The Overwatch

DATE: July/ 5/ 2034…

TIME: 2:35am…

LOCATION: Nova Prospect/ Cell Block Alpha/ Barracks and Living Quarters…

P.O.V: Daniel Joseph McAllister/ Combine Overwatch/ Testing Division. Unit #: OW04235

“Attention Overwatch Guard Renforcement Team, second stage priority is now in effect, please report to, Cell Block Delta 2, code: standby, oversee, patrol. Priority Alert, singularity in 30 minutes, Stabilization Team, report status.”

The Announcers Metallic voice echoed through out the walls of the Barracks. I sit on my bed with my eyes closed. I listen to the voices of Combine radio chatter as they passed by my cell door. I couldn’t sleep the night before, something had kept me up, it wasn’t noise, it wasn’t emotions, I just felt, different. Being part of the Combine Overwatch was certainly a trip, getting forced into a brainwashing chamber for 24 hours straight, losing your memories, your identity, your life, everything. Having it replaced, by military tactics, logistics, normes. I don’t remember anything about my life before the invasion, or after the invasion. The only thing I’ve been able to remember over the years, is my name and where I was from.

I open my eyes and stand up on my feet as the rusted springs of the bed recoil to normal. I turn to my left and look outside my door. My door had a little peep hole to view threw, since this place was an old prison, nothing moved, the room was empty. The stench of mildew and old concrete circulated through the air ducts as I breathed in the stale air. Mixed in with the stench of the salty sea  gave me a huge wake up call as I grab the handle of the door. Turning it, I walked onto a metal catwalk that was suspended above the different levels of the prison cell below, I was on the top layer. The chipped yellow paint of the walls of the concrete holding area, truly showed it’s age. A glass sunroof let in the light of the moon that was shinning brightly, giving the room a small amount of light, along with a small hue of light blue. I walk over to the railing in front of me after shutting my door. Gripping the rusted railing I looked over and down to see about a mile.

Across the gap was another catwalk that was connected to mine. The light of the moon shown all the way down to the bottom layer, that was built underground. I let go of the handle and headed left toward a staircase that was at the end of this level of catwalks, that led to the one below me. I look into the cells on my left peering inside. I saw a Overwatch Soldier in each cell, either sleeping or sitting on their bed doing nothing. Truly a depressing. Being cramped inside a cell every day until you are called into action by the Central Nexus that lasts maybe an hour or so, until you’re no longer needed then you're sent back to your cell. Some people would call it insanity inducing, but because we aren't allowed to show emotion towards our higher ups, we never speak unless spoken to.

Before making it to the staircase, I stopped at a certain cell. ‘Cell number F9#34, John Reefer Lonstein, OW#04236.’ John Lonstein was one of my teammates, he was the Shotgun trooper. I was normally told to gather him by our Squad leader since we lived on the same floor. Knocking on his door I called to him,

“John, it’s me Daniel, we’ve called to Delta 2, singularity is in 30 minutes, stage two priority.” I heard some springs move as I looked inside the cell. He was standing up now, wearing his Combine Overwatch Uniform, (C.O.U) without his vest and pads, and so was I. Walking over to the door the handle jiggled. Standing back the door opened and out he stepped. His face was pale white and his hair was missing, his eyes shone blue in the light and his serial code was printed on his forehead in black ink. I looked exactly the same, except my serial code was different and my eyes were brown.

“We need to stop by the armory and pick up our gear.” He said pointing his left thumb to the staircase. I rolled my eyes at his reminder.

“I know this, my memory processor hasn’t botched itself in three weeks, I had it worked on, you have to stop reminding me, or else I’ll think somethings wrong with you too.” I said as I turn toward the stairs. As I turned his mouth turned upward in a smile as he followed me.

“Right, okay, anyway what are we heading into today.” He asked as we walked towards the stairs. Recalling the message I heard over the announcement system, I began to explain.

“The nexus is putting us on second priority, we need to patrol the research lab halls, and you know what second priority means.” I said giving a pause. i could feel him frown a bit.

“A new guy?” he asked. “I swear if it’s some stuck up science know it all, I’ll knock the smarts right out of him.” As he said that, he smashed his hands together. John never liked the science team, or science in general, like he told me years ago, ‘to many big words.’ The only science he liked was military science, and things that could benefit him and him alone. For me, the science team was my main concern, what could they create to expand our knowledge of the universe. I seemed to take a liking to it over the years of being stuck here at Nova.

Making our way down the stairs, I tried to explain to him what I had heard from different sources.

‘Well, it is a scientist and this ‘he’ is a ‘she.’ I said matter of factly. “Apparently she used to work for the resistance, but now she works for us, as a spy.” I said reaching the bottom of the staircase. Making our way forward towards the armory section. He continued to ramble on about how science would be our downfall. I mostly tried to ignore him, but I had no choice to listen.

“I mean look at you, your memory processor has screwed up the second time this year, mine hasn’t witch is good, but, if you lose your memory, you’ll be lost!” He said extending his arms into the air. I again rolled my eyes.

