette caught the tiny flame. He took a long drag from it, blowing the smoke out in the air in front of him. Footsteps could be heard approaching him. Tristen positioned himself right next to him, staring at the city just as Levi did. He turned his head over to Levi, smiling an amiable smile. "Gotta smoke?" He asked nonchalantly, as if he were best friends with Levi. Levi pulled another cigarette from his pocket and gave it to the ambassador. He also took out his lighter. Tristen took the offer and leaned in closer to the lighter. Levi ignited the flame, thus lighting the cigarette. "Thank you." "Don't mention it." Levi said in a friendly tone. He saw no need to be rude to a politician. They both stood silent for a moment, simply staring at the busy city. Tristen was first to break the silence. "Beautiful, ain't it?" He chuckled. "Ya know, you would think that in this century, we would have flying cars by now." He waved his hand for emphasis. "It would be much more convenient, don't ya think?" He sighed. "Maybe humanity is too busy flying into space and expanding to accomplish that dream." "Or maybe we just gave up. Maybe we failed too many times to complete such a dream, so we convinced ourselves that it was impossible and gave up." Levi stated, seeing the conversation as a pointless waste of time. "Nothing is impossible, my friend. We as a species proved that all over our history." Levi nodded as a response, caring less about the topic. "I know it must be hard on you. Losing your friends like that." "Ha! The term "friends" is an understatement. We were like blood related siblings. When one of us was in any form of trouble, we would be behind their backs. We got along better with each other than we did with our own parents!" Levi payed more attention to the change of topic in the conversation. "I see." Tristen finished his cigarette. He dropped it to the ground and stomped on it. "Tell you what. I am going to make you an offer you can't refuse." Levi's eyes dilated as he processed the new information. "I have my own personal space ship with my own personal militia to go with it." His smile grew wider. "I want you to accompany me for an intergalactic search and rescue mission to find your friends." Levi immediately grew suspicious. It sounded too good to be true. "What's the catch?" "No catch. That team is just as important to me as they are to you, obviously not in the same sense. There are only a few soldiers who had encounters with the M'Netai and live to say so. They could help us know our enemy a little better, thus giving us a useful advantage. Since they are your team, I want you to accompany me." He stretched his hand to seal the deal with Levi. "I'm afraid I have to turn you down. At least give me some time to think about it." He responded. "Right." Tristen's mood changed very slightly. He reached into his pocket to pull out a holo-card. "Once you're done "thinking about it", give me a call to make your final decision." He handed the card to Levi. He took it in a polite manner. "Thanks. I'll give you a call later." "Good man. I hope you'll allow me to help you." He patted Levi on the back and left him there to his own thoughts. Levi stared at the card which held his contact numbers. "What is he an ambassador of anyway?" He whispered to himself. He pocketed the card to save it for later. Unknown Location July 8, 2357 8:07 AM Hashtag was the first one to wake up from the incident. His state was groggy, and he could barely see. He immediately regained his composure when he saw the corpse of the driver in a pool of blood right in front of him. "Ah, shit!" He jumped up in sudden fear. After some heavy breathing, he noticed his team lying with unconsciousness on the floor. Some of them were in uncomfortable looking positions. He decided to open the hatch to get rid of the heavy smell of blood in the Raptor. It hissed, but took a lot longer to open than it usually did. "Come on, ya piece of shit." He kicked the plated door in anger. After about a whole minute, the door unfolded. Instead of the broken buildings and cracked roads he vaguely remembered, there was a whole forest. It wasn't an artificial forest inside a giant greenhouse back on Earth either. It was a real, living forest. "Holy…" Hashtag drifted off into a state of amazement. It reminded him of the expansive forest of his home planet, Edge. After a good five minutes of marveling at the scenery, he shook off his nostalgia to revive his leader. He trekked to the front of the Raptor to find Firebird, covering his nose to avoid the stench of death. It didn't take long to find him, but it was a challenge to keep himself from spilling the contents from his stomach everywhere. He crouched down to wake him up from his slumber. "Yo, Firebird." He spoke normally, shaking him gently. "Wake up, man!" He shook him more violently, but still, he got nowhere. "Forgive me for this... WAKE UP, COTTEV!" He slapped him with enough strength to leave his hand mark on Firebirds face. Firebird spontaneously woke up in confusion. "Did... you just... slap me?" He asked in a tired voice. "Of course not." He lied with a smile. He patted his friend on the shoulder to encourage him to get to his feet. "Are you gonna help me with the other guys or not?" He moved to the next unconscious body inside the vehicle. One by one, they all woke up tired and confused. "Is everyone alright?" Firebird asked more energetically. The machines in his body allowed him to wake up faster than a normal human being. "I'm fantastic." Wire shouted sarcastically. "I'm bleeding." Yang said with fake happiness as he pointed to an open wound on his forehead. "I can fix that." Spark chuckled. They all went outside to get away from the stench that lingered in the Raptor. Yang sat on the ground, leaning against the massive vehicle. Spark took out a stimpack along with gauze to treat his injuries. "So what's the plan, Firebird?" Hashtag was eager to do something. "Well, we are in uncharted territory." He scan the area using the optics in his eyes. "We are lucky. We landed an uncharted planet that can support life." He mused. "Yeah. We are also very far away from Earth where we confirmed an alien invasion. We are very lucky, in fact, I should see what happens when I jump off one of these trees. I'll probably be saved by an angel!" Wire said angrily. "Don't be such an ass, Wire. We are all stressed here." Yang grunted while Spark poke some tender spots. Wire scoffed. "Okay. We need to chart the area around us. I want a twenty meter radius around this area. Hashtag, Wire, You two do this, while I'll try to radio for help here." Firebird instructed his team. "Right. What about him?" Hashtag pointed to the corpse of the driver. They all stood silent for a moment. "Once you guys get back, we'll give him a proper funeral." Firebird approached the corpse. He took a tag from his chest. "Private Johnathan Nyril." He read aloud. "Hey, while you two are at it, why don't ya find us some food." Yang suggested. "I got you, brother. We'll be back at an hour, tops." Wire said with a new-found excitement for exploring. "Let's go! How does that cliche go? "We're not in... Kentucky anymore"?" Hashtag walked into the forest with Wire following close behind him. "I think it's "Carolina"." Wire responded. Firebird shook his head. He grabbed loose metal from the exterior of the smoking Raptor to dig a grave for the driver. Ponyville, Equestria Outside of the Everfree Forest June 8, 2357 (Summer Sun 39, 1004 AB) 8:35 AM "Are you sure we should do this?" An orange unicorn by the name of Snails asked his companion fearfully. "Yep!" His friend, Snips, replied. "I don't know... remember the last time we did something like this?" They both had vivid flashbacks about their horrible mistake. The ponies in town dubbed it: "The Ursa Major Incident". It was an event the two agreed never to mention. Ever. "Well, this isn't like last time. We're just looking for a rock." Snips reasoned. "Yeah, but what if there are monsters? Or witches? Or... aliens?" Snails was still trying to talk himself out of it. "What are you, a baby?" "What?! I am not a baby!" He stepped into the forest first to prove his point. "Let's go find that... rock." Both of them entered the forest without a care in the world. The wandered in an imaginary path to a visible pillar of smoke that rose over the trees of the forest. The deeper they went, the darker it got. The darker it got, the more scared the two became. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." Snails murmured. "Oh, come on! We'll be fine. We've been here before remember?" Snips tried to encourage him, but he was also getting more anxious of what lurked in the shadows. "Do you know the feeling of being watched?" Snails whispered. "H-how would I know?" They continued to converse with each other, unaware of the two bipedal creatures that were hiding behind the trees. "What do you think of horse meat?" Hashtag asked his only companion while aiming his rifle towards something in the distance. "Eh, it's not bacon, but I'll eat it. Why?" Wire turned to see what Hashtag was pointing his rifle at. Hashtag pointed to his two targets. "God, they look tasty." His mouth started to water at the thought of putting something in his stomach. "Don't you dare get a food fetish on me." Hashtag inched his finger closer to the trigger of his gun. "Ah, I can smell them already." "Charming." Wire took a closer look at his future meal. He noticed something peculiar about them besides their technicolor manes and coats. "Aren't those unicorns? Those magical horses with a horn?" Hashtag scoffed. "They are about to be a shit I will take in the near future. Now shut up and let me focus! I'm not a crack shot like Yang ya know." He once again aimed at his targets, controlling his breathing. His finger inched the trigger once more. He was interrupted by a bone chilling roar. Something like a lion ambushed the horse creatures. "What the hell is that?!" Wire almost jumped in shock. The scene reminded him of those stupid nature documentaries he had to watch in school. "Oh hell no. That thing is going to eat my breakfast!" He charged at the beast. "Damn it!" Wire cursed, chasing his friend. Hashtag screamed a war cry that came from the lungs of the very first hunter in his family. The beast was about to swing it's paw down for a killing blow to it's utterly terrified prey. Hashtag made it just in time to save his meal by standing in front of them to receive the attack. The beast's claws shattered into pieces when in made contact with his armor. The beast grabbed his paw in pain cartoonishly. Hashtag laughed maniacally and fired a few bursts from his rifle to scare the beast. "Ha ha! You ain't gonna steal my food ya little shit!" He taunted. The beast fled into the forest in fear for it's