Chapters Book One, Chapter II: "Station Gypsy."
Earth-Equus Orbit, Station Gypsy, Sub-Level Three
"Gah! Damn it, not again!" roars Timeless as he stumbled back from the exploding junction. Acrid smelling smoke began to billow from the wiring as a small fire sparked. Timeless began to panic as he searched for a way to put out the fire, but coming up with nothing. Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind. Activating his Stasis module, he sent a shot of light blue energy at the fire. The fire was enveloped and began to slowly flicker as it slowly burnt the wiring. "Bolts. Are you there?" Timeless asked on his ComLink.
"Bolts here, who's calling?" came a female voice.
"It's Timeless. I'm down on sub-level three and well..." Timeless said, trailing off.
"Is it on fire again?" Bolts asked simply.
"Y-yeah...it is..." Timeless said defeated.
"And you can't find the fire extinguisher?" Bolts asked.
"No..."
"To your left, five feet, behind the yellow panel." Bolts said with a small giggle. Timeless looked to his left and spotted the panel in question. Maintaining the Stasis, Timeless crawled over and removed the paneling, spotting the small fire extinguisher.
"Found it. Thanks Bolts." Timeless said, closing the call. Grabbing the extinguisher, Timeless knelt over and proceeded to put out the flame. With a sigh, Timeless set aside the extinguisher and bent forward to look at the wiring to see what went wrong. "Ah ha...some frayed wires are the culprit..." Timeless mumbles as he goes to work on pulling out the damaged wires and replace them. Once the wires were tired together and secured, Timeless placed the metal plating back over the junction and brushed his hands off. A series of pings went off again, signalling that it was time for Timeless to go on his lunch break.
* * *
After a brief elevator ride back up to Station Gypsy's central level, Timeless stepped out and entered the Crew Preparations area. Once he placed his Stasis module in his locker, Timeless let his helmet collapse, giving a sigh of relief.
"Those helmets get stuffy after a while..." Timeless mutters.
"Tell me about it!" chirps a woman. Timeless jerks and spins around to see that Bolts was standing behind him. She was a light gray Anthro, with a cherry red mane and eyes. She was well built, but managing to keep her curves at the same time.
"Oh, it's just you Bolts...and how would you know? You're not part of Engineering. You don't have a RIG!." Timeless points out.
Bolts rolls her eyes and flicks Timeless on the snout. "You lughead. I know what the helmets are like because I'm part of Maintenance. I have to wear the helmets after being worked on to make sure they're working properly." Bolts said, giving a small giggle. Suddenly, she reaches forward and yanks Timeless down by his chest armor, leaning forward as she purrs in his ear. "That...and I've worn your suit before..." she says in a seductive manner. Timeless jerks back, a furious blush over his cheeks.
"R-right then..." he mumbles, turning to leave the woman. Bolts giggles and falls into step with Timeless as the two leave the Preparations room.
"You going for lunch?" she asked, skipping lightly as she trailed him.
"Yeah, not sure what I'm going to have though." Timeless says simply. On cue, his stomach game a growl, demanding for food. "And I better decide soon..." he adds. Bolts giggles again as the two enter the Mess Hall. The hall was small, about the size of a living room, with two booths in the corners and a couple tables in the center. On the far side was the food line, and behind that was the Kitchen. And if there were workers who didn't want a home cooked meal, courtesy of the head cook Judith, there were three vending machine tucked together along the wall.
As of right now, there were only Timeless, Bolts, Sarah, and the only pony worker, Blitz, in the Mess Hall.
After Timeless and Bolts retrieved their lunches, they sat down with the other two workers. Sarah was a human in her early twenties. She was born in Kansas and was your average country girl, but one hell of a genius with the Nuclear-Proton generator that kept Station Gypsy going. As for Blitz, he was a mottled green, brown, and light gray pegasus with a set of three lightning bolts for his cutie mark. A scar adorned the right side of his face, leaving him with one blind eye.
"Hey guys, how ya'll doin' today?" Sara asked, scooting down a bit to allow Timeless an Bolts room.
"I'm doing fine. Hey Blitz, favor." Timeless said sharply. "As head of security, think you can set a restraining order on one of the other workers?" he asks with a smirk.
"Harassing the eggheads again, are we Bolts?" Blitz asked, looking to her.
"I just can't help that he's so cute!" Bolts said, giving Timeless' cheek a small pinch. Timeless chuckled and began to eat his lunch, savoring the flavor of the lemon marinated chicken. "Hey Judith! You back there? This chicken is amazing!" Timeless calls out, gesturing to his meal with a fork.
"I thank you!" Judith said, poking his head out. Judith was an African-American in his early thirties, born in Haiti. He learned to cook from his mother and studying abroad with the Zebras on Equus. "But thank my mother! She is the real cook, God rest her soul." Judith said with a chuckle as he retreated into the kitchen, then emerging to joining the others. He dragged a chair over and sat in it with his chest to the chair back. "So, what is everyone planning for the weekend?" he asks, looking to his co-workers.
"Ah'm visitin' family down on Earth. It's mah cousin Richards' weddin'." Sara said.
"I've got some patrolling to do in the Southeastern quadrant of the Tether Highway. Been getting reports of vandals lately." Blitz explained as he took a drink, giving a burp afterwards. Bolts' snout scrunched up in slight disgust.
"Well, I promised a friend I'd attend a party of his." Timeless said simply, giving a shrug.
"I've got nothing planned really..." Bolts said, giving a slightly sad tone at this answer.
"Hey, don' look down. Look up! Be bright! How about I take you to a movie?" Judith asked, bumping Bolts' shoulder with his elbow. Bolts gave a small chuckle and patted Judith's shoulder with a gentle hand.
"No offense, Judith. But you're not exactly my type." She said with a smile.
"Hey, a man can try, can't he?" Judith asked as he broke out into laughter. Suddenly he stopped, inhaling deeply. "Oh no..." he sniffed the air again. "Sorry guys! My joumou is burning!" he yells, bolting for the kitchen, muttering in Haitian under his breath. Once again, Timeless' RIG beeped, telling him it was time to work again.
"Alright guys, I gotta get back to work. The docking clamps need to be looked at." Timeless says as he gets up and grabs his tray. As he approached the trash can, Bolts bounded next to him and grabbed his arm, dragging him to the hallway. "Bolts? What are you doing? I gotta get to work!" Timeless protests. Bolts doesn't respond as she drags the engineer to a small storage closet, locking the door behind them after they entered.
"How about some pre-work fun ...?" she purrs.
* * *
An hour later, Timeless was in the middle of an EVA walk on the exterior of Station Gypsy.
He definitely felt a bit more relaxed then before, glad for the fact that storage closet was soundproofed.
The only thing he wasn't glad for, was the fact that Bolts was a bitter when she was getting plowed. If Timeless were to remove his under suit from around his neck, one would see a series of hickeys and bite marks. "Just glad she didn't bite me while giving oral..."
As he floated in the quietness of space, his left hand was going from grip to grip as he pulled himself to the docking platform. He stopped for a moment, taking the time to look at the Tether Highway. Hundreds of space tethers connected the two planets with hundreds of stations much like Gypsy scattered around the area. Some were transportation hubs, others were maintenance bays, and a couple hundred were used for security purposes. To his right, Equus loomed, showing its dark side. Timeless could see cities like Fillydelphia and Manehatten twinkling in the darkness. On his left, Earth sat, the continent of Asia sitting in the suns' light.
"Timeless, stop enjoying the view and get to work. We've got four hours before the shuttle with night shift arrives." said Blitz over the InterCom.
"On it, Blitz. And you should really stop and take a look from time to time." Timeless replies as he pulls himself over to the docking platform.
"I do stop from time to time; and that's when I'm busting hooligans." Blitz replies. Timeless gives a small laugh as he pulls a small cord with a hoof from a side pouch, connecting it to a ring on the plating. As he began to remove the access panels to the docking clamp internals, sparks flew from the machinery. "Hey Bolts. What am I looking for exactly?" he asks.
"Well, reports are saying that the clamps are failing to properly magnetize to a shuttle. The only thing keeping a shuttle from floating away are the clamps themselves." Bolts replies. Timeless looks in closer at the small generators that power the magnets. "What do you see?"
"Three of the four power cells are flashing red. The fourth one is half green and half red. Need to replace the whole power junction." Timeless says as he begins to remove the power cells. To his right, a small spare parts compartment opened up, revealing the new power cells to Timeless.
"Hold up Timeless. Something's coming through on the wire." Bolts says.
"Bolts, no one says 'on the wire', anymore. Get with the program." Timeless says with a small chuckle. Silence falls between the two for a bit. "Bolts, I was just kidding."
"Timeless, something has happened." Bolts said in a voice of shock. Timeless stopped and floated there for a bit.
"What happened?" he asked.
"There's been a terrorist bombing."
Timeless could feel his gut drop out from under him.
Who would do this?
"Where at?" he asked, worry rising in his voice.
"New Manehatten..."
View Online
Book One, Chapter III: "The Beginnings of Civil War."