“John, I get what you're saying, but could you please for the love of the Universal Union, shut the hell up, were coming up on officer territory.” I said pointing to the different colored hall that we approached slowly.

‘Fine.” Breathing out a sigh of relief we continued in silence. Reaching the end of the hall we looked at the hallway that made a tee with ours. This hallway seemed a little brighter and well kept. This area of our Barracks was for the officers, which also happened to be connected to our armory, the place was neatly kept and the paint was clean and smoother. The floor had nice white tiles and the air smelt clean and fresh. Stepping out into the hall, we turned right, not knowing if we were being watched. We picked up our pace as we made our way forward.

The Overwatch and Prison Guard officers were the toughest of the tough. We were nothing compared to them. They only came out of their areas when either, A: Had business elsewhere, which isn’t good, or B: Were going on a mission with their soldiers. Either way, they weren’t meant to be fucked with. Last month, me and my squad were sent out to do a scouting mission in the areas surrounding Nova Prospekt. Apparently, our sergeant forgot to check an area for antlions and they breached the prison. It was dealt with no problem, but when the Lieutenant got ahold of him, we never saw him again.

As we walked, an officer came out of a room and nearly hit us. We froze as his white and red uniform and gear shone brightly from the lights above. Unlike us, he was wearing all of his gear, along with his cyclops helmet and AR2. John and I stopped as fast as we could, he was merely inches away from us. His black boots turned our way as his head slowly turn down towards me. I could feel my blood begin to stand still as my heart rate nearly stopped as I felt his eye look down at me.

“Corporal,” He said as his voice was edited by the helmets voice communicator, coming out metallic and rough, ending with a static bleep. Swallowing, I looked upwards towards him trailing up his snow white vest. I saw the Overwatch insignia along with multiple medals on the chest part of his vest. Meeting his eye, I nearly fainted, it glowed red as it looked at me.

“What are you doing here?” He asked followed with the same bleep. Gaining enough courage to speak to him. I opened my mouth and spoke.

‘We’re being called to, to, Cell Block 2, for a patrol.” I said back in a stern but, shaky voice. looking over at John, the Officer nodded to him then back to me and nodded again.

“Very well, carry on.” He said turning outwards and continuing on behind us. Soon after he was out of sight. I breathed out in relief, tapping John, we moved on.

Without meeting anyone else along the way, we got down to the armory in a hurry. Making my way up to the door, I pulled out a small little rectangle. This rectangle was a key card. Looking to the side of the door their was a small slot for the card to go into. Sliding it in, the door made a few little buzzing sounds then one final buzz in a higher pitch and the door opened.

"This patrol order, who is it coming from, Overwatch, or Prison Nexus?" Asked John as we continued inside the armory.

The lights rose up and lit the room with and cast light onto a whole line of key card passible lockers. I walked forward and made my way to the back of the room and found my locker number. “#04235.” Grabbing my keycard again, I lifted it up and slid it down the slot right above the handle. The door buzzed green and the locks clicked open. I turned the handle and opened the locker. The light didn’t cast this far, my helmet rested on the highest shelf, the rest of my armor layed below. I grabbed my grey and blue camo vest and slid it on. next came the deltoid and arm pads, then finally the leg pads and boots. The next bit of equipment was my belt that held my ammo. Grabbing it I slid it on under my vest, and clicked the buckle after tightening it. The pads and vest hugged tightly to my Grey BDU giving me a sense of security that I had never felt before now since the officer. Then came the helmet. Grabbing the gas mask look a like, I slid it on as the light faded away into darkness as I was consumed by blackness. Then as the back of the mask hit the connector on the back of my head, the eyes lit up and started the pre movement checking system. I could see out the eye sockets as everything now had a small blue hue to it.

“Welcome, Overwatch Unit #0235, to the Universal Union Transhuman Arm Power Armor, (U.U.T.A.P.A) your pre-duty check is now complete, normal parameters met, all systems are go, report to charging station, #04, for power charge.” Said the voice in my helmet as my HUD came online showing my health below my left eye and suit charge right next to it. My weapons system appearing above both eyes making a little yellow bar above my eyes.

Shutting my locker I looked over at John, just closing his as well. But instead of wearing the grey and blue patterned uniform like most of the active duty Overwatch Units, he donned a redder uniform. The shotgunner suit. His eyes glowed red and his arm patch wasn’t the yellow and black four quadrant circle like mine, it was the Overwatch symbol, but their was a skull instead of the circle. Looking over at me, he began to talk through his communicator.

“My communicator is on the fritz again, hear it?” When he talked his voice wasn’t his high pitched tone like normal. Instead his voice was at least four tones lower than normal, maybe just as low as the Lieutenant we bumped into. Moving over to him, I circled my finger and signaled to turn around. Following my order, he slowly did a 180 and turned away from me. I looked at his helmet connecter on the back of his head that connected the helmet to his vest.