life. "That's right, run! I am the king of the jung- erm, forest now, bitch!" He lifted his middle finger to make himself look more conceited. "Wow, that was awesome!" A scratchy voice cheered from behind him. Hashtag turned around to find the source. The aliens who were about to become breakfast had just complimented him, and they both smiled too human smiles. "What the fu..." He trailed off. Wire finally caught up to him. "What the hell were you thinking?" He was breathing heavily from sprinting. "Shut up! No English!" Hashtag shouted in Hungarian. Wire was confused. "Why?" "Because they speak it!" Hashtag pointed to the unicorns, who both look wary that Hashtag switched to his native language. "Umm... What?" The orange one spoke. "See?" Hashtag didn't know whether to be scared or angry. "Shit. What do we do?" "We kill them, that's what we'll do." Hashtag said darkly, holding his rifle close to his chest. "No. We have to report this to Firebird. He'll know what to do," Wire suggested, attempting to approach the situation as wisely as possible. "But what do we do about these guys right now?" Hashtag asked angrily. "I have an idea." Wire pulled his sidearm from his holster. He turned to face the confused unicorns eye to eye. "Run as fast as you can. Get out of here and do not come back." He warned. For emphasis, he fired two stray shots into the sky. The unicorns happily obeyed him, comically tripping over each other to get out of there. "So what do we do now?" Hashtag said in a volume just above a whisper. "We finish charting and report this to Firebird." He sighed heavily. "I think our "luck" just ran out." Author's Note For those who dislike this story, I would love to know why. And please use a different reason besides "It's an HiE fic". I love constructive criticism, so don't be afraid to tell me that I suck at something, because it helps me strive to become a better author. Thanks! III 3 - This chapter has not been edited for spelling/grammar mistakes yet. Unknown Location Raptor July 8, 2357 9:56 AM Firebird place a cross made out of two pieces of wood on a soft patch of dirt on the ground. He lifted his fist to his heart to pay his respect towards the fallen soldier. Yang chuckled, holding an ice pack to soothe his throbbing head. "A cross? I thought you weren't religious, Firebird." He spoke softly. "I'm not. There wasn't any good boulder to create a tombstone with, and there wasn't anything to carve an epitaph on the stone either." He explained. He took the dog tags he took from the body and wrapped it around the cross. "So I did the next best thing." "And back home, everyone thinks you're a badass cyborg soldier with no feelings." Yang mused. "Far from it." Firebird chuckled. They were both silent for a moment. "So why did you volunteer to get augmented?" Yang asked suddenly. "I thought I already told you." "I wasn't really paying attention last time, to be honest. I didn't think you would've actually do it." Firebird sighed. He walked up to the Raptor and took a seat next to his friend. "I thought it would be the right thing to do." He started. "I thought I would be an example to humanity." Yang looked at him with confusion of what he was trying to say. "How?" He asked. Firebird thought for a moment. "I think that we have to make sacrifices for the greater good for everyone else." He chuckled. "Yeah, I know it sounds cheesy." "Not in this day in age. If the Royal Resistance learned that and actually help us, then we could have a better chance to defeat the M'Netai." He scoffed. Spark came out of the vehicle with another ice pack. "Hey, boys. Did you miss me?" She asked playfully. "I did!" Yang referred to the ice pack she was carrying. He threw the old one to the ground and snatched the new one from Spark's hand. "Asshole." Spark said plainly. "Oh, don't be like that! You can't stand it when I'm hurt. Right, sweety?" He said in a tone like one would to new puppy. Spark snarled. "You have a minor concussion. And don't you dare call me "sweety" ever again. It sounds creepy coming from your voice." She clenched her fist. "Yeah, sorry. Won't happen again." Yang apologized, partially agreeing with her. He grunted in pain. "Ugh. It might be a minor concussion, but it still hurts like hell." He complained. "So what do we do now, Firebird?" Spark asked. "We wait until Wire and Hashtag come back." He said with a sigh. "The communications in that thing are busted, so I couldn't radio for help." He was disappointed. "So, we might be here for how long?" Yang asked hesitantly. "Months... at least." "Shit." Yang kicked out his leg in anger. "I kind of like it here. It reminds me of Edge." Spark reassured. "Yes it does. Before the aliens invaded. The same aliens that are now on Earth." Yang argued. "Oh come on, Yang. You're starting to sound like Wire. You gotta make the best of our situation." Spark told him. "Yeah. I guess your right. Sorry." He sighed. "Speaking of which, where are those two? It's been an hour already, and I'm starving." He complained like a little child. "You're such a baby, Yang." Firebird got up to his feet. "I'm sure they'll be here soon." "Oh yeah? Twenty credits for five minutes." "Alright. Twenty credits for one." They shook each other's hands as an agreement. Spark chuckled. "Yo!" Hashtag's voice rang past the trees. "We got some food!" "Shit." Yang pulled out a slab of metal that was worth twenty credits. He handed it to Firebird, who was smiling victoriously. "I call bullshit on that." Hashtag arrived to the group first, holding a small digital map in his hands. Wire followed after him, carrying a stick with a variety of fish attached to it."Look what we got!" Hashtag cheered excitingly. "Okay, what the hell is that?" Spark pointed to one fish in particular. It was pretty large, and it's scales showed all the six colors of the rainbow. "Hell if I know. It's a fish, so I am going to eat it." Wire stated as a fact. "How did you make the rod?" Yang asked curiously. Wire laughed. "I didn't catch them with this piece of shit! I did it the old fashioned way. I took worms that were on the ground and stuck 'em in the water until the fish bite my hand." He held out his hand which had blood dripping from his fingers. "One of those bastards got me good." "He made the strings from the veins from leaves that grew on this giant plant thing." Hashtag explained. "So... do you need a bandage?" Spark asked Wire, who's hand was still dripping blood. "Yeah. That would be good." "You didn't get any blood on the fish, did you?" Firebird examined the multicolored fish. "I'm pretty sure I didn't. It won't matter anyway, we still gotta slice them up and cook them." Wire winced a bit once a wet rag of alcohol touched his wounds. "Damn, that burns." "Oh, and Firebird?" Hashtag got the attention of his leader. "We have a situation." Firebird sighed. "It will have to wait until after we pay our respects." "Yes, sir." Most of them surrounded the grave site. Yang was the only one who didn't move, albeit his migraine was getting worse by the minute. Firebird decided to make a short speech in his honor. "All of us hardly knew this man, but we saw that through his actions, he was worth knowing. This man fearlessly gave up his life to save ours. He could of easily saved himself by staying in the cockpit of the Raptor, and one of us could have taken the killing blow instead. For that, we thank you, Johnathan Nyril. We shall set you as an example that any soldier who represents humanity should live by. May you rest in peace." Everyone gave him a moment of silence. Firebird saluted the grave. "Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust." Spark whispered. "Now, about that "situation"." Firebird gazed at Hashtag, who sighed in regret of what he was about to say. "Prepare yourself, Firebird. You are not going to like it." Ponyville, Equestria Outside of the Everfree Forest July 8, 2357 (Summer Sun 39, 1004) 10:17 AM Twilight Sparkle and her friends gathered around the entrance of the terrifying forest. Twilight was accompanied by the hardy Applejack, the brave Rainbow Dash, The timid Fluttershy, The posh, but generous Rarity, and the bubbly Pinkie Pie. Twilight smiled looked at her friends with a nervous smile. "So, are we all ready?" She asked to make sure that this plan would go perfectly. "What are we doing again?" Pinkie Pie smiled innocently. Everypony gazed at her with confused expressions. "You mean you forgot already? Even I payed attention to Twilight this time." Rainbow Dash commented. "Of course I didn't forget, silly!" Pinkie chuckled. "The audience needs some exposition to know what's going on. They might get confused!" She happily explained. Everypony looked at her as if she were crazy. In the end, however, nopony would question her insane logic. "I'll explain it one more time, okay Pinkie?" Twilight started. "Basically, we are all here to find out what has been causing all the weirder than normal things in the forest. Like the smoke cloud earlier today, and the soundless flash last night." "Don't forget the best part!" Dash butted in. "There could be aliens in there!" Twilight chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm. "As much as that would be an incredible discovery for the whole world, I doubt that there are any aliens." "There is always that possibility, darling." Said Rarty, who also invited herself in the conversation. "Since when did ya' hav' an intahrest in aliens?" Applejack faced Rarity with curiosity. "We all had an interest in the unknown as fillies." Rarity explained. "I just hope that they are... nice aliens." Fluttershy whispered to nopony in particular. She remembered how Snips and Snails ran through the town shouting how monsters scared off a manticore. "Like I said, I doubt that there are any aliens." Twilight humored herself at the thought of her and her friends being the first ponies to discover aliens. But what are the chances of that? "If we're all ready, then let's go!" They all entered the forest, semi-aware of what they might encounter. "So... let me get this straight. While you were playing "cartographers", you came across an alien race. These aliens were about to be attacked by a manticore, so you "accidentally" saved them because you thought they were food. Oh yeah, they were also unicorns who spoke English." Yang summarized the explanation that the two soldiers gave them. "Well, that depends. What's a manticore?" Hashtag asked. "A manticore is creature in mythology. It has a body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. In some stories, it also has the face of a man." Yang explained. "Then, yeah, you are right." "Do you have any idea how illogical that sounds. Aliens I can understand. But unicorns? fucking unicorns!? Are you serious?" Yang tried to make sense of it. "He's right, Yang. I saw them with