New Manehatten Shuttle Hub #54
The transport shuttle roared through the air, arching down and leveling off as its ' landing thrusters eased the shuttles' speed. A large smoke column was rising into the blue skies to the right. Before the shuttle could even be automatically secured to the station, the side door opened with Timeless immediately bolting out of the shuttle.
"Time! Where are you going?!" Silver called out from inside the shuttles' doorway. But Timeless didn't answer as he ran out of the station, his legs carrying him faster than ever. Worry bolted through Timeless' mind as he ran. "Where did they attack? Who got hurt? Is my place okay?" . These questions and many more raced through his mind, increasing the worry with each pass. He turned the corner on West and Fourth, taking a right and running up the street to West and Fifth. He could see Humans, Anthros and Ponies alike starting to gather in a large crowd ahead of him. The skyline ahead of him was a smoldering ruin, a good portion of it removed from sight.
"Move, move!" Timeless demanded as he approached the crowd, starting to push his way through, ignoring the cries of 'Hey!' and 'Watch It!'. As he passed through, he could see armed Nation Guard troops. They were forming a line and keeping the civilians back from the zone ahead.
"Please stay back! The area is dangerous." cried out one of the troops. Timeless pushed his way to the front and tried to push past the troops. But his progress was immediately stopped by a pair of soldiers who grabbed Timeless and pushed him back.
"Sir! We request that you stay back." said one of the troops.
"I'm a Fourth Class Engineer! I can help you guys out with whatever is going on over there! Just let me through!" Timeless demanded, activating his RIG HUD to prove his claim.
"Sir, you're still a civilian. If you were Army Corps of Engineers, that's a different story. But I can't let you in." said the trooper on Timeless' right. Behind the trooper, Timeless could see medics coming out with stretchers, covered in bloodied sheets. Timeless could feel his blood run cold as a light purple forelimb slide out from under the sheet, the hoof having been blown off, leaving the bone a jagged and bloody mess. Timeless' world went slow, as if it was caught in Stasis, as he pushed passed the troopers, running to the medics. He could hear the two troopers ordering the others to stop him, and the medics turned to look at him with surprise on their faces.
"Put the stretcher down! Put it down! " Timeless roared. The medics quickly dropped the stretched, drawing their sidearms and training them on Timeless as he dropped to his knees and skidded a bit until he was next to the stretcher. Without hesitation, he ripped the bloodied sheet off the body.
Twilight Velvet laid dead before him, her aged features torn apart by a violent blast, missing an eye and half her face. Her remaining eye stared up at him, the pupil shrunken to a pinprick.
Timeless' mind went blank as he sat there, staring at his dead friend.
Who else had been slain in cold blood? How much damage had been done?
Before Timeless could recollect himself, he could feel two pairs of arms grabbing him by his own arms and drag him away from the scene.
Timeless didn't even resist as they dragged him away.
Memories of Twilight Velvet's kind smile flashed through his mind. How her motherly presence seemed to make everything better. When they first met and she let Timeless work in her book store for the years he was going through College to be an Engineer, helping him with his schoolwork when she could.
How he promised her that he'd help her visit her daughter...
And now she was gone, along with many others.
* * *
"The area between West and Fifth to West and Eighth has been totally decimated by what officials are calling, a 'Terrorist Attack'. The attackers used a series of large bombs and set them off around two-thirty this afternoon. The surrounding area has been absolutely demolished as a result of this bomb. Rescue crews and National Guard are searching the debris for any survivors with assistance from residents of New Manehatten. No one has laid claim to this attack yet, and the President has ordered Army and National Guard to set up a defensive parameter around the city. So far, a total of four hundred and ninety-seven..."
Timeless wasn't listening to the news.
He wasn't even listening to the world around him.
His gazed was glazed over and locked onto the tiled floor of New Manehatten General Hospital. Around him, doctors and nurses were rushing to and fro, trying to deal with the constant flow of the wounded or dying. Three nurses had stopped by Timeless and asked if he was okay, and he told them he was, that he was just tired. Slowly, his senses began to return to him, his ears twitching as the sounds of heart monitors and doctors calling orders surrounded him. He looked up, blinking a few times and shaking his head. He watched as a couple nurses, one Anthro and one Human, came rushing by with a body on the stretcher.
"Ma'am. Ma'am!" Timeless called. The Anthro nurse stopped and looked at him.
"Y-yes?" she asked.
"Do you need any help?" Timeless asked, standing from his seat. The nurse looked to her human partner who gave a quick nod.
"Yes, please. How much medical training do you have?" she asked.
"I've been put through at least two years of medical study with my Engineer training." Timeless said.
"It'll have to do. Come on, follow me and Nurse Warren to the ER." said the nurse. Timeless nodded and jogged after the two nurses at they went down a hall. When the tree entered the ER, Timeless was directed to a medical kiosk and instructed to change into a Surgical RIG. Complying, Timeless got changed and came out in a white suit, with a small RIG HUD display mounted to his chest. He entered the surgical suite the two nurses had gone in and got prepared.
"Nurse, who is this?" asked one of the surgeons, a human male.
"Civilian, Doctor Stitch. But he has two-years of training and offered to help out." said Nurse Warren.
"Two-years?" asked Anders, raising a skeptical eyebrow at Timeless.
"That's right. Engineer Fourth Class, Timeless Toaster. Two-years was required to be promoted to the higher classes." Timeless responds back.
"Well, we'll need all the help we can get. Wash up and get a mask and cap on." Anders said, pointing to the sink. After washing his hands and putting on the surgical mask and cap, Timeless went to the operating table and stood across from Stitch.
"What am I looking at here, Nurse?" Anders asked as he prepped his tools.
"Female Anthro, early twenties. Found with a faint pulse at West and Seventh with a large gash across the left of her face and across her stomach." said Nurse Warren.
"Red Heart, get the pumps ready. We may need to evacuate the gashes." Anders ordered. Red Heart nodded, and soon there was a low humming of the air pumps.
"Timeless, was it? Please remove the cover and hand me a pair of scissors." Anders instructed. Timeless nodded and removed the sheet covering the patient.
For the second time that day, Timeless was staring at someone he knew.
It was Sunny Fields.
Timeless could feel his heart rate quicken as he stared at the woman, his mind being set on saving her.
"I won't lose another friend..."
"Timeless? Is something wrong?" Warren asked.
"Do you know this woman?" Red Heart asks. Timeless nods silently and hands Stitch the scissors.
"I'm not leaving, if you're thinking that. I'm not going to lose another friend today." Timeless said in a determined voice. Anders and the nurses looked at each other and back to Timeless.
"Alright. Let's get this started." Anders said as he began to cut away at Sunny's burnt and bloodied barista uniform, revealing her light yellow fur and undergarments.
* * *
"Are you sure you can't come back up here?" Blitz asked, concern in his voice.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm helping out with the search and rescue operations. They need all the help they can get." Timeless replies tiredly. He had been in the surgery suite for a total of eight hours, fixing up the serious cases as they came in one after the other. He was told that Sunny was going to be alright, and that someone would tell her who saved her when she woke up.
"Do you need a place to stay? I mean, your place was in the blast zone, right?" Blitz asked.
"Yeah...I can probably crash at Rainbow's place for a while." Timeless says, rubbing his tired eye with his wrist.
"Thought you and Rainbow had a falling out." Blitz states.
"It was all a miscommunication. I arrived at the wrong place and missed her party. She's still convinced I bailed on her." Timeless explains.
"Well, good luck Timeless. I gotta get back to work. I'll tell the others you're okay." Blitz says, ending the call. After Timeless closed his RIG HUD, he gave a mighty yawn and smacked his lips. Standing from the chair he was in, Timeless returned to the Medical Kiosk and exchanged the bloodied surgery RIG for his Engineer RIG. Once he stepped out, Doctor Anders was standing there, waiting for him.
"Oh, hey Doc." Timeless says tiredly.
"I just wanted to say thank you for your help, Timeless. I don't think we would've managed to get through all those patients if it were just the nurses and I. You're pretty good under pressure." Anders says, offering his hand for a handshake. Timeless took the offer with his hand and shook it once.
"Thanks. I'm just glad I could help." Timeless says simply with a smile.
"Do you have a number that I can use in case we need some extra hands?" Anders asks, pulling out a small tablet. Timeless gave Anders his RIG Number and told him he could use that. Anders thanked Timeless and walked away, leaving the Anthro to his own business. After Anders left, Timeless opened his RIG Contacts and scrolled down until the name 'Rainbow Dash' was highlighted.
"I hope she's still not pissed at me..." Timeless mumbles as he starts a call. The calling tone went on for a couple minutes before the sounds of a phone being picked up came through.
"Well, if it isn't Timeless." Dash said in a cocky tone.
"Hi Dash." Timeless says in an exasperated voice. "Look, I need to ask you a favor..." he adds.
"After, what, five months you don't call me, and you're asking me for a favor? No way dude." Dash says angrily. "You bailed on me and my friends."
"I told you, I was given the wrong information." Timeless growls a bit.
"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all. What do you want anyway?"
"I need a place to stay. My place was, well, blown up today." Timeless says in a tired voice.
"Wait, blown up? You mean that bomb that went off today took out your home, along with a good chunk of New Manehatten?" Dash asks in a shocked voice.
"Yeah..." Timeless says quietly. "Please Dash? I'm really tired and need a place to sleep..." Timeless adds in a slightly begging tone.
"Alright, give me a bit. Where can I pick you up?" Dash asks, the sounds of keys being grabbed in the background.
"New Manehatten General." Timeless says simply.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Dash asks.
"No, I was helping the staff with the wounded."
"Alright, I'll be there in twenty." Dash says, closing the call. Once the RIG HUD was closed down, Timeless walked out of the ER and through the packed main lobby. The surgical suites and rooms had all been taken up, so new arrivals were being seen to by the medical staff in the lobby. Some patients were laid out on the seats, while most were laid out on the floor in small clusters. After signing out and telling the receptionist that Anders had him on his contacts, Timeless exited the hospital and stepped out into the New Manehatten night. The breeze passing through the surrounding sky scrapers cooled Timeless off as he gave a tired sigh.
About twenty minutes later, Timeless heard the roaring of a car engine as it drew closer. He stood up and looked down the street, spotting Dash's sky blue Camaro rumbling up to the hospital.
"Get in loser." Dash said jokingly once she pulled up and rolled down the passenger window. Timeless entered the car and looked at Dash. She had been a candidate for a process that turned ponies into Anthros a while back, giving her a very athletic body. Her thin, but muscular body looked almost comical in a large car such as her Camaro.
"Nice ride." Timeless said with a smirk.
"Don't fall in love with it." Dash chuckled as she pulled away from the hospital, make an illegal U-Turn, then drive back the way she came. "And you owe me for this Timeless." Dash said simply, punching his shoulder lightly.
"I know...I just want to get to your place and sleep..." Timeless says sadly.
"Dude, you alright?" Dash asks.
"I...Twilight's mom is dead..." Timeless says quietly. Dash gives a quiet gasp of shock.
"No..." she says.
"Yeah...she must've been right at the blast..."
"I wonder how Twilight is going to take this..." Dash says worriedly.
"Like how everyone else is; mourn and cry, then try and demand answers to why this happened..." Timeless replied, looking out the window. They were driving along the highway that led out of the city, and Timeless could see the cloud of smoke had gotten smaller in the hours since the blast. As he watched the world go by, sleep started to tug at his eyelids as sleep began to shut down his mind. "I'm just gonna...close my eyes..." Timeless says tiredly.
"Okay dude. I'll wake you up when we get to my place." Dash says simply. Timeless muttered a 'Thank you' and closed his eyes, sleep pulling him into its' embrace immediately.
* * *
Screams.
Gunfire.
Blood
Inhumane roars.
Fire.
Timeless was caught in a void of these sights and sounds, not being given a moment to stop and take in what was happening around him. He saw blurred images of twisted forms race past him. He heard orders to fall back being given by screaming soldiers. He watched as the twisted forms cut down the soldiers.
Suddenly, he was thrown to the ground. It was dried and cracked, and he heard wind raging around him. Nearby, a discarded plasma cutter laid. He reached for it and grabbed it, staggering to his hooves. He was in the middle of a sandstorm, not being able to see a foot in front of him. As he stood there, a shadow could be seen in the raging sand.
"Hello?" Timeless called out, his voice being drowned by the wind. "Hello!" Timeless roared. The shadow turned its' head to look at Timeless. Suddenly, there was an inhuman roar that sounded wet and mangled. It bolted for Timeless, only giving him a moment to raise the plasma cutter before the form crashed into Timeless. Large, bloodied blades slammed into the ground beside Timeless' head, trying to impale him. Timeless screamed as he kicked the beast off of him, quickly staggering back to his hooves as he fired the plasma cutter with a sudden expertise at the creatures' mangled limbs, blasting the appendages off. The creature fell to its' face and tried to crawl at Timeless, but Timeless stopped it with a couple firm curb stomp to the creatures' body, leaving it a bloody pulp.
Immediately, the sand storm died, vanishing as if it never came. Timeless could see he was surrounded by hundreds of bodies, all of them being torn apart with an unknown ferociousness. Timeless couldn't breath due to the smell of blood and gore in the air.
Then the bones began to snap.
Backs began to bend awkwardly.
Limps snapped to odd angles.
New appendages began to burst from the bodies.
Then the dead rose and turned on Timeless, their bodies twisted and disfigured as they stared at him with clouded eyes.
"Stay back!" Timeless yelled, raising the plasma cutter, trying to keep all the creatures in his view. Suddenly, there was a deep, bellowing roar. In the background, an alien form rose. It looked like a massive, disfigured centipede, its' multiple legs curling and uncurling at it rose. It looked above Timeless, casting a monolithic shadow over the land.
Behind it, the Earth sat in the dusty skies.
"Convergence is soon." said the leviathan creature.
"What's 'Convergence'? What are you talking about!?" Timeless demanded.
"Soon, your world will be consumed." continued the creature. The twisted bodies around Timeless began to enclose around him, their bloodied maws letting out wet growls.
"What are you talking about!?" Timeless roared, keeping his plasma cutter level with the creatures.
"Witness the Goliath!" roared the titanic creature. The front of it opened into a endless maw and began to inhale with a mighty suction. The twisted creatures all began to be pulled in, not even fighting the creatures' inhaling. Timeless dropped to the ground and tired to hold on for dear life, but the creature only continued to inhale.
Timeless began to lose his grip.
He was holding on by one hand.
Then he was soaring into the creature, into the dark maw that awaited his arrival.
* * *
Timeless woke up screaming. Dash cried out in surprise and her car swerved on the road a bit. Once she had regained control, she glared at Timeless.
"What the hell, man!? What was that for!?" she yelled. Timeless was hyperventilating, his hand clutched over his heart as he shook in the car seat.
"Dream...bad dream...that's all..." Timeless mumbled, trying to calm himself down.
"Oh...you going to be okay?" Dash asks worried. Timeless nods as he breathing begins to return to normal, his shaking starting to stop.
"Y-yeah...are we there yet?" he asked.
"Another five minutes. You've only been asleep for ten minutes." Dash says. Timeless glances at her dashboard clock and groans. "We'll be there soon. I can order some take-out, if you want." Dash said.
"That'll be fine..." Timeless says quietly.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Dash asked again. Timeless silently nodded and took a calming breath. The two were quiet for the remainder of the drive to Dash's house. When they arrived, Dash told Timeless he could crash in her guest room after dinner. Once they had their take-out Chinese and watched a bit of TV, Timeless turned in for the night.
But he couldn't sleep.
Not since that dream in the car.
And there was one thing that was constantly bugging him:
What was Convergence?
Book One, Chapter IV: "Laying Claim."
New Manehatten Suburbs, 56 West Lockerman Street, July 14.
Sunlight poured from between the blinds that covered the single window. On the bed laid Timeless, snoring slightly as he slept. Under his head, one of the two pillows was folded in half, while its' counterpart was being cuddled by Timeless as if it were a lover. His Engineer suit laid in a small pile of cloth and armor on a reading chair, leaving Timeless in only his undershirt and boxers. Sleep had eluded Timeless for the longest time when he first laid down on the bed, managing to finally fall asleep around three in the morning.
A light knocking came from the door.
"Hey Timeless?" called Rainbow Dash from the opposite site. Timeless grunted as he jerked awake, rolling to face the door.
"Mmmmwhat...?" he asked tiredly.
"I'm going out for a run. I'll be back later. You still have some take-out if you want that for breakfast." Dash replied. Timeless gave a yawn and rolled back over, mumbling something along the lines of "Have fun." Timeless could hear Dash's hoofsteps walking away from the guest room and down a small set of stairs as she went out the door. After her departure, Timeless laid there, trying to be embraced by sleep once again.
But this time, the Sand Man denied him the Hug of Sleep.
Groaning, Timeless let go of the pillow he was cuddling with and let it fall to the floor with a soft thump . Sitting up and popping his back, Timeless allowed his wings to extend out and shake themselves of tension. With a hiss of hydraulics and compressing air, the wings slowly retracted to their closed form and huddled close to Timeless' back. After unfolding the pillow and reuniting it with its' friend, Timeless made the bed (sloppily, but he knew Dash wouldn't care) and left the guest room.
Rainbow Dash lived in a single story town house, complete with a single car garage and small pool in the back. The walls of the main hall inside the house were adorned with countless pictures of Rainbow Dash herself, both as a pony and in her Anthro form. The pictures ranged from ones of Dash when she was a filly, to being on the Wonderbolts, to her in the hospital after the Anthro procedure. Some pictures showed her in a USAF Pilot jumpsuit, wearing a complicated flight rig that allowed her to retain her ability of flight in her new form. As he approached the kitchen, the final picture was of Rainbow Dash with her friends, all grouped together in front of a large barn, smiling happily.
"Must've been before The Event..." Timeless mumbled, looking at the six smiling mares. As he entered the kitchen and approached the fridge, he grabbed his cold leftovers and put them in the microwave for about a minute. Once the microwaved signaled that his food was ready, Timeless grabbed it and sat down at the small breakfast bar, taking in the scent of his leftovers. "Nothing beats second-day Chinese..." he said to himself happily as he began to eat. After a couple minutes, he grabbed a small TV remote and turned on the small TV that sat on the breakfast bar.