my own eyes too." Wire said with a mouthful of fish. "Whatever. Unicorns or not, they are still aliens. What should we do, Firebird?" Spark asked, taking another bite of the strange rainbow fish (Which oddly enough, tasted like sweet raspberries). "Nothing." "What?!" Hashtag yelled. "We will not interfere with them. We don't know their population, what weapons they have, or if they are hostile. So we will do nothing." Firebird ordered. "And what will we do if some of them decide to venture here?" Wire asked suspiciously. "Why?" Yang noticed that something was wrong. "Because we got six unidentified signatures outside of our twenty meter perimeter." Wire said normally. "Shit. Okay, everyone equip your helmets and cloaking devices. Hashtag, I want an EMP trap set up here if they decide to come here. Hopefully, it should scare them off." "Yes, sir. I'm on it. Just to let you know, it might kill them" "Doesn't matter. Hashtag, you hide here. Everyone else spread out." "Yes, sir!" Everyone obeyed his orders. They shimmered into nothing as the cloaking devices in their armor took effect. Hashtag waited by a tree for a chance to strike. "What do you think they will look like?" Dash asked to keep herself from getting bored. "Ah don't know. Maybe they'll look like us." Applejack answered her views on the subject. "Maybe they'll have eight arms. Or like a billion eyes. Or maybe they'll have party hats attached to their heads!!" Pinkie blabbered. "Why... party hats?" Rarity asked. "Because they might live on a giant cupcake! And parties will be a tradition they do for their whole lives!" Rarity almost regretted asking. "What do you think the aliens would look like, Twilight?" Dash asked. "For the last time, I highly doubt that there... are... any... aliens..." Her eyes caught a hold of something. It was a massive metal structure. It had three sets of wheels, kind of like a carriage, but they were made with a different material instead of wood. There was a fit pit in front of it that was still lit, which indicated that something was recently there. "What was that about no aliens, nonbeliever?" Dash said playfully. "That thing is... well, huge." Twilight commented. "What are we waiting for? Let's go find the party hat aliens!" Pinkie bounced nonchalantly to the structure. Everypony followed her, but much more carefully. They investigated the area around the metal monster. The only thing they found interesting was the dry pool of blood inside the structure, and the wooden cross on top of some disturbed dirt. Fluttershy notice the metal tags wrapped around the cross. "Did one of them... die?" She asked hesitantly. "Ah reckon' so. Ah mean... it sur' seems that way." Applejack said sadly. "There's nothing here. They must have left." Twilight observed. "I don't know... something doesn't seem right. I don't hear any animals." Fluttershy said. She was right. The forest was eerily quiet, which was unusual since an lot of different creatures lived there. Fluttershy noticed something move at the corner of her eye. She turn to look, but nothing was there. Or, at least it seemed that nothing was there. Hashtag was breathing slowly. Not only were there unicorns, but there were pegasi and "normal" ones. They spoke perfect English as well. One of the aliens even had a Dixie accent. As calm as he was, he felt his heart pumping once one was looking at his general direction. Even though it was totally adorable, his mind kept flashing images of it spraying some sort of acid out of it's eyes. "What's wrong, Fluttershy?" A pegasus with a stupidly amount of colors on it's mane and tail asked the one that was looking at him. "I-I don't know. I think I see something.." Oh shit. He slowly reached the detonator device in his chest pocket. The rainbow one squinted it's large eyes to try to see what it's friend sees. He grabbed the device and inched his thumb towards the button. The rainbow one opened her eyes in fright. It sees me. He pushed the button slowly, but surely. "Timberwolves!" It shouted. Suddenly, wooden figures sprung up from behind him, unaware of his presence. The aliens ran in fear as three wooden wolves viciously assaulted them. They all got separated. Thank God! He noticed that the three wolves exclusively chased down the purple unicorn. "Fuck saving them again. I'm letting nature take it's course this time." He told himself Yang positioned himself on a tree to create the extra mile to not get caught. He held his trusty sniper rifle closely to his chest. He admired it very much. It was a powerful rifle, capable of taking down a Vulture attack chopper with one shot to the tail. To add icing on the cake, it was completed with an integrated silencer that muffled it entirely. "You are such a beauty." He told it, since he had no one else to talk to. "I wonder how long I have to be up here. What do you think?" He shook his gun to make it seem like it was talking to him. "I'm talking to a gun." He sighed. "I hope this doesn't last longer than it has to." He told his gun again. His thoughts were interrupted by a fearful screaming. He turn to look at the source. To his surprise, it was a purple unicorn running away from wooden wolf figures. No fucking way. They were right. He witnessed the wolves corner the poor thing at the edge of a cliff. He saw the total fear in it's eye. It was almost as if it was human. But it isn't. Firebird told me to not interfere. He started getting mixed feelings for the alien. He finally made a decision. Ugh. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. He loaded incendiary rounds in his rifle. Twilight calmed down just a tiny bit. All she had to do was to do the oldest trick in the book. She was going to wait until the alpha wound take his chance to pounce, then she would teleport behind them. It was a straightforward plan, but she had to exicute it perfectly to escape. The alpha made the first move by stepping in front of the pack. He shifted his weight to his haunches, ready to bounce. Twilight began to charge up the spell. Suddenly, the alpha became engulfed in flames. Just as quickly as the other two reacted, they caught alight. They sheer suddenness cause Twilight to jump back. Straight down the cliff. She screamed in peril. By a minuscule amount of luck, she grabbed a loose branch that protruded from the rocks of the cliff. She laughed nervously. But, after a few seconds, the branch snapped. She plummeted headfirst to the water-less base down below. Just quickly as she fell, she stopped. She opened her eyes to see that she was dangling from something. She felt something clasping around her back hoof. "Don't worry. I got ya." A muffled masculine voice reasured. She turned her head to see a heavily armored figure grabbing a metal rope in one hand, and her hoof in the other. Oh. My. Gosh. It's an alien! She was mixed with excitement, fear, and gratefulness all in one emotional cocktail. The alien hoisted himself up on the edge of the cliff. He managed to throw Twilight up just enough to grab her by the stomach. Once he was near the tip of the cliff, he lifted Twilight up for her to climb on top of it. Once Twilight was settled, the alien lifted himself on the ground. He ignored Twilight to sit and lean against a tree. He grunted in pain. He took of the glass-like helmet on his head. "Ah. That's better." He looked kind of aged. He had no fur on his face, albeit the black spiky mane on his head. He had a good amount of scars on his cheeks and lips. There was a white bandage around his forehead that was splotched with dried blood stains. "I need some aspirin." He told no one in particular. Twilight couldn't believe it. He was an actual real life alien. "Um... Thanks." She said, unsure of what to ask him first. "Yeah. Don't mention it." He stared at her for a moment. "Funny. You also speak English." "Actually, you are speaking Equestrian." Twilight corrected him. "Whatever. I understand you, and you understand me. That's good enough for me" He grunted in pain again. "Are you alright?" "It's just headaches. Nothing to fuss about." Twilight decided to use this situation for an advantage. "What's your name?" He looked at her, ignoring his headaches. "Yang. Just call me Yang." He answered. Yang. His name is Yang! Twilight was really excited. She was the first pony ever to not only find, but communicate with an actual alien. "I hope you don't mind, but I have so many questions..." "I'm sure you do, but unfortunately, I don't have time to answer them." He said. "Let me just say straight. My species is kind of... afraid of anything other than my species. I could be killed for talking to you right now. We can talk to each other another time, if we ever meet again. But for now..." He put the glass helmet back on his face. "... I have to go." "Wait! But-" "If you don't want to get hurt... or worse... I suggest you do not follow me. Goodbye, uh..." "Twilight Sparkle." He nodded once he heard her name. "Goodbye, Twilight." She was surprised once the armor shimmered into nothingness. He completely disappeared. Oh my gosh... IACTUALLYTALKEDTOAREALLIFEALIENTHISISSOUNBELIEVEABLE!! She mentally rambled. "Twilight!!" Dash came out of nowhere. "Are you alright! Where are the timberwolves?" Dash asked. "I'm fine, Dash. I think I outran them." She remembered how they spontaneously combusted earlier. "I think we should go home now." "What?! But we only just got started." "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find something tomorrow." Dash tried to find a reason to stay and find the aliens, but decided to trust the judgement of her friend. "Fine, okay." Twilight tried her hardest to hide her excitement. She just made the biggest discovery in all of Equestrian history. Author's Note Due to finals at school this week, I won't be posting updates for a while. Just to warn you. Constructive criticism is always appreciated!
I 1 - Fria Världen, Earth Russia The War Room July 7, 2357 8:37 AM “So what do you plan to do about it, General?” The formerly dressed brigadier questioned, concerned about the very nature of this particular assignment. General Sladeck stroked his ageing beard thoroughly in thought. “The solution is very simple. We have to send in a cleanup team.” “That isn’t extreme to you?” “It is.” He sighed heavily. The thought of potentially killing innocent civilians due to a few terrorist was terrible in its self, but to actually have to make the order was even worse. “Ever since this whole war with the M’Netai started…” He trailed off. To him, it was like a bad omen in a story. Genocidal extra terrestrials invade Världen’s colonies while the humans on Earth spilled their own blood. He shook his head, and stared at the holographic war table. The table displayed the Chinese Ghetto, which spanned from Beijing to Shenyang. He made a motion with his fingers to allow himself to zoom into Beijing, where the suspicious reports originated from. “It looks like I’ll have to send-“ He was cut off by a servant barging unannounced at the door. “General Sladeck. Forgive the interruption, but someone has requested to witness your strategies.” He spoke assertively. The brigadier was the first to respond, nearly grabbing his sidearm at the outburst. “What is the meaning of this? Who is so important that you would disturb a classified assignment for them to witness it?” “None other than the general’s son of course.” He spoke matter-of-factly. As if on cue, a young boy by the age of twelve entered the room in attire fit for the Emperor. The expressions of both the general’s and brigadier’s face changed into warm smiles. “Ah, Mattock! Have you come here to study the strategies of war?” “Of course, Father” He said with a smile “Aye, that there is smart boy. He is destined to become a commander under your wing, General.” Sladeck chuckled at the compliment. He motioned his son to the war table. The boy was just high enough to see it. “This assignment, my son, is going to be a small battle with the Resistance.” The General started. He flipped a couple of switches at the base of the table. Faces of soldiers lined up on top each other from highest rank to the lowest. Sladeck looked to his son. “Can you find out what these individuals specialize in by their emblems?” He asked like a teacher would to a student. Mattock beamed with excitement, ready to impress his father. He read from bottom to top. He pointed at the photo. “Corporal Randy “Wire” Rison. He’s a Combat Engineer.” He stated, earning an approving nod from his father. He continued. “Sergeant Sarah “Spark” Evans. She is a Field Medic. Lieutenant Richard “Hashtag” Hashwell. He is a Demolitionist. Captain Steven “Yang” Nipson. He is a Sniper. And finally, Major Cottev “Firebird” Parker. He is…” He examined his emblem, but it was unfamiliar to him. It was in the shape of Fria Världen’s insignia: a phoenix with its wings outstretched. His father chuckled, knowing that his son didn’t know what he was. “He is an Agent.” “An Agent?” “Yes. They are our new breed of soldiers. They volunteered to have machines implanted in them to make them the jacks of all trades. If you look closely at his eyes, you’ll see the digital optics in his irises.” He zoomed into the Agent’s eyes. They were blue, but not naturally so. The pupil was like a camera lens, and it had smaller versions of these lenses around his irises. “Amazing isn’t it? With these soldiers, we have a good chance of winning both our civil war and the Xeno War.” His son brightened up. “And I’m going to watch them battle from here?” “Yes. Make sure to take notes, you may need them in the future.” He pulled up another holographic profile labeled with the name of the team’s commander, Levi “Nest” Karken. Under his name, an audio wave was shown. “You called me, General?” “Yes, Commander. There has been suspicious activity in Beijing, near the Wangjing District. I want your team to investigate, and eradicate any confirmed terrorist.” “What kind of suspicious activity was reported?” “Murders and possible abductions.” “Alright, sir. We’ll get on it.” He cut himself off from the communications. The aging general sighed. “Let’s hope they’ll keep civilian casualties to a minimum.” Beijing, China Wangjing District Raptor (Armored Personal Vehicle) July 7, 2357 10:56 AM It was cramped inside the monster of a vehicle. Small rays of sunlight shined through the miniscule excuses for windows near the roof of the vehicle. Inside sat a small group of five soldiers, doing their own little task while waiting to arrive to their destination. One man was cleaning his weapon with a smooth cloth, another man was reading a book, a woman stared at a picture of a family member, and another man taking a drag of a cigarette, and one man stared at his crew. The one cleaning his weapon took an interest on the book another was reading. “So, what ya got there, Yang?” He shouted over the bumps of the road. Yang lifted his head to look at his comrade for only a second. He looked back down to continue his reading. “A book made out of paper. I’m reading it. Something you wouldn’t be interested in doing in, Hashtag.” Hashtag read the title while Yang spoke. “Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix. What’s it about?” “Ha! You’re shitting me, Hashtag. Have you never of the Harry Potter series?” A man said, taking another drag from his cigarette. “As a matter of fact, no. Enlighten me with your vast knowledge on the subject, Wire.” Hashtag said with annoyance, eager to know what Harry Potter was. “Harry Potter is a book series about a young wizard. It starts from Sorcerer’s Stone to The Deathly Hallows. It’s pretty entertaining.” Wire puffed a cloud of chemicals, filling the air with the scent of cigarette smoke. “And you read them all?” “Well, yeah.” “I’ve read them all too.” Yang butted in, flipping the page. The woman lifted up her head as she put the picture away in a pocket. She flipped her hair and began the process of making a ponytail. “Why do you have a paper copy anyway? That’s kind of old fashioned.” She chuckled. “I like being old fashioned, Spark. Ever since I was a kid, I always wondered how people got by in the twenty-first century.” He replied. “You sound like my grandfather.” She turned to the only silent person in the vehicle. “You’ve been awfully quiet, Firebird.” She commented out loud. The rest of the crew turned to face their field leader. He snapped out of his trance. “Is something bothering you?” He was silent for a moment. “It’s just the order we’ve been given by Nest. He said that a total cleanup was needed. No survivors.” He said darkly. “And they expect us to be okay with that?” Hashtag replied with a growing anger. “We have to be.” Firebird spoke plainly. “Let’s just look at the bright side. We might be doing them a favor. Some say death is better than living in the Chinese Ghetto.” Wire tried to lighten them up. “They’re still innocent civilians, Wire! Men, women, and children just trying to get by.” Spark’s outburst brought water in her eyes, but she held back some tears. “It’s all the fucking M’Natai’s fault anyway. Let’s face it, we could’ve solved the terrorist problems, but then they showed up.” Yang spoke calmly. They were all silent for what seemed like an eternity. They were on the frontlines, fighting against the alien threat. They saw what they could do, and how they didn’t show any guilt by killing families. “If those bastards ever get to Earth, we’re fucked.” Hashtag finally broke the silenced. “Just don’t jinx it, ya dingus.” Yang replied, once again flipping a page. The intercom which allowed the driver to speak with the passengers came on suddenly. “Five minutes ‘till drop off.” He spoke in a monotone voice. The team immediately stopped what they were doing. Wire stomp on his smoke, Yang put his book away in a bag where he kept some miscellaneous items, and Spark put her photo away in one of the abundant pockets in her pants. “Right. Let’s suit up.” Firebird ordered. He was followed by a hardy “yes sir” from each of his crew members. Each of them took bits and pieces of their standard issue combat armor. It was mostly a fiber metal material. It was specifically designed to be flexible and light, but tough enough to stop a titanium blade. Once the fiber metal was equipped, they strapped on immobile breast plates, bicep plating, forearm gauntlets, thigh plating, shin guards, and armored shoes. Along with all the raw armor protection, each set of armor had a shield generator powered by a solar-powered cell. The whole set took at least two minutes to be equipped and armed. They each grabbed their customized weapons once they were outfitted. Everyone had an assault rifle that used conventional ammunition, a sidearm that used the sun for ammunition, and special items that was dedicated to their unique skills. Wire had an auto-turret which he could place in strategic locations, Spark carried medical equipment not normally found at the frontlines of the twenty-first century, Yang wielded a powerful sniper rifle, Hashtag equipped a variety of explosives, and Firebird sheathed a thin katana. “Thirty seconds.” “Are we all ready?” Firebird clicked his weapons as he took a look at his crew. “All set.” Hashtag smiled. “Let’s kick some ass.” As if on cue, the vehicle came to a complete stop. “Open the hatch!” Firebird ordered the driver. The gears and pistons hissed as the door opened dramatically in a ramp style. Sunlight breached through the once dark chamber, forcing the soldiers to squint their eyes. Each of them trotted outside of the vehicle, forming a semicircle around the ramp that led inside of the vehicle. It was a literal hellhole outside. Almost every single was decimated from terrorist attacks from the resistance. The streets were cracked to a point where they had massive foliage growing from the cracks. The building ahead of them wasn’t as bad as the others. It was a massive warehouse complex, and it still had some of the white paint on the war torn bricks. “Leave it to the Resistance to choose the nicest and largest building in the Ghetto.” Hashtag commented. “Fucking assholes.” “Tell me about it. We could’ve used this as a homeless shelter.” Spark said with a little sympathy for the people who lived there. “I don’t think it would shelter about two million people.” Yang scanned the area around him. “Let’s just clean it up. It’s not our choice what the government does with it. Move in quietly.” Firebird ordered. The team moved up with as much stealth as they could muster. “Nest? Can you read me? Nest?! Dammit, they must have a jammer.” They continued without there communications. “It’s clear outside. A little quiet, don’t ya think?” Wire muttered. They got to the entrance of the warehouse, still cautious about their surroundings. Firebird attempted to open the door, and just as expected it was locked. “Holographic locks. Hashtag, place an EMP charge.” Hashtag did what he was told. He placed a sticky strip, and placed it on the lock. Once he stepped back into his place, the explosive combusted into electrical sparks. “Breach!” “Breaching.” One by one, the team reformed their semicircle inside of the building. The entrance looked like a lobby of sorts, with many other doors leading to different parts of the building. It’s was also devoid of anyone besides the soldiers. “It’s clear. I’m expecting an ambush now.” Hashtag spoke with a slight sarcastic tone. “Are they even smart enough to plan something like that?” Spark asked no one in particular. “Stay focused. Let’s move to the next room.” “Aye aye, Firebird.” Yang spoke for all of his team. The door was conveniently unlocked. The next room led to many metal containers with a