"...and today, someone has finally laid claim to the New Manehatten bombings. The group responsible for this attack has called themselves the 'Uni', claiming that there are impurities within Humanity itself, and that these impurities need to be eradicated before Humanity can join Convergence..."
Timeless' fork dropped from his grasp at the word 'Convergence', his jaw stopping mid-chew as he watched the newscast.
"...Earlier today, Uni has posted this video on the social network site Facebook , talking about their views."
-The TV changes to the image of a weird, spiraling red tower of some kind. This turned out to be a background as a shadowed figure with a deep voice stepped into view. The figure seemed to be giving off an unsettling aura about them as they stood there, stretching out their arms wide.-
"Hello. I am called The Shepard. My goal in life is to help guide Humanity on the path to Convergence, where each and everyone of us shall become one with a higher power. We are not a violent organization normally, in fact, we are part of the Church. However, we can no longer accept the scum that has intertwined itself within our race, polluting Humanity's image with *hooves and other disgusting features. If the Anthro population and connections to Equus are not cut, and Humanity is left alone, more attacks like the one in New Manehatten will occur until our wishes are granted. Only then, will Humanity be ready for Convergence."*
-The screen changes back to the news anchor.-
"I don't know about you, but that creeped me out to extremes. Here now with us is Alliance Head of Security..."
Timeless sat in silence, drowning out the continuing newscast on the TV. His mind was a blizzard of questions like 'What is Convergence!?' and 'Part of the Church? What Church?'. Looking down at his food, he suddenly lost his appetite and pushed the plate away as something began to dawn on him:
There are going to be those who agree with the Uni's views.
And that he himself was now a target, along with thousands of other Anthros on Earth.
Paranoia began to dwell in the back of Timeless' mind as he sat there, unaware of the fact that Rainbow Dash had just come home from her morning run.
"Hey Timeless, good to see you're awake!" Dash said as she passed him, going to the sink and refilling her water bottle. After taking a long chug of water, she gave a satisfied sigh and looked at the engineer, concern coming across her face. "You okay dude?" she asked.
"We're in danger..." Timeless muttered quietly.
"What? Yeah right." Dash said, dismissing Timeless' claim with a wave of her hand. "In danger from what?" she continued. Timeless simply rewinded the news feed and pointed at the screen. Dash watched with a skeptical look on her face, which slowly fell as she watched the shadowed figure on the screen. After the video, Timeless shut off the TV and stared at Dash. "W-well...that's different..." she said quietly, looking back at him. "What are we going to do?" she asked.
"I don't know. I really don't know." Timeless said in a slightly defeated tone.
"W-Well we gotta do something! I know for a fact that a good portion of the humans are racist against Equestrians and Anthros! They're going to be forming lynch mobs and hunting us down, one by one. So think of something Timeless, because I'm not ready to die." Dash said, placing her light blue hands on the counter top as she stared at Timeless.
"Believe me, I know how racist some humans can be again us. We could probably seek refuge on Equus. Take a shuttle and get off Earth as soon as possible. Think you can contact your friends?" he asked.
"It's been a while, but I can try and contact them." Dash replied with a nod, going over to a communications' panel built into the wall.
"I gotta get to Station Gypsy and warn the guys there. I know for a fact that nothing's going to happen there; the humans I work with love Bolts, Me, and Blitz like family." Timeless said, standing up from his seat. Dash watched him as she went through her contacts list, selecting on the first one that came up: Applejack.
"I'll make the calls, you get changed and ready to go once I can secure a place for us." Dash said. Timeless nodded and went to the guest room. Once he was in, Timeless immediately went to the window, took an investigative look outside, then went to his Engineer armor. After getting it on and putting his wings through the back openings, Timeless powered up the suit and left the guest room. He re-entered the kitchen in the middle of Dash's call.
"Thanks Pinkie. I owe you for this." Dash said, ending the call. "I got us a place in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie said she can let us crash at Sugar Cube Corner after we stop by your work. You all set?" she asked.
Timeless nodded in response. "What about you?" he asked her.
"I always have a bag packed in case I need to go somewhere on short notice. I'll go grab it and we're gone." Dash said, running down a small hall and to her bedroom. A couple minutes later, she reemerged, a duffel bag in her right hand.
And two sidearms in her left hand.
She tossed the bag on her small dining table and handed Timeless a Plasma Glock.
"Take it." she said. "Things are going to be heating up here right quick, and we need to be able to defend ourselves." she said. Timeless sighed, hoping that they wouldn't need to use the pistols, but a confrontation is inevitable. Taking the weapon, he also took a holster Dash was handing to him and strapped it to his upper chest, the holster under his left arm pit. After she strapped her weapon on and concealed it under her shirt, Dash gave Timeless a nod and grabbed her bag from the table. "Let's go." she simply said.
The two departed Dash's house and stopped in their tracks, gasping at what they were witnessing.
Smoke was rising a couple of streets over, the sounds of pandemonium filling the skies, seeming to grow louder and closer. Police cruisers raced past Dash's house, hopping the curb as they took a right to the street where the smoke was coming from. After the cruisers turned the corner, a couple of Anthros and ponies could be seen running from the opposite direction. Dash and Timeless ran over to the panicking neighbors.
"Hey Grass, what's going on?" Dash called to a light green pony. The stallion skidded to a halt, panting as he tried to speak.
"O-one of the ne-neighbors went insane! He slaughtered h-his own family and set fire to his h-home! Then he started breaking into his neighbors h-houses and started killing everypony! He kept screaming something about 'i-impurities' and 'Convergence." Grass said, finally catching his breath.
Timeless and Dash looked at each other with worry.
"Okay, this is not some random accident. Uni is behind this." Timeless said.
"Thanks Grass. Get to safety. If you can get the money, get off Earth and get to Equus." Dash said.
"I-I will Dash. Good luck." said Grass as he passed them and resumed his running. Timeless and Dash turned and began walking at a brisk pace to Dash's Camaro.
"This is going to get out of hand really quickly." Timeless said as he entered the passenger seat of the car. Dash sat down in the driver seat and tossed her bag to the back of the car, starting the engine.
"I know. Things are going to hell and it's only been a few hours since Uni laid claim to the attack. This was planned." Dash said as she pulled out the drive way and began driving away from her house.
"Sleeper agents?" Timeless suggested.
"Only thing I can think of. Maybe there was something in that video that set off the agents and caused them to attack." she responded.
"We can only hope that there's sympathizers within the human correspondents of the Alliance that can try and stop all this." Timeless said as he watched the neighborhood begin the thin out as they turned onto the main road, heading for the highway.
"Once we get to Equus, we can contact the Princesses and try and figure all this out." Dash said as she drove.
"Sounds like a good idea. In the mean time, let's just get to the shuttle station alive." Timeless said. Dash nodded, her grip tightening around the steering wheel. As they emerged on Highway 95, New Manehatten sat in the distance, smoke rising from points in the surrounding area. Overhead, National Guard helicopters flew over, heading towards the city. Timeless could see combat ready troops sitting on the edge of the passenger bays, ready to fight.
"This is getting insane..." Dash mumbled as she pulled over, watching a convoy of IFV's and troop trucks drive by. On the horizon, a fireball emerged from the suburb-scape, most likely a gas station being destroyed in a smaller town. "Timeless, I'm getting scared..." Dash said quietly as they approached a highway interchange.
Just as Timeless was about to respond, his world went from driving on the highway, to flying through the air. Timeless caught a glimpse of the pavement before his world went black.
Book One, Chapter V: "Mass Hysteria."
New Manehatten, The Palisades, July 15, 10:56 PM
Timeless and Dash ran for the lives down the cramped alleyway. Timeless' armor was scorched and dirty, worn down by heavy combat. Dash's side was wrapped up in some bloody gauze, her hand trying to keep the damp fabric in place as she ran.
"We're dead. We're so dead!" Dash said, fear gripping her voice as she ran.
"Only if we stop!" Timeless shot back. He could hear the humans hunting them the next street over, giving war cries and hoots.
"We gotta try and find another station, Timeless! We got cut off at the one you usually go to for work, remember?" Dash asked.
"I honestly don't remember anything between the car crash and now." Timeless said sheepishly. This answer caused Dash to skid to a halt, grabbing the Engineer by his shoulder.
"You mean you don't remember the National Guard hunting us on the highway, entering the city, and encountering those fanatics at the shuttle station?" Dash asked, a questioning look on her face.
"Nope. Guess my body was running on autopilot there for a bit." Timeless said with a simple shrug.
"Unbelievable Timeless. Simply unbelievable. Do you even have a solid plan at this point?" Dash asked, putting her hands on her hips. Timeless places a hand over Dash's mouth to quiet her. Silence filled the alleyway, punctuated at times by the sounds of distant destruction and screams of terror.
"The plan..." he said, leaning down and whispering into her ear. "Is to stay quiet, stay alive, and get the hell out of here. If you keep talking loudly, they're going to find us, and kill us." Timeless said as he pulled away, staring at her hard in the eyes. "You going to be okay?" he asks. Dash nods and removes his hand from her mouth.
"Sorry...just a bit stressed..." she said with a sheepish smile.
"You and me both, Dash. Now let's go." Timeless said, pulling out his Plasma Glock. Dash raised hers as well and fell in behind Timeless as they came up to the alleyway exit. Peaking his head out, Timeless scanned the street, watching for hostiles. At the far end, Timeless could see a National Guard IFV sitting at the intersection, its' crew having been brutally murdered long ago. Near the IFV, a couple humans milled about with bloodied knifes in their grasps.
Some seemed to be sniffing the air as they walked about, trying to locate the scent of their next prey.
Timeless turned to Dash and raised a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. Dash gives a nod and cups her gun hand, keeping it raised. Timeless begins to slowly move out of the alleyway, making a small sprint for an abandoned car nearby. Once he was behind it, he peeked over, keeping an eye on the crazed hunters down the street. He signaled for Dash to follow, and the blue Anthro quickly joined him.
"If I remember correctly, there should be another station on the next street over. Only thing is, we have no idea how many people are out and about." Timeless said. Dash nodded in agreement and peaked over the car.
"Oh man, looks like they're coming this way..." Dash said. Timeless peeked over also and saw the humans walking down the street in a small cluster, scanning the area. With a small jerk of his head, Timeless signaled to move to the next alleyway. Keeping low, the two Anthros moved from their cover and dashed into the alleyway. This alleyway was wider than the last one, allowing them to walk side by side down the alleyway. A couple back doors sat open, leading into the unknown within the buildings.
"Did it just get really quiet...?" Timeless asked, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck start to stand on end. He then began to notice the smell of blood in the air, thick and smelling heavily of iron. The low buzzing of flies could be heard as the two approached a small branch off.
On the ground leading into the smaller alley, a large splatter of blood sat on the ground, followed by a long tail of the crimson liquid.
Timeless knelt down and put a couple finger tips in the puddle, drawing them back with the crimson liquid clinging to him.
"It's fresh..." he muttered. He turned his head and stared down the alley, his visor lights flickering on to illuminate the darkness. The lights illuminated the outline of a broken form, slumped against the brick wall. "Stay here..." he told Dash as he got up and walked into the alley. Keeping the Glock raised, Timeless approached the form laying on the ground.
It was a pony, or what was left of one. The face was too broken to tell what the gender was, but judging by the feminine curves, it was most likely a mare, and a pegasus at that, judging by the mangled wings. Her coat was peach colored, with a cluster of cinnamon toast crunch adorning her flank. Her mane was brown, laced with hints of a cinnamon coloring within it.
Around the neck was a golden heart-shaped locket, opened up to show a smiling stallion and a sleeping filly.
"Hey Timeless, are you getting a headache?" Dash asked, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers.
"No...not really..." Timeless muttered as he looked over the body, searching for an ID of some kind. He managed to find a small clutch purse. Inside was an Alliance ID card, telling Timeless that the mare was once known as Cinnamon Crunch.
Click.
Timeless' ears folded back at the sound of a locking firing hammer. Slowly, he turned his head to look behind him, seeing the barrel of Dash's Glock aimed at him. He slowly stood up, the firearm following him.
"Dash...?" he asked warily. Dash's eyes were glazed over as she stared at him, yet held a crazed look at the same time.
"They want us to become whole..." Dash muttered beneath her breath. Suddenly, her head snapped up and stared Timeless dead in the eye. "They want us. They want our bodies!" she yelled, pressing the Glock to Timeless' forehead now. "They want us to join in Convergence!" she screamed.
"Dash! What is your malfunction!?" Timeless barked, swatting the Glock away. Dash screamed and slammed Timeless across the face with a heavy right hook. Timeless grunted as he staggered back, falling on the body of Cinnamon Crunch. Immediately, Timeless lunged for Dash and tackled her around the torso, taking her to the ground. Not wanting to hurt his friend, Timeless held Dash on the ground by her shoulders, sitting on the thrashing girl.
"Get off me! We need to become whole! Convergence is at hand!" Dash screamed, trying to grab onto Timeless.
"What the hell are you talking about!? What's gotten into you!?" Timeless demanded.
"The Marker...the Marker...it's here...in the city..." Dash said, her back arching as she seemed to fall into a relaxed state, a lazy smile coming to her lips. "The Marker tells us that we should become whole...offer our bodies..." Dash said, giving a small moan as she writhed beneath Timeless. "They're going to use our bodies as vessels to deliver the word of the Marker...unf..." Dash said, her tongue rolling out as her cheeks developed a blush.
Timeless just sat there, unsure of what he was seeing and hearing from his friend.
Dash suddenly slipped from beneath Timeless and straddled him, cupping his face with her hands, looking at him with half-lidded eyes. "And they don't care how we become one..." she said with a smile. Suddenly, Dash tackled Timeless with a snarl, grabbing his Glock and breaking Timeless' firing finger. Timeless screamed in pain, being silenced immediately by the barrel of the Glock being rammed into his mouth. "Make us whole...make us whole..." Dash moaned as she grinded against Timeless, keeping the Glock in his mouth.
"I gotta do something...!" Timeless thought. Dash was stronger than she looked, managing to keep him down as she spouted off about Convergence.
"I'm getting cloooose..." Dash moaned. She pulled the firing hammer back as she sped up. Timeless could see that her finger was beginning to tighten around the trigger.
Then an idea struck him.
Activating the Kinesis module in his left glove, Timeless raised his hand and opened his palm, enveloping Dash in a field of Kinesis. Just as the field made contact with her, Dash let out a scream of orgasmic glee as she was thrown away, the gun going off as soon as it left Timeless' mouth. Timeless could feel the plasma bullet slam into his chest, scorching the armor and melting his flesh into the under suit. Timeless screamed as his rib bone cracked and fragmented, blood beginning to seep from him. Dash landed a few feet away, writhing as she laid there. Soon, she went still as Timeless struggled to get back onto his feet while clutching at the gunshot.
It was then, that Timeless heard a guttural growl from behind him, followed by the sounds of snapping bones and ligaments. Timeless turned around slowly, his eyes widening behind his visor was he watched the body of Cinnamon Crunch rise and burst into a fountain of blood. Her wings were violently ripped off as two new limbs of pure, sharpened bone formed from her back, arching into lethal talons. Cinnamon's face begin to be pulled away, the skin and fur stretching and tearing into a new form. Her eyes rolled over and became glossy as her jaw began to hyper extend, revealing a bloody maw as her teeth rapidly grew into sharp fangs. Immediately, the corpse began to thrash at Timeless, trying to impale him with its' bone like blades. Timeless screamed and picked up the Glock on the ground, firing rounds into the corpses' head.
But it just kept coming.
Timeless kept firing into the creature, the shots going wild and striking at random places. Timeless backed away, taking shots when he could.
A bullet struck at the base of the limbs on the creatures' back, the lethal limb breaking off in a spout of blood. The creature howled in pain as the limb fell away.
"So, they do feel pain..." Timeless' mind muttered as he knelt down and picked up Dash's body, putting her over his shoulder. He ran out of the alleyway, firing backwards at the charging creature, its' remaining limb still slashing at the air as it chased Timeless. Running out of the alleyway, Timeless skidded around the corner and ran, the creature roaring as it left the alleyway.
Only it didn't go after Timeless now.
It had spotted a couple humans in the street and tore into them, making a gorefest of them. Timeless ignored the screams of the humans as they were torn to ribbons, focusing on making a beeline for the shuttle station ahead of him. As he ran, Timeless' mind seemed to shut down once again, his autopilot kicking in and taking over. Timeless didn't register the multitude of the slaughter that was the shuttle station. He didn't register the fact that there were families massacred and laying on the floor in pieces or pools of their own blood, holding each other in death's embrace on the tiled floor. Instead, Timeless began to register things again when the sensation of flight came to him. Timeless blinked his eyes a few times and shook his head, looking out the shuttles' pilot window. The shuttle was rising into the nighttime sky, taking them away from the hysteric city below. Timeless turned around in his seat and spotted Rainbow Dash sitting in the navigators' seat, strapped in and out cold. Timeless gave a sigh of relief as they entered the Earth's atmosphere, entering the realm of space and into the Tether Highway.
Taking the controls into his hands, Timeless readjusted the shuttles' path for a small blot of metal floating within the Tether Highway.
Station Gypsy.
Book One, Chapter IV: "Brief Resprite."
"S-Station Gypsy...Station Gy...Gypsy...come in. This i-is Engineer T-Toaster. En route to docki-ing in five minutes...I am with one other...a c-civilian...we're both injured...respond." Timeless said into the com. Static fills the radio waves in response to Timeless. Timeless felt weak and was becoming severally lightheaded, due to the loss of blood from his gunshot wound. Crimson stained the front of his armor, streaming down his side and into the pilots' seat. Behind him Dash was still out cold in her seat, her head dangling to her right. At this point, Timeless started using Morse Code to start sending an SOS call to the station in hopes of response.
"Hey...!" came a voice through the static. Timeless jerked and grabbed the microphone immediately.
"Station Gypsy? Station Gypsy!" Timeless yelled. "Bolts? Is that you?"