second floor terrace. It was also empty. “This is fucking pointless. Where the hell are the-“ Sounds of gunfire echoed in the chamber, cutting off Hashtag midsentence. One of the shots made their mark right on the side of Hashtag’s torso. “ARG! MOTHERFUCKER, I’M HIT!” Gunfire still echoed through the room. They all took cover behind the crates. Spark immediately started tending to Hashtag’s wound. “Calm down!” She took a stimpack from her medicine bag. “Deep breath.” Hashtag obeyed, and Spark slammed the needle into his wound. He cringed from the pain. The medicine stared to work, rejuvenating the muscles and skin that were torn from the bullet. “How the fuck did they get the tech to rip through our shields and armor?!” Wire shouted over the storm of bullets. He started to return fire blindly. Firebird used his machines to return fire with precision. One of his shots sprayed red blood and brain matter on the wall behind his target. “Nice shot, Firebird!” Yang complimented. A metal cylinder clinked right next to them. Wire was the first to notice it. “Shit, gas!” The cylinder spewed a purple cloud of smoke. The team activated the foldable helmets on the back of their necks. The helmet was made with scale-like versions of the hard composite armor with a glass face visor. “Those fuckers shot my ass, and now they throw gas at us. They’re gonna pay!” Hashtag snarled, manning up to return fire with the team. After a couple of minutes of intense gunplay, the soldiers got through unscathed. “We good?” Wire asked hesitantly. “We’re good!” Yang replied. “Let’s check the bodies. Take off their helmets and make sure they don’t get up.” Firebird ordered. “Got it.” Yang followed his leader’s orders. He approached one of the mangled bodies. He bent down and took the dark helmet. He jumped back in shock. “Hashtag… check that body.” He pointed towards another riddled corpse. Hashtag removed the helmat from the corpse He too had a horrified face. “Pale face, white hair, and white eyes?” “Shit… Shit!” He started freaking out, pacing around the body, and tracking blood on the floor. “It’s the fucking M’Netai! They’re on Earth!” He dropped his rifle to grab his hair. “Then we need to retreat. Right now. There could be a whole army of them here.” Wire suggested. “Agreed. Let’s retreat.” Before he could even turn around, another shitstorm of bullets were fired at them. “Shit! Let’s get the FUCK OUTTA HERE!!” Hashtag grabbed his rifle to return fire. They all struggled to return to the lobby. They were successful, but barely. “Wire, can you set up your turret?” “No. Too much time!” They continued outside. It was raining hard and thunder cracked oddly close to them. “How the hell did a storm show up? It was sunny ten minutes ago…” Spark noted. “Get to the Raptor, go!” Firebird returned fire to buy his crew some precious seconds. The driver stepped out on the ramp to give the team some extra firepower. “Come on!!” He gestured with his hand to encourage them. One by one, the team hopped on the ramp. Finally, Firebird made it inside. “Shut the hatch.” The aliens crawled out of the door like roaches. One of them got lucky, and killed the driver. His ichor spewed on Firebirds face. “Shit!” The hatch door slammed shut with the hissing sound of the airlock. “Fuck, man! We need to drive.” Hashtag shouted between heavy breaths. “I’ll drive. You guys hang on tight.” Wire approached the cockpit, but something like an earthquake interrupted them. “What the hell is that?” Yang asked with increasing fear for his and his friends’ lives. It grew more intense every second. They started shaking. And shaking. Soon they were suspended in the air. And slammed down like ragdolls. Every single one of them blacked out. Ponyville, Equestria Golden Oak Library Twilight’s Chamber July 7, 2357 (Summer Sun 38, 1004 AB) 9:18 PM “Come on, Twilight. Shouldn’t you be going to bed instead of reading that?” The annoyed Spike moaned. Twilight smiled, closing the book with her magic, and leaving it on the desk. “I’m sorry, Spike. I guess it is getting kind of late…” She gazed outside for a moment. She caught a glimpse of Luna’s beautiful night. Celestia’s day was wonderful too, but you can only do so much to a sky that doesn’t show any stars. Luna had the opportunity every night to create one of most spectacular scenery’s of Equestria: the night sky itself. She took advantage of that opportunity every night as well. “Tell me about it.” Spike replied sarcastically. Twilight merely chuckled at his tone. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll go to bed in a minute.” Spike yawned in an exaggerated manner. He immediately hopped in his basket, wrapping his blankets around him. In less than a minute, he was fast asleep. Twilight shook her head. She approached the window to blow out the candle for the night. She marveled the night sky once again, admiring the placement of the stars, and catching a glimpse of a shooting star. Then, all hell broke loose. The sky exploded with a bright flash of light, blinding the unicorn. It only lasted a second, but it was more than enough to wake the quiet town of Ponyville. After it was over, the townsfolk started screaming in a panic. Twilight regained her composure to shut the window, muffling the voices of the ponies outside. She quickly turned around to check on Spike. To her amusement, he was still sound asleep. She pondered on what to do next. Part of her was curious about such a spontaneous phenomenon, and wanted to investigate it's origins, while the other just wanted to go to bed. I should wait until tomorrow to find out where it came from. I guess I could bring the girls along with me too. Still, I wonder what could have caused it. And why was it silent? Questions formed in her mind while she slowly trotted into bed. They continued to linger in her head until she finally met the state of unconsciousness.
II 2 - Fria Världen, Earth England The Council's Palace July 7, 2357 4:42 PM (A few hours after the incident) Chaos is the only word to describe the arguments of the Council during that day. They all bickered at each other for a plan of action to respond to the events that occurred earlier that morning. "I propose a vote!" One of them raised there hand to make herself the center of attention. "Forget the votes! There is only one solution: we destroy the whole ghetto." One of them suggested in a callous tone. "Are you mad? Seventy percent of the population are citizens! What about them?!" "Acceptable losses." He immediately retorted. They continued to argue as if they were school children fighting over a mundane toy. The audience sat at watched them throw curses, threats, and suggestions at each other while whispering their own thoughts and opinions themselves. Among them sat a lone man in formal military attire. It was mainly a nice black suit covered with a blue sash that was decorated with medals of honor. On the shoulder, there was a patch that show the insignia of his rank. He observed the meeting silently before another man decided to sit next to him. "Did I miss anything?" He asked suddenly. The soldier turned to look at him. He was a young man, about in his late twenties, and wore an expensive suit. "Not much. They've been at each other's throats about the situation with my men today." He whispered back to him. The man seem to take an interest with the soldier. "Ah, so you are Commander Levi Karken?" "I suppose so." Levi replied in a less than friendly manner. The man reached to him with his hand to offer a greeting. Shrugging mentally, Levi returned the gesture, clasping his hand around the man's. "Ambassador Tristen Iechyd." He introduced himself, breaking the handshake he made with Levi. "I've heard a lot about you, sir. You and you're team are some of the only survivors from the attack on Edge." He stated proudly. Levi winced a bit at the mention of his now conquered home planet. He smiled weakly to seem friendly to the government official. "Yes. I guess we just got lucky. Forgive my curiosity, but aren't you suppose to be up there?" He pointed at the court, where the members of the council were still arguing with one another. Tristen chuckled. "I am not a Council Member. Well, not yet at least." He explained. Levi simply nodded. The council members continued their arguments, gradually getting louder and more out of control as time passed on. Finally, there was a loud and threatening shout in the room. "ENOUGH!!" The Council Members immediately halted their debate to gaze at the source of the outburst. Standing there at the back of the room was an near elderly man dressed in the finest blue and white robes that were outlined with gold. "Ah, the Emperor finally arrives." Tristen mused aloud to himself. The Emperor sat down on the chair the elevated higher than the Council Members to signify his position. "Have we really come down to the level as human beings to just simply kill the innocent citizens of our empire?" He asked rhetorically. He turned his eyes to one of the men in the front row of the audience. He instantly stood up. "General Sladeck, will you please brief me on the assignment that failed today?" "Yes, Emperor Amera." The Council Members and the audience gave the general their full, undivided attention. "The assignment was to confirm and eliminate all terrorist that were reported in the Chinese Ghetto, More specifically, Beijing. At around eleven AM, we lost communications with them, but they could still be tracked. This suggested that there was the use of a jammer. Approximately ten minutes later, we lost contact with them. Since then, they've have been declared MIA. The soldiers' names are: Corporal Randy Rison, Sergeant Sarah Evans, Lieutenant Richard Hashwell, Captain Steven Nipson, and Major Cottev Parker." Levi regretted hearing his team's names. Each of them were very close friends. They were born on the same planet, went to the same schools, trained at the same academy, and fought the very same enemy. Losing them was like losing a part of himself. General Sladeck was about to conclude his presentation. "Was has us intrigued about this assignment is that the Resistance used advanced technology along with the clever tactics to possibly kill them. Personally, I believe that there are two possibilities." The audience were at the edge of their seats to hear his opinion. "Either we have a spy or an imposter in our military..." He paused as he imagined his next theory. "... or the M'Netai have invaded Earth." The Council Members broke out in a chaotic ramble once again. The audience joined in with the Council, filling the room with mixed voices. "Order!" The Emperor shouted, once again returning the silence in the room. "I call for a vote." The Council stared at the Emperor, waiting for his suggestion. "I suggest we send in a strike team of a hundred