"Timeless! Oh thank the Goddesses you're okay!Yeah, it's me. I see you coming in on my monitor. What's your status?" asked Bolts.
"Gunshot wound to the chest, and my passenger is...out cold...oh god, please tell me I'm almost there..." Timeless groans, feeling his mind begin to shut down.
"Thirty seconds to dock, Timeless. Hold on a bit longer." Bolts said, her voice rising in worry. "Blitz! Judith! Get the medical supplies ready!" Bolts called behind her. "Five second Timeless. Starting docking sequence." Bolts said, the sounds of machinery starting up, followed by a keyboard being typed on. Timeless could see the docking clamps extending, ready to grab the port side of the shuttle.
"Bolts...Dash doesn't have a RIG. Extend the overhead across the platform..." Timeless said, slowing the shuttle down and starting the docking thrusters. He could feel the thrusters gently guiding the shuttle to the clamps. The shuttle jerked a bit and the sounds of slamming metal could be heard, followed by a low humming caused by the ceiling and hall extensions for the platform. Once they were secured and the air was pressurized, a green light sparked on the shuttles' console, signalling that it was clear to leave the shuttle. Timeless could feel his eyelids growing heavy as he sat there, his vision going blurry.
As Timeless' world began to blur and vanish, he could faintly hear the shuttle door being opened, followed by the sounds of rushing foot falls. He could feel the sensations of being shaken a bit, followed by the harness around him being undone. At that point, Timeless began to black out, only regaining consciousness at sporadic points. The last thing Timeless remembered was being laid out on a table and his front armor with HUD monitor being removed.
After that, Timeless' mind checked out.
* * *
The first thing to return to Timeless was his hearing. The slow beeping of a heart monitor could be heard to his left, followed by the exchanging air from an air pump. His eyelids began to open slowly, his vision beginning to clear up. His head slowly turned to his left, spotting the machinery that was hooked up to his body. Looking down, Timeless could see that his chest was free of his RIG armor and undersuit, having been replaced by a slightly bloody medical gauze, wrapped snug to his frame. In the corner of the small medical bay, Timeless could see Blitz sleeping in a chair, his garments bloodied.
"Oh Timeless, you're awake!"
Timeless shifted his gaze to see Bolts standing in the doorway, a relieved look on her face.
"B-Bolts...?" Timeless asked, his voice hoarse. Bolts walked over to Timeless, running her hand over his hair, a sad smile on her lips.
"Hi buddy..." she said quietly. "I was scared you wouldn't come through. Good thing Blitz was a medic a while back." Bolts said with a sheepish chuckle.
"Where's Dash...?" Timeless asked.
"She's in the crew lounge. We managed to coax her out of a small coma that she was in. We got her some food and warm coffee and she's waiting in the lounge now. Think you're able to walk?" she asked. Timeless gives a small shake of his hand to show he was so-so. "Would you like some help? A crutch maybe?" she asked.
"I'm not crippled, I'm just weak." Timeless retorts in a quiet, deadpanned tone. Bolts giggled weakly and began to shut off the machines hooked up to Timeless. After the IV drips were removed from his arm, Bolts helped Timeless to his hooves and out of the room, staying close to him. "Where's my RIG?" Timeless asked.
"It's down in Repair. Sarah is taking a look at it." Bolts replied. Timeless nodded and bit and entered the crew lounge a couple minutes later. Just as Bolts said, Dash was sitting at a small table inside a booth, holding a cup of coffee in her hands while an empty plate sat nearby. She looked up immediately with wide eyes, a furious blush coming to her cheeks when she spotted Timeless.
"Hi Dash." Timeless said, giving a small wave. The next thing Timeless knew, he was on his back in the hall, a crying Dash clutching to him.
"TimelessI'msosorrypleaseforgivemeIhadnoideawhatwasgoingoninmymindbackthereohIfeelsostupidpleaseforgiveme!" Dash said rapidly as she buried her face in Timeless' bandaged chest.
"Dash! Pain! PAIN!' Timeless yelled. Dash gasped and bolted to her hooves, wringing her hands as she stood there. Bolts giggled behind her hand as she watched the scene before her. Timeless slowly got back onto his hooves and rubbed his chest a bit. He could feel stitching under the gauze, covering where the plasma bullet entered his chest.
"In case you're wondering, the bullet got stuck in your sternum. No major damage to your heart aside from the impact shock wave." Blitz said, approaching them. "You're lucky I was a battlefield medic in my youth." he added with a smirk.
"Thanks Blitz." Timeless said, nodding to the camouflage pegasus. Once they were all back in the crew lounge, Bolts got Timeless a coffee and sat down with them.
"You guys heard of what's happening down there?" Timeless asked them.
"Yes. Mass hysteria and attempted mass genocide? How could we not hear about it." said Judith with a frown. "What caused this?"
"Some guy came on in a video, claiming a group called Uni attacked New Manehatten. Next thing we know, it's panic in the streets and things are exploding." Dash said.
"Wait...Uni?" Sarah asked. familiarity in her voice.
"Yeah. Ring a bell, Sarah" Timeless asked, looking at her.
"Yeah it does. Mah cousin is part o' this freaky religion called Unitology. Keeps sayin' that we're all destined for Convergence, or whatever." Sarah said, folding her arms and rolling her eyes. "Bunch of bull, if ya'll ask me. They worship this alien thing called 'The Marker'."
"What does the Marker look like...?" Timeless asked, leaning forward.
"Someone hand me a pen an' paper?" Sarah asked. Judith hands her the two items from a small table and she began to draw on the paper. After a couple minutes, she presented her drawing.
Two curving towers, coming to a point at the tips, with odd glyphs around the structure.
"That's pretty spot on." Dash said quietly. "Like the one in the video..."
"Blame mah cousin. We always go ta' his place for Christmas dinner with tha' family. Has a tiny one of them damn things sitting on his fireplace mantle." Sarah said. "Thing always creeped me out."
"So the Uni is actually a religion called Unitology, and they worship this thing?" Timeless asked, pointing to the paper. Sarah nods in confirmation. "Is it possible they'd have sleeper agents?"
"I would not doubt it." Judith replied. "If one person is fanatical enough, it is possible to recruit others to their cause and have them wait for orders within a population."
"Like the Russians in the Cold War." Blitz spoke up. "Integrated them into the American population after a heavy brainwashing process, having them wait for a subliminal message to act out their orders." he continues.
"Seems reasonable. Something within the message must've woke up the sleepers." Timeless said thoughtfully.
"Well, they did show the Marker image for a good minute or so." Dash said. "Maybe that triggered it?"
"It's possible. A sleeper agent can be trained to respond to a key phrase or image." Blitz replied with a nod.
"But there's another thing..." Dash said, her tone going dark. The others all looked at her, raising their eyebrows, then looked to Timeless to explain.
"We...were in an alleyway in New Manehatten and we found this poor mare who was beaten to death. I was checking out he body when Dash, well...she went kind of insane and tackled me. She put a gun to my head and kept going on and on about Convergence and saying that there was a Marker within the city." Timeless said. He glanced at Dash, seeing she was relieved that Timeless didn't go further into detail about her outburst.
"Something else happened, didn't it?" Bolts asked. Timeless nodded silently.
"I managed to get Dash off me with a Kinesis push and got shot in the process." Timeless said, gesturing to his bandages. "But when I got up...so did that dead mare. Only...her body...changed, violently. She became this...thing...and tried to kill me with these massive bone blades. Chased after me and Dash, but ignored us when it spotted new prey." Timeless said.
"Tell me. Did you mange to injure this creature?" Judith asked, leaning forward a bit.
"Yeah, I shot one of its' blades off. It seemed to roar in pain." Timeless said, the creatures' roaring echoing in his mind.
"Sounds like the same thing that happened on the Ishimura" Judith said. The other looked at him for an explanation. "It was a simple mining operation that had gone wrong. They brought this alien artifact onto the ship," he tapped the drawing. "And within twenty-four hours, the entire crew was slaughtered by an alien parasite that brought back the dead as these murderous creatures. A small repair crew was dispatched to the Ishimura after radio contact was lost with the Ishimura. Only one person managed to get out alive. A CEC Engineer named Issac Clarke." Judith said. "No idea what happened to Clarke since, but the government somehow found more of these Markers and began to experiment on them in research facilities within the Alliance colonies."
"So...whatever happened on the Ishimura, is happening here as well?" Dash asked, terror in her voice. Judith simply nodded.
"How did you find out about this?" Timeless asked.
"I had a relative on board the Ishimura. That, and I'm pretty good at getting into classified government files from time to time." Judith said, giving a sly grin.
"Looks like the cook is a hacker as well." Blitz said with a chuckle.
"So, a Marker was brought back to Earth, even though the government knew damn well what it could do?" Timeless asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Looks like it." Judith said simply. "From what I read in the files, the Church of Unitology demanded that Markers are to be retrieved, studied, and worshiped."
Silence reigned in the crew lounge as this information settled in.
"Well. Looks like we gotta stop this." Timeless said simply. Immediately, the others all looked at him with surprised expressions.