men to investigate the area. If it is the Resistance, then that strike team will do what they need to do, and I'll conduct an investigation on our military to find the spy. If it is the M'Netai, then we'll do everything in our power to drive them back. Any agree?" "I!" Most of the Council Members raised their hands to agree with the vote. "Any appose?" None of them responded. "Then it is settled. This meeting is adjourned." About thirty minutes later Levi stood on the edge of a balcony, resting his arms against the railing. He slowly took a single cigarette from one of his pockets, and a light from the other. He stared off at the city below him. It was rush hour in the city streets. People were literally walking over the horrid traffic to get to their desired destinations. Holographic billboards showed a variaty of advertizements on the tallest of buildings. Levi flipped the switch to activate his lighter. Heat radiated onto his lips as the cigarette caught the tiny flame. He took a long drag from it, blowing the smoke out in the air in front of him. Footsteps could be heard approaching him. Tristen positioned himself right next to him, staring at the city just as Levi did. He turned his head over to Levi, smiling an amiable smile. "Gotta smoke?" He asked nonchalantly, as if he were best friends with Levi. Levi pulled another cigarette from his pocket and gave it to the ambassador. He also took out his lighter. Tristen took the offer and leaned in closer to the lighter. Levi ignited the flame, thus lighting the cigarette. "Thank you." "Don't mention it." Levi said in a friendly tone. He saw no need to be rude to a politician. They both stood silent for a moment, simply staring at the busy city. Tristen was first to break the silence. "Beautiful, ain't it?" He chuckled. "Ya know, you would think that in this century, we would have flying cars by now." He waved his hand for emphasis. "It would be much more convenient, don't ya think?" He sighed. "Maybe humanity is too busy flying into space and expanding to accomplish that dream." "Or maybe we just gave up. Maybe we failed too many times to complete such a dream, so we convinced ourselves that it was impossible and gave up." Levi stated, seeing the conversation as a pointless waste of time. "Nothing is impossible, my friend. We as a species proved that all over our history." Levi nodded as a response, caring less about the topic. "I know it must be hard on you. Losing your friends like that." "Ha! The term "friends" is an understatement. We were like blood related siblings. When one of us was in any form of trouble, we would be behind their backs. We got along better with each other than we did with our own parents!" Levi payed more attention to the change of topic in the conversation. "I see." Tristen finished his cigarette. He dropped it to the ground and stomped on it. "Tell you what. I am going to make you an offer you can't refuse." Levi's eyes dilated as he processed the new information. "I have my own personal space ship with my own personal militia to go with it." His smile grew wider. "I want you to accompany me for an intergalactic search and rescue mission to find your friends." Levi immediately grew suspicious. It sounded too good to be true. "What's the catch?" "No catch. That team is just as important to me as they are to you, obviously not in the same sense. There are only a few soldiers who had encounters with the M'Netai and live to say so. They could help us know our enemy a little better, thus giving us a useful advantage. Since they are your team, I want you to accompany me." He stretched his hand to seal the deal with Levi. "I'm afraid I have to turn you down. At least give me some time to think about it." He responded. "Right." Tristen's mood changed very slightly. He reached into his pocket to pull out a holo-card. "Once you're done "thinking about it", give me a call to make your final decision." He handed the card to Levi. He took it in a polite manner. "Thanks. I'll give you a call later." "Good man. I hope you'll allow me to help you." He patted Levi on the back and left him there to his own thoughts. Levi stared at the card which held his contact numbers. "What is he an ambassador of anyway?" He whispered to himself. He pocketed the card to save it for later. Unknown Location July 8, 2357 8:07 AM Hashtag was the first one to wake up from the incident. His state was groggy, and he could barely see. He immediately regained his composure when he saw the corpse of the driver in a pool of blood right in front of him. "Ah, shit!" He jumped up in sudden fear. After some heavy breathing, he noticed his team lying with unconsciousness on the floor. Some of them were in uncomfortable looking positions. He decided to open the hatch to get rid of the heavy smell of blood in the Raptor. It hissed, but took a lot longer to open than it usually did. "Come on, ya piece of shit." He kicked the plated door in anger. After about a whole minute, the door unfolded. Instead of the broken buildings and cracked roads he vaguely remembered, there was a whole forest. It wasn't an artificial forest inside a giant greenhouse back on Earth either. It was a real, living forest. "Holy…" Hashtag drifted off into a state of amazement. It reminded him of the expansive forest of his home planet, Edge. After a good five minutes of marveling at the scenery, he shook off his nostalgia to revive his leader. He trekked to the front of the Raptor to find Firebird, covering his nose to avoid the stench of death. It didn't take long to find him, but it was a challenge to keep himself from spilling the contents from his stomach everywhere. He crouched down to wake him up from his slumber. "Yo, Firebird." He spoke normally, shaking him gently. "Wake up, man!" He shook him more violently, but still, he got nowhere. "Forgive me for this... WAKE UP, COTTEV!" He slapped him with enough strength to leave his hand mark on Firebirds face. Firebird spontaneously woke up in confusion. "Did... you just... slap me?" He asked in a tired voice. "Of course not." He lied with a smile. He patted his friend on the shoulder to encourage him to get to his feet. "Are you gonna help me with the other guys or not?" He moved to the next unconscious body inside the vehicle. One by one, they all woke up tired and confused. "Is everyone alright?" Firebird asked more energetically. The machines in his body allowed him to wake up faster than a normal human being. "I'm fantastic." Wire shouted sarcastically. "I'm bleeding." Yang said with fake happiness as he pointed to an open wound on his forehead. "I can fix that." Spark chuckled. They all went outside to get away from the stench that lingered in the Raptor. Yang sat on the ground, leaning against the massive vehicle. Spark took out a stimpack along with gauze to treat his injuries. "So what's the plan, Firebird?" Hashtag was eager to do something. "Well, we are in uncharted territory." He scan the area using the optics in his eyes. "We are lucky. We landed an uncharted planet that can support life." He mused. "Yeah. We are also very far away from Earth where we confirmed an alien invasion. We are very lucky, in fact, I should see what happens when I jump off one of these trees. I'll probably be saved by an angel!" Wire said angrily. "Don't be such an ass, Wire. We are all stressed here." Yang grunted while Spark poke some tender spots. Wire scoffed. "Okay. We need to chart the area around us. I want a twenty meter radius around this area. Hashtag, Wire, You two do this, while I'll try to radio for help here." Firebird instructed his team. "Right. What about him?" Hashtag pointed to the corpse of the driver. They all stood silent for a moment. "Once you guys get back, we'll give him a proper funeral." Firebird approached the corpse. He took a tag from his chest. "Private Johnathan Nyril." He read aloud. "Hey, while you two are at it, why don't ya find us some food." Yang suggested. "I got you, brother. We'll be back at an hour, tops." Wire said with a new-found excitement for exploring. "Let's go! How does that cliche go? "We're not in... Kentucky anymore"?" Hashtag walked into the forest with Wire following close behind him. "I think it's "Carolina"." Wire responded. Firebird shook his head. He grabbed loose metal from the exterior of the smoking Raptor to dig a grave for the driver. Ponyville, Equestria Outside of the Everfree Forest June 8, 2357 (Summer Sun 39, 1004 AB) 8:35 AM "Are you sure we should do this?" An orange unicorn by the name of Snails asked his companion fearfully. "Yep!" His friend, Snips, replied. "I don't know... remember the last time we did something like this?" They both had vivid flashbacks about their horrible mistake. The ponies in town dubbed it: "The Ursa Major Incident". It was an event the two agreed never to mention. Ever. "Well, this isn't like last time. We're just looking for a rock." Snips reasoned. "Yeah, but what if there are monsters? Or witches? Or... aliens?" Snails was still trying to talk himself out of it. "What are you, a baby?" "What?! I am not a baby!" He stepped into the forest first to prove his point. "Let's go find that... rock." Both of them entered the forest without a care in the world. The wandered in an imaginary path to a visible pillar of smoke that rose over the trees of the forest. The deeper they went, the darker it got. The darker it got, the more scared the two became. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." Snails murmured. "Oh, come on! We'll be fine. We've been here before remember?" Snips tried to encourage him, but he was also getting more anxious of what lurked in the shadows. "Do you know the feeling of being watched?" Snails whispered. "H-how would I know?" They continued to converse with each other, unaware of the two bipedal creatures that were hiding behind the trees. "What do you think of horse meat?" Hashtag asked his only companion while aiming his rifle towards something in the distance. "Eh, it's not bacon, but I'll eat it. Why?" Wire turned to see what Hashtag was pointing his rifle at. Hashtag pointed to his two targets. "God, they look tasty." His mouth started to water at the thought of putting something in his stomach. "Don't you dare get a food fetish on me." Hashtag inched his finger closer to the trigger of his gun. "Ah, I can smell them already." "Charming." Wire took a closer look at his future meal. He noticed something peculiar about them besides their technicolor manes and coats. "Aren't those unicorns? Those magical horses with a horn?" Hashtag scoffed. "They are about to be a shit I will take in the near future. Now shut up and let me focus! I'm not a crack shot like Yang ya know." He once again aimed at his targets, controlling his breathing. His finger inched the trigger once more. He was interrupted by a bone chilling roar. Something like a lion ambushed the horse creatures. "What the hell is that?!" Wire almost jumped in shock. The scene reminded him of those stupid nature documentaries he had to watch in school. "Oh hell no. That thing is going to eat my breakfast!" He charged at the beast. "Damn it!" Wire cursed, chasing his friend. Hashtag screamed a war cry that came from the lungs of the very first hunter in his family. The beast was about to swing it's paw down for a killing blow to it's utterly terrified prey. Hashtag made it just in time to save his meal by standing in front of them to receive the attack. The beast's claws shattered into pieces when in made contact with his armor. The beast grabbed his paw in pain cartoonishly. Hashtag laughed maniacally and fired a few bursts from his rifle to scare the beast. "Ha ha! You ain't gonna steal my food ya little shit!" He taunted. The beast fled into the forest in fear for it's life. "That's right, run! I am the king of the jung- erm, forest now, bitch!" He lifted his middle finger to make himself look more conceited. "Wow, that was awesome!" A scratchy voice cheered from behind him. Hashtag turned around to find the source. The aliens who were about to become breakfast had just complimented him, and they both smiled too human smiles. "What the fu..." He trailed off. Wire finally caught up to him. "What the hell were you thinking?" He was breathing heavily from sprinting. "Shut up! No English!" Hashtag shouted in Hungarian. Wire was confused. "Why?" "Because they speak it!" Hashtag pointed to the unicorns, who both look wary that Hashtag switched to his native language. "Umm... What?" The orange one spoke. "See?" Hashtag didn't know whether to be scared or angry. "Shit. What do we do?" "We kill them, that's what we'll do." Hashtag said darkly, holding his rifle close to his chest. "No. We have to report this to Firebird. He'll know what to do," Wire suggested, attempting to approach the situation as wisely as possible. "But what do we do about these guys right now?" Hashtag asked angrily. "I have an idea." Wire pulled his sidearm from his holster. He turned to face the confused unicorns eye to eye. "Run as fast as you can. Get out of here and do not come back." He warned. For emphasis, he fired two stray shots into the sky. The unicorns happily obeyed him, comically tripping over each other to get out of there. "So what do we do now?" Hashtag said in a volume just above a whisper. "We finish charting and report this to Firebird." He sighed heavily. "I think our "luck" just ran out." Author's Note For those who dislike this story, I would love to know why. And please use a different reason besides "It's an HiE fic". I love constructive criticism, so don't be afraid to tell me that I suck at something, because it helps me strive to become a better author. Thanks!
III 3 - This chapter has not been edited for spelling/grammar mistakes yet. Unknown Location Raptor July 8, 2357 9:56 AM Firebird place a cross made out of two pieces of wood on a soft patch of dirt on the ground. He lifted his fist to his heart to pay his respect towards the fallen soldier. Yang chuckled, holding an ice pack to soothe his throbbing head. "A cross? I thought you weren't religious, Firebird." He spoke softly. "I'm not. There wasn't any good boulder to create a tombstone with, and there wasn't anything to carve an epitaph on the stone either." He explained. He took the dog tags he took from the body and wrapped it around the cross. "So I did the next best thing." "And back home, everyone thinks you're a badass cyborg soldier with no feelings." Yang mused. "Far from it." Firebird chuckled. They were both silent for a moment. "So why did you volunteer to get augmented?" Yang asked suddenly. "I thought I already told you." "I wasn't really paying attention last time, to be honest. I didn't think you would've actually do it." Firebird sighed. He walked up to the Raptor and took a seat next to his friend. "I thought it would be the right thing to do." He started. "I thought I would be an example to humanity." Yang looked at him with confusion of what he was trying to say. "How?" He asked. Firebird thought for a moment. "I think that we have to make sacrifices for the greater good for everyone else." He chuckled. "Yeah, I know it sounds cheesy." "Not in this day in age. If the Royal Resistance learned that and actually help us, then we could have a better chance to defeat the M'Netai." He scoffed. Spark came out of the vehicle with another ice pack. "Hey, boys. Did you miss me?" She asked playfully. "I did!" Yang referred to the ice pack she was carrying. He threw the old one to the ground and snatched the new one from Spark's hand. "Asshole." Spark said plainly. "Oh, don't be like that! You can't stand it when I'm hurt. Right, sweety?" He said in a tone like one would to new puppy. Spark snarled. "You have a minor concussion. And don't you dare call me "sweety" ever again. It sounds creepy coming from your voice." She clenched her fist. "Yeah, sorry. Won't happen again." Yang apologized, partially agreeing with her. He grunted in pain. "Ugh. It might be a minor concussion, but it still hurts like hell." He complained. "So what do we do now, Firebird?" Spark asked. "We wait until Wire and Hashtag come back." He said with a sigh. "The communications in that thing are busted, so I couldn't radio for help." He was disappointed. "So, we might be here for how long?" Yang asked hesitantly. "Months... at least." "Shit." Yang kicked out his leg in anger. "I kind of like it here. It reminds me of Edge." Spark reassured. "Yes it does. Before the aliens invaded. The same aliens that are now on Earth." Yang argued. "Oh come on, Yang. You're starting to sound like Wire. You gotta make the best of our situation." Spark told him. "Yeah. I guess your right. Sorry." He sighed. "Speaking of which, where are those two? It's been an hour already, and I'm starving." He complained like a little child. "You're such a baby, Yang." Firebird got up to his feet. "I'm sure they'll be here soon." "Oh yeah? Twenty credits for five minutes." "Alright. Twenty credits for one." They shook each other's hands as an agreement. Spark chuckled. "Yo!" Hashtag's voice rang past the trees. "We got some food!" "Shit." Yang pulled out a slab of metal that was worth twenty credits. He handed it to Firebird, who was smiling victoriously. "I call bullshit on that." Hashtag arrived to the group first, holding a small digital map in his hands. Wire followed after him, carrying a stick with a variety of fish attached to it."Look what we got!" Hashtag cheered excitingly. "Okay, what the hell is that?" Spark pointed to one fish in particular. It was pretty large, and it's scales showed all the six colors of the rainbow. "Hell if I know. It's a fish, so I am going to eat it." Wire stated as a fact. "How did you make the rod?" Yang asked curiously. Wire laughed. "I didn't catch them with this piece of shit! I did it the old fashioned way. I took worms that were on the ground and stuck 'em in the water until the fish bite my hand." He held out his hand which had blood dripping from his fingers. "One of those bastards got me good." "He made the strings from the veins from leaves that grew on this giant plant thing." Hashtag explained. "So... do you need a bandage?" Spark asked Wire, who's hand was still dripping blood. "Yeah. That would be good." "You didn't get any blood on the fish, did you?" Firebird examined the multicolored fish. "I'm pretty sure I didn't. It won't matter anyway, we still gotta slice them up and cook them." Wire winced a bit once a wet rag of alcohol touched his wounds. "Damn, that burns." "Oh, and Firebird?" Hashtag got the attention of his leader. "We have a situation." Firebird sighed. "It will have to wait until after we pay our respects." "Yes, sir." Most of them surrounded the grave site. Yang was the only one who didn't move, albeit his migraine was getting worse by the minute. Firebird decided to make a short speech in his honor. "All of us hardly knew this man, but we saw that through his actions, he was worth knowing. This man fearlessly gave up his life to save ours. He could of easily saved himself by staying in the cockpit of the Raptor, and one of us could have taken the killing blow instead. For that, we thank you, Johnathan Nyril. We shall set you as an example that any soldier who represents humanity should live by. May you rest in peace." Everyone gave him a moment of silence. Firebird saluted the grave. "Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust." Spark whispered. "Now, about that "situation"." Firebird gazed at Hashtag, who sighed in regret of what he was about to say. "Prepare yourself, Firebird. You are not going to like it." Ponyville, Equestria Outside of the Everfree Forest July 8, 2357 (Summer Sun 39, 1004) 10:17 AM Twilight Sparkle and her friends gathered around the entrance of the terrifying forest. Twilight was accompanied by the hardy Applejack, the brave Rainbow Dash, The timid Fluttershy, The posh, but generous Rarity, and the bubbly Pinkie Pie. Twilight smiled looked at her friends with a nervous smile. "So, are we all ready?" She asked to make sure that this plan would go perfectly. "What are we doing again?" Pinkie Pie smiled innocently. Everypony gazed at her with confused expressions. "You mean you forgot already? Even I payed attention to Twilight this time." Rainbow Dash commented. "Of course I didn't forget, silly!" Pinkie chuckled. "The audience needs some exposition to know what's going on. They might get confused!" She happily explained. Everypony looked at her as if she were crazy. In the end, however, nopony would question her insane logic. "I'll explain it one more time, okay Pinkie?" Twilight started. "Basically, we are all here to find out what has been causing all the weirder than normal things in the forest. Like the smoke cloud earlier today, and the soundless flash last night." "Don't forget the best part!" Dash butted in. "There could be aliens in there!" Twilight chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm. "As much as that would be an incredible discovery for the whole world, I doubt that there are any aliens." "There is always that possibility, darling." Said Rarty, who also invited herself in the conversation. "Since when did ya' hav' an intahrest in aliens?" Applejack faced Rarity with curiosity. "We all had an interest in the unknown as fillies." Rarity explained. "I just hope that they are... nice aliens." Fluttershy whispered to nopony in particular. She remembered how Snips and Snails ran through the town shouting how monsters scared off a manticore. "Like I said, I doubt that there are any aliens." Twilight humored herself at the thought of her and her friends being the first ponies to discover aliens. But what are the chances of that? "If we're all ready, then let's go!" They all entered the forest, semi-aware of what they might encounter. "So... let me get this straight. While you were playing "cartographers", you came across an alien race. These aliens were about to be attacked by a manticore, so you "accidentally" saved them because you thought they were food. Oh yeah, they were also unicorns who spoke English." Yang summarized the explanation that the two soldiers gave them. "Well, that depends. What's a manticore?" Hashtag asked. "A manticore is creature in mythology. It has a body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. In some stories, it also has the face of a man." Yang explained. "Then, yeah, you are right." "Do you have any idea how illogical that sounds. Aliens I can understand. But unicorns? fucking unicorns!? Are you serious?" Yang tried to make sense of it. "He's right, Yang. I saw them with my own eyes too." Wire said with a mouthful of fish. "Whatever. Unicorns or not, they are still aliens. What should we do, Firebird?" Spark asked, taking another bite of the strange rainbow fish (Which oddly enough, tasted like sweet raspberries). "Nothing." "What?!" Hashtag yelled. "We will not interfere with them. We don't know their population, what weapons they have, or if they are hostile. So we will do nothing." Firebird ordered. "And what will we do if some of them decide to venture here?" Wire asked suspiciously. "Why?" Yang noticed that something was wrong. "Because we got six unidentified signatures outside of our twenty meter perimeter." Wire said normally. "Shit. Okay, everyone equip your helmets and cloaking devices. Hashtag, I want an EMP trap set up here if they decide to come here. Hopefully, it should scare them off." "Yes, sir. I'm on it. Just to let you know, it might kill them" "Doesn't matter. Hashtag, you hide here. Everyone else spread out." "Yes, sir!" Everyone obeyed his orders. They shimmered into nothing as the cloaking devices in their armor took effect. Hashtag waited by a tree for a chance to strike. "What do you think they will look like?" Dash asked to keep herself from getting bored. "Ah don't know. Maybe they'll look like us." Applejack answered her views on the subject. "Maybe they'll have eight arms. Or like a billion eyes. Or maybe they'll have party hats attached to their heads!!" Pinkie blabbered. "Why... party hats?" Rarity asked. "Because they might live on a giant cupcake! And parties will be a tradition they do for their whole lives!" Rarity almost regretted asking. "What do you think the aliens would look like, Twilight?" Dash asked. "For the last time, I highly doubt that there... are... any... aliens..." Her eyes caught a hold of something. It was a massive metal structure. It had three sets of wheels, kind of like a carriage, but they were made with a different material instead of wood. There was a fit pit in front of it that was still lit, which indicated that something was recently there. "What was that about no aliens, nonbeliever?" Dash said playfully. "That thing is... well, huge." Twilight commented. "What are we waiting for? Let's go find the party hat aliens!" Pinkie bounced nonchalantly to the structure. Everypony followed her, but much more carefully. They investigated the area around the metal monster. The only thing they found interesting was the dry pool of blood inside the structure, and the wooden cross on top of some disturbed dirt. Fluttershy notice the metal tags wrapped around the cross. "Did one of them... die?" She asked hesitantly. "Ah reckon' so. Ah mean... it sur' seems that way." Applejack said sadly. "There's nothing here. They must have left." Twilight observed. "I don't know... something doesn't seem right. I don't hear any animals." Fluttershy said. She was right. The forest was eerily quiet, which was unusual since an lot of different creatures lived there. Fluttershy noticed something move at the corner of her eye. She turn to look, but nothing was there. Or, at least it seemed that nothing was there. Hashtag was breathing slowly. Not only were there unicorns, but there were pegasi and "normal" ones. They spoke perfect English as well. One of the aliens even had a Dixie accent. As calm as he was, he felt his heart pumping once one was looking at his general direction. Even though it was totally adorable, his mind kept flashing images of it spraying some sort of acid out of it's eyes. "What's wrong, Fluttershy?" A pegasus with a stupidly amount of colors on it's mane and tail asked the one that was looking at him. "I-I don't know. I think I see something.." Oh shit. He slowly reached the detonator device in his chest pocket. The rainbow one squinted it's large eyes to try to see what it's friend sees. He grabbed the device and inched his thumb towards the button. The rainbow one opened her eyes in fright. It sees me. He pushed the button slowly, but surely. "Timberwolves!" It shouted. Suddenly, wooden figures sprung up from behind him, unaware of his presence. The aliens ran in fear as three wooden wolves viciously assaulted them. They all got separated. Thank God! He noticed that the three wolves exclusively chased down the purple unicorn. "Fuck saving them again. I'm letting nature take it's course this time." He told himself Yang positioned himself on a tree to create the extra mile to not get caught. He held his trusty sniper rifle closely to his chest. He admired it very much. It was a powerful rifle, capable of taking down a Vulture attack chopper with one shot to the tail. To add icing on the cake, it was completed with an integrated silencer that muffled it entirely. "You are such a beauty." He told it, since he had no one else to talk to. "I wonder how long I have to be up here. What do you think?" He shook his gun to make it seem like it was talking to him. "I'm talking to a gun." He sighed. "I hope this doesn't last longer than it has to." He told his gun again. His thoughts were interrupted by a fearful screaming. He turn to look at the source. To his surprise, it was a purple unicorn running away from wooden wolf figures. No fucking way. They were right. He witnessed the wolves corner the poor thing at the edge of a cliff. He saw the total fear in it's eye. It was almost as if it was human. But it isn't. Firebird told me to not interfere. He started getting mixed feelings for the alien. He finally made a decision. Ugh. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. He loaded incendiary rounds in his rifle. Twilight calmed down just a tiny bit. All she had to do was to do the oldest trick in the book. She was going to wait until the alpha wound take his chance to pounce, then she would teleport behind them. It was a straightforward plan, but she had to exicute it perfectly to escape. The alpha made the first move by stepping in front of the pack. He shifted his weight to his haunches, ready to bounce. Twilight began to charge up the spell. Suddenly, the alpha became engulfed in flames. Just as quickly as the other two reacted, they caught alight. They sheer suddenness cause Twilight to jump back. Straight down the cliff. She screamed in peril. By a minuscule amount of luck, she grabbed a loose branch that protruded from the rocks of the cliff. She laughed nervously. But, after a few seconds, the branch snapped. She plummeted headfirst to the water-less base down below. Just quickly as she fell, she stopped. She opened her eyes to see that she was dangling from something. She felt something clasping around her back hoof. "Don't worry. I got ya." A muffled masculine voice reasured. She turned her head to see a heavily armored figure grabbing a metal rope in one hand, and her hoof in the other. Oh. My. Gosh. It's an alien! She was mixed with excitement, fear, and gratefulness all in one emotional cocktail. The alien hoisted himself up on the edge of the cliff. He managed to throw Twilight up just enough to grab her by the stomach. Once he was near the tip of the cliff, he lifted Twilight up for her to climb on top of it. Once Twilight was settled, the alien lifted himself on the ground. He ignored Twilight to sit and lean against a tree. He grunted in pain. He took of the glass-like helmet on his head. "Ah. That's better." He looked kind of aged. He had no fur on his face, albeit the black spiky mane on his head. He had a good amount of scars on his cheeks and lips. There was a white bandage around his forehead that was splotched with dried blood stains. "I need some aspirin." He told no one in particular. Twilight couldn't believe it. He was an actual real life alien. "Um... Thanks." She said, unsure of what to ask him first. "Yeah. Don't mention it." He stared at her for a moment. "Funny. You also speak English." "Actually, you are speaking Equestrian." Twilight corrected him. "Whatever. I understand you, and you understand me. That's good enough for me" He grunted in pain again. "Are you alright?" "It's just headaches. Nothing to fuss about." Twilight decided to use this situation for an advantage. "What's your name?" He looked at her, ignoring his headaches. "Yang. Just call me Yang." He answered. Yang. His name is Yang! Twilight was really excited. She was the first pony ever to not only find, but communicate with an actual alien. "I hope you don't mind, but I have so many questions..." "I'm sure you do, but unfortunately, I don't have time to answer them." He said. "Let me just say straight. My species is kind of... afraid of anything other than my species. I could be killed for talking to you right now. We can talk to each other another time, if we ever meet again. But for now..." He put the glass helmet back on his face. "... I have to go." "Wait! But-" "If you don't want to get hurt... or worse... I suggest you do not follow me. Goodbye, uh..." "Twilight Sparkle." He nodded once he heard her name. "Goodbye, Twilight." She was surprised once the armor shimmered into nothingness. He completely disappeared. Oh my gosh... IACTUALLYTALKEDTOAREALLIFEALIENTHISISSOUNBELIEVEABLE!! She mentally rambled. "Twilight!!" Dash came out of nowhere. "Are you alright! Where are the timberwolves?" Dash asked. "I'm fine, Dash. I think I outran them." She remembered how they spontaneously combusted earlier. "I think we should go home now." "What?! But we only just got started." "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find something tomorrow." Dash tried to find a reason to stay and find the aliens, but decided to trust the judgement of her friend. "Fine, okay." Twilight tried her hardest to hide her excitement. She just made the biggest discovery in all of Equestrian history. Author's Note Due to finals at school this week, I won't be posting updates for a while. Just to warn you. Constructive criticism is always appreciated!