"Are you crazy? That's suicide!" Bolts yelled, slamming her hands to the table and standing up in objection. "For all we know, all of New Manehatten is dead and turned! It's only a matter of time until all of Earth is a graveyard! Then Equus will be next!"
"That's why we have to stop it; before it can spread!" Timeless retorted angrily, rising up to Bolts' level.
"I bet you anything that's what Clarke tried to do!" Bolts yelled. "But it looks like the power of the government always wins!"
"Well we can't just stand by and let this shit storm continue!" Dash yelled. Soon, the crew of Station Gypsy was in a massive yelling argument.
"ENOUGH!" Timeless yelled over the din of anger. "We're not accomplishing anything by just yelling at each other! We gotta find a way to stop this thing from going on! One way or another, we're stopping this. Now think of something!"
Silence fell around them.
And for the longest time, no one could think of a way to stop the madness on Earth below.
"We go for the source." Sarah said. "We find that fella' from the video, get some information out of him on where that there marker is, and go destroy it." she continued.
"Easier said than done. We have no clue where this guy is." Blitz replied.
"We could always go and ask Princess Celestia." Dash suggested.
"We can try that. She does have connections within the Alliance. We can ask her if she's received any suspicious information or seen anything suspicious over the past couple months." Timeless said, tapping his chin in thought.
"Looks like we have a plan then, doesn't it?" Bolts asked, popping her knuckles.
"If no one is going to object to it." Dash said, looking to the others. Each of them gave a nod in conformation.
"Alright then. Suit up and get ready." Timeless said, standing from the booth.
"We're leaving in five minutes."
View Online
Book One, Chapter I: "I'm Not a Morning Type of Guy."
New Manehatten. July 13th, 2087. West 7th Street Apartments, Third Floor.
The holographic alarm began its' normal routine of wailing into the darkened bedroom. The light blue lights on the display flashed in sync with the alarm, turning the darkness into a club dance floor. A shadow bolts out from the bedsheets, giving the alarm clock a firm punch off of the nightstand. The clock hit the floor, and the alarm abruptly went silent upon impact. The fist goes limp and rests on the nightstand, patting around lightly for a light switch. The fingers find a small button and jab it, turning on a set of low lights. The lights faded into existence, illuminating the shabby bedroom walls adorned by various posters of bands, movies, and games.
"I hate mornings..."
The bedsheets rise from the bed, covering an awakening form. The covers slid off and revealed a toffee colored combination of a human male and a horse.
Or pony, if you want to be precise with the subject.
"I really hate mornings..." grumbles the man. He looked to be in his early twenties in human years. His head was covered in a messy collaboration of chocolate brown and light caramel hair. His tired eyes shared the same chocolaty coloring as his hair, forming twin pools of brown. With a mighty yawn, the young man swung his legs out from under his bedsheets, popping his equine knees with a small kick of his legs. Popping his back, the sounds of whirring gears and extending springs could be heard as a pair of metallic wings slowly spread out behind him. Rising to his hooves, the young man shuffled over to a small window and yanked the shades up.
The New Manehatten skyline was presented to him in all its' shabby glory. In the distance, the skeletons of new skyscrapers could be seen, covered in stories upon stories of scaffolding. The sun could be seen to the east, beginning its' ascension into the skies above. Crowding the sky were hundreds, if not thousands, of supply craft and public transportation. The young man watched as shuttle craft peeled off from the Skyway, arching down to the numerous shuttle stations placed around New Manehatten.
Behind him, a series of pings went off, alerting him. Turning away from the window, the young man approached his closet and threw the doors open, revealing a Suit Kiosk. Pressing the activation button, the kiosk hummed to life while a display dropped down from the ceiling. The display unfolded into a small array of screens and flickered into life.
"Welcome, Timeless Toaster.
-You have Two new messages waiting.
-Your job routine has also arrived from Shift Manager Checkmate.
-What would you like to do, this morning?"
"Damn thing is too friendly..." Timeless muttered as looked over the choices presented to him. He opted to clear his messages and pressed the small envelope with a light blue '2' on the corner.
"Message One: Hey Time, it's Anderson. Listen, my wife has just gone into labor and I need to call out. Can you please look at those Communications Relays on Level Three? Thanks man." said a gruff voice. Timeless selected 'Reply' and typed:
*"Yeah, no problem. Good luck with your wife."
"Message Two: Tiiiiiiiimeeeeeyyyyy...Pick up Timey...I knoooooow you're theeeeeeeeeeerrrre...stop playing hard to get and let me ride your horsey..."
With that final word, Timeless wasted no time in deleting the creepy message from his inbox. Shivers ran up his spine as he remembered that girl from 3A; Lyra Heartstrings. What started out as a renovation project in her living room, turned into three months of crazed hell.
But the sex was good at least.
Shaking his head to clear the memories of insanity, Timeless returned to the main menu of the kiosk and selected 'Clothing'. The display changed to a listing of his various clothing. Scrolling down to the very bottom of the list, he selected 'Engineer RIG'. The display retreated immediately, allowing the shaped indentation in the back of the kiosk to be accessed. Stepping in, a pair of curved metal doors slid shut to enclose Timeless as the internal mechanisms assembled his Engineer RIG. With a dull thud, the doors parted and Timeless emerged, making small adjustments to his RIG as he stepped out.
The series of pings was heard again, signalling a new message.
Timeless looked at the display as it folded back down and pressed the envelope once again.
"Shuttle flight #554 to Station Gypsy is to be delayed by twenty minutes. Will notify RIG when update arrives."
"Well...I've got nothing else better to do..." Timeless said with a small sigh. Powering down the kiosk, Timeless shut his closet doors and powered off his apartment lights. As he stepped out of his apartment and locked the door, Timeless looked up suddenly, his ears swiveling around for any sounds of movement. He looked to his right, looking at the ragged doors of apartments 3D-3G. To his left were apartments 3A-3B.
His eyes lingered on 3A, staring hard at the faded lyre painted on the doors' front.
He knew she was watching him through her peephole, keeping herself aloft with a simple levitation spell.
In a burst of speed, Timeless raced past Lyra's apartment door, not turning to see if she decided to pursue him. As he ran, his RIG opened up and began to piece together his helmet, the cyan visor flashing to life. He raced down the stairs, not stopping until he had reached the outside. As he emerged, a couple Anthros and humans looked at him with curious expressions as they passed by. Timeless gave an uneasy chuckle and waved a bit.
"Was...avoiding my ex..." he said lamely. Turning around with his head down a bit, Timeless began his walk to his favorite coffee shop.
* * *
Upon entering the shop "Joe and Sweets", Timeless' helmet collapsed into his suit as he breathed in the rich smell of fresh coffee grounds and baking sweets. The cashier, who he learned was named Sunny Fields, perked up at the sight of him and waved with a smile.
"Morning Timeless! The usual?" she asked.
"You know it Sun. Sorry I haven't been in lately, Station Gypsy has been having mechanical issues out of wazoo." he said with a roll of his eyes. Sunny giggled a bit and nodded.
"Been there, done that. All you can do it strive right on through." she said as she began assembling Timeless' order.
"You hear from Old Lady Velvet?" Timeless asked Sunny. The barista was about to answer when there was a sharp clearing of someone's throat. Timeless turned and spotted an elderly mare sitting in the corner with a quill and paper.
"I maybe old, but I haven't earned the title of 'Old Lady' yet!" she said with a joking smile. Timeless chuckled and walked over to her, sitting down across from her.
"Hello Twilight Velvet. How've ya' been?" he asked. Twilight Velvet gave a melancholy sigh and shook her head a bit, a sad smile on her lips.
"Well, things could be better. The book store isn't doing so well lately. Guess no one stops to read a good book anymore. Sad really..." she said, trailing off a bit. "Nopony loves book as much as my daughter."
"She was always a bookworm. How is she, by the way?" Timeless asked.
"She's doing wonderful, last time I spoke with her. And don't poke fun at her intelligence; look where it's gotten her. The fourth member of Equestria's royalty, and second in command of the Alliance." Twilight Velvet with with a proud smile. "I honestly couldn't be more proud of her."
"You see her much?" Timeless asked, raising an eyebrow.
Twilight Velvet gives a small frown and shake of her head. "No, she barely writes as it is. And with the store suffering, I can't make enough to take a shuttle trip up to Equus and visit her in Canterlot." she says. Timeless looks at the mares' features, taking in the sadness in her eyes.
"How about I do this: I set aside some credits for you so you can visit her?" he asks. Twilight Velvet gives gasp and immediately shakes her head.
"Oh no Timeless, I couldn't do that to you! How are you going to get by?" she asks worriedly.
"Velvet, I live in a shitty apartment complex on West and Seventh. I don't need to worry much about my rent and such. You need to see your daughter, and I'm willing to help you out. Think of it as returning a favor; you helped me get a job in the first place when I came to the city." Timeless said, taking Velvet's hoof into his hands and patting it lightly. Twilight Velvet gave a smile and her eyes lit up a bit.
"You really want to help me out?" she asks. Timeless gives a simple nod and smiles in return. "Oh, thank you Timeless! Thank you! I-Oh! Looks like your order is ready." Velvet says giggling a bit. Timeless looks over and spots Sunny, holding his coffee and pastries in a small bag. Timeless says good-bye to Velvet and approaches the pick up counter.
"One doughnut house coffee, extra sweet, and two apple fritters." Sunny says with a smile.
"Thanks Sunny." Timeless says, placing a Ten Bit credit chip on the counter in exchange for the food and drink. "I'll see you later Velvet." he says, turning is head to face her as he walked out of the coffee shop.
* * *
Timeless hated this part of the morning.
Absolutely hated it.
Waiting for this shuttle to Station Gypsy was by far, the worst part of the day.
He always ended up behind either some extremely obese person who reeked worse than the alley way trash, or caught between two business people, chatting away on their phones, their voices screaming in his ears in order to be heard over the sounds of the heavy machinery that kept the station running. He tried to drown out the noise (and smell) by assembling his helmet as soon as he entered the station.
But this usually failed to block out either one.
There was a nasally laugh right behind Timeless.
"Oh Goddesses...please don't tell me that's-" Timeless groaned mentally.
"Hi Timeless."
"It is..." he thought, giving a heavy sigh. "Hello Ivan..." he said in a slightly annoyed tone, not even bothering to face the person.
"How's it going?" Ivan asked, stepping right in front of Timeless. Ivan was an extremely thin human, his weight almost in the danger zone of being severally underweight. He looked like your everyday, stereotypical nerd; complete with a pocket protector and tapped glasses. But Timeless pitied the boy; he had a tough time fitting in with the right crowd.
And Timeless could relate.
And even if Ivan was the most obnoxious and invasive person in existence; he was like the little brother Timeless never had.
"It's going alright. Nothing to really brag about. Helping out Velvet with somethings." he said, looking at Ivan, who's eyes were squinting due to the cyan visor light.
"Gee that's awfully nice of you Timeless! Oh! I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" Ivan asked, opening his messenger bag. He produced a piece of purple paper and handed it to Timeless. Timeless took it with a gloved hand and looked it over.
"A party?" he asked, looking past the paper at an excited Ivan.
"Oh please? I want you to meet all my other friends! We're gonna have pizza, soda, movies, games, and even.." Ivan trails off, giggling a bit. "Girls." he said, snickering behind his lanky hand.
"Typical nerd gathering, huh? Well...I don't really have anything to do..." Timeless said, looking back to the paper. "I'll just have to check my work schedule when I get to the station." he continued.
"Epic! Oh, I'm gonna miss my train! See ya' later Timeless!" Ivan called, peeling from the line and running to a smaller hallway. Timeless chuckled and shook his head a bit, folding up the paper and putting it in a small compartment on his RIG. As he approached the Identification Terminal, a scanning light sparked to life and scanned Timeless from head to hoof.
"Please provide RIG Identification." said the AI in a heavy, male voice. Another compartment opened on the RIG and a small chip was produced. Timeless took the chip and slotted it into the required slot for the machine to read it. "Processing...Processing...RIG ID unreadable. Please try again." said the AI. Timeless groaned and took the chip back, then slotted it in once again. "Processing...Processing...RIG ID unreadable. Please try again."
"Oh come on! We go through this everyday you son of a-" Timeless raged, taking the chip and forcing it in with a small grunt.
"Processing...Processing...RIG ID Accepted. Please enjoy your flight, Timeless Toaster."
"About time..." Timeless grumbled as he took his chip, placed it back into his RIG, and walked to the shuttle platform.
* * *
The shuttle flight was, as usual, uneventful.
Timeless stood in the passenger compartment with humans and Anthros alike, watching out the windows. He could see Equus hovering in close proximity to Earth, a series of space tethers linking the planets. The tethers were a mean to deliver resources back and forth between the planets.
And sitting in the middle of the Tether Highway was Station Gypsy.
Timeless knelt forward a bit, shifting his footing, as he looked out the window.
"Hey bud! You stepped on my fuckin' foot!" said a man, his voice thick with a Brooklyn accent. Timeless looked at the man, then down to his foot, and saw that his boot was indeed stepping on his foot.
"Oh, sorry about that." he said simply, removing his boot. "No hard feelings?" he asked.
"I ain't acceptin' an apology from poison." said the man, venom dripping in his voice.
"Oh boy...here we go again..." Timeless thought. He gave a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Oh wow. As if I never heard that one before." he said, sarcasm lacing his voice.
"You's gettin' smart wit' me?" asked the man, stepping forward.
"No, I was simply stating that the whole 'racism' thing isn't new to me." Timeless said, making air quotations with his fingers, sarcasm still in his voice. As Timeless turned to look at Station Gypsy, he could feel the man grabbing his shoulder and yanking him back.
Pain shot across Timeless' jaw as the man's fist slammed into it.
Timeless staggered back and the man took another swing, his fist meeting Timeless' left cheek. "Freaks like you's belong in the ground." said the man. He charged Timeless again, but the Anthro shoved him back with a blast of Kinesis. The crowd watching the small scuffle caught the man and got him back on his feet. "Cheata'. Can't even fight normal." he said as he charged Timeless again. Timeless' RIG opened and assembled his helmet in record speed, just in time for Timeless to headbutt the man. The man cried in agony as his nose cracked from the impact.
"I'm gonna kill ya'!!!"
A shield was being projected from a small projector built into the ceiling.
"Flight Marshall! Break it up you two!" said a young Anthro as he stepped out from a rather cramped looking station behind Timeless. The Flight Marshall gave Timeless a glance and looked at the human. "Care explaining?"
"I ain't talkin' to any freak." said the man stubbornly.
"Fine then. Looks like I'll just revoke your Shuttle Pass." said the Marshall, pulling up a small tablet. After a few taps of the screen, he looked up with a smug smile. "You're no loner allowed to board any flights, Mr. Henderson. This will be your final flight." he said. Henderson looked absolutely dumbfound, his jaw opening and closing, trying to form a comeback. The Marshall turned to Timeless, who was nursing his bruised cheek now. "As for you, with me." he said. Timeless groaned and followed the Marshall to the shuttles' cockpit.
Once the door was sealed behind them, the Fight Marshall turned on Timeless. "That's the third fight in three weeks. You're lucky I'm giving you one more chance." said the Marshal as he grabbed a small medical kit and popped it open. "Sit." he said, pointing to an empty chair beside Timeless. The engineer slumped into the seat and leaned forward.
"You and I both know you won't ban me, bro." Timeless said with a smirk. The Marshall gave a small chuckle and started applying some disinfectant to a gash on Timeless' cheek.
"That's my little brother. Always getting into scuffles, only to have his big brother rescue him."
"Watch it Silver Streak. I saved you once or twice. Remember when you were being chased by your ex?" Timeless asked with a smirk.
"I thought we agreed we'd never speak of her again." Silver Streak said tonelessly. "Besides, she's your ex also."
"You introduced me to the nutcase!" Timeless retorted. "You could've warned me!"
"And what kind of brother would I be, if I let you know the dangers ahead of time?" Silver Streak asked as he applied a small band-aid to Timeless' cheek. "There, all better. Would wittle Timewess want a lollipop?" Silver Streak asked, pinching Timeless' right cheek. Timeless smacked Silver's hand away and scowled.
"I'm not a little kid..." he muttered. Silver Streak chuckled and led Timeless out of the cockpit.
"We're coming up on Station Gypsy now. Get in the zero gravity compartment." Silver Streak told Timeless. Timeless nodded and entered a doorway to his right. As soon as he entered, the door slammed shut with a heavy thud .
"Entering zero gravity in ten seconds. Please prepare for pressurization." said light, female AI. Timeless' helmet formed once again as his suit self-sealed. "Now entering zero gravity. Please stand back from the door." continued the voice. Timeless suddenly developed a sense of weightlessness, realizing he was floating a couple inches from the floor. He activated the magnets in his boots and returned to the floor. "Shuttle docking in t-minus ten seconds." Ten seconds later, there was series of light thuds outside the shuttle. "Shuttle docked. Please disembark and have a good day." said the AI as the heavy doors in front of Timeless opened silently, allowing Timeless to step onto the passenger pad outside of Station Gypsy.
Once he was clear, Timeless could feel the force of the shuttles' thrusters as it pulled away and continued on to a farther station. Approaching the exterior doors, Timeless was once again scanned.
"Identification, please." said the AI with the same voice as the shuttle station AI. Timeless produced his RIG ID chip and slotted it in.
"Processing...Processing...RIG ID not readable. Please try again."
Timeless wasn't about to go through the shuttle station fiasco again. Instead, he took back his chip and pulled up his RIG's HUD. "Open communications link to Shift Manager Checkmate." he instructed. The RIG beeped in compliance and called Checkmate.
"Checkmate here." replied the stallion in a bored tone.
"Check. It's Timeless. Your damn door is being stupid again." Timeless said simply, in a slightly aggravated tone.
"Hang on...lemme bypass the door controls...there we go. Open it manually. I'll see you inside." Checkmate said, closing the call. The door gave a green light and Timeless grabbed the manual door control, twisting it and pushing it in. The door silently slid open and allowed Timeless to enter, sealing behind him once he had was inside.