A little box on his lower neck housed his voice box. Opening it, I saw the problem, one of his wires were dislocated, warping his voice giving it a lower tone. I quickly reconnected it, and with a spark of electricity, it fused back into place.

“Ouch! Shit that hurt! What was wrong with it?” He asked as I closed the little door on the box.

“Just a loose wire, that's all, don’t worry it fused back in.” He turned around and looked at me.  As I turned around to and moved to the back of the room to charge up, he began to jabber jaw about how the technology in his suit was corrupt. Again, I tried to ignore him.

After charging up and retrieving our weapons, I got my AR2 and he grabbed his Spas-12, we made our way down to the labs in Cell Block Delta 2.

We made our way down a corridor, this area was for Overwatch only, and it was shown by the lack of concrete walls like the rest of the prison, this area was maintained and kept looking nice. The walls were a bluish steel color and were made out of iron. The lights weren't dull anymore, but were now a light blue and they shone brightly illuminating the halls. Instead of prison cells like before, every room we went by, was either a lab, or a check point for the Overwatch Clearly John was trying to ignore the scientists that roamed the halls with us. Down the hall was a big password activated door. On either side of it was a guard wielding a SMG. Making our way up to greet them they snapped to attention and saluted us. Returning the salute I continued on after the door opened with a metallic drone.

DATE: July/ 5/ 2034…

TIME: 2:35am…

LOCATION:Wonder Bolts Headquarters/Training Facility/ Air track #02…

P.O.V: SSgt. Rainbow Dash/ Equestrian Wonder Bolt/ Unit #: AP0024…

“Everypony, listen up,” 2d Lt. Spitfire shouted out into the cool night air. I pushed out my chest as far as I could, leveling my head with cloud and locked my knees together. The rest of the airponies in my training group followed my lead and did the same as the sound of clapping hoofs echoed through the night. The afternoon was late, the moon was on it’s decent and the stars shone dimmer than normal. The Headquarters shut down for the night. The Admin buildings light were out, the visitor center was closed and the barracks were dead quiet. But, the tracks weren’t, they were the only things lit because we were the only ones up at the time. Me, my squad of 12 airponies, and our Platoon commander, Second Lieutenant Spitfire.

“Now I don’t want to hear any moping or crying when I lay this on you, understand?” Spitfire said tracing back and forth.

“Yes Ma’am!” We sounded off. Spitfire stopped pacing and turned to us.

“From this night, till the end of the year, to boost your combat fitness and readiness, we will be running, or rather, flying this course from midnight, till dawn. Under special order of the Joint Chief of Staff of the E.R.A.F. For tensions are rising between us, and the Changeling Empire. The J.C.S. wants us to be ready, not only in the day, but at night too. Just incase we are attacked, or we attack them.” Spitfire spat out in her usual tone of roughness, but this time seeing how it was technically tomorrow, she was looming with fatigue, I could see it in her snuffed blazed orange eyes.

Hearing this information, I began to recall the previous months leading up to this. In March, the Changeling Empire’s communications were intercepted. Apparently, they had ships that were somewhere not far off coast from our eastern shore. When Celestia tried to get a confession out of Chrysalis, she didn’t get very far, cause she denied everything she through at her.

Then in May, a piece of our secret military project, Project: Smoke Wall, was leaked out to the Changeling Empire. The leak was part of our phase one of the project.

The Fire Stick. Basically, a giant wooden base and stock, with a bolted on steel barrel to the top. At the back of the barrel was a trigger that when pulled by a hoof, a hammer would come down and ignite some gunpowder, (we got from fireworks) inside the barrel to launch a little metal ball down range and cause severe damage to a soldier.

But, it wasn’t just a hammer, a little rock we found was placed at the top. Flint. A  Sedimentary Cryptocrystalline form of quartz, that when struck against steel, the flint edge produced sparks. The hard flint edge shaved off a particle of the steel that exposes iron which reacts with oxygen from the atmosphere, and that ignited the gunpowder sending the round out of the barrel.

Or some Eggheadish stuff like that, I didn’t really care about it till now, they never told us anything, but since it was leaked, we were taught the science behind it, and were tested.

Lets just say, I did, okay...

But, in the last month, the Changeling Empire stepped up their Naval movement in the Eastern sea, despite our threats for intervention and even war. We haven’t been able to find the source for their hostilities.

“So, whos ready to be the first Wonderbolts to take this night flight?” She asks beginning to pace again. I smiled as my exasperated body began to regain it’s vigilance as I howled into the night.

“Yes Ma’am!” As a chorus of other voice sang with me.

“All right then, take your marks on the starting position and wait for my go, you are going to be timed, if you can’t clear five miles in under two minutes you run it again, understand?” She hollered. Again we cheered out in a chorus of yes ma’ams.

“ A hundred fifty miles per hour per lap?” I calculated in my head. “Easy work, lets do  this squad!” I yelled taking my place on the starting position. Thunderlane fluttered in next to me. His white and light blue mohawk shown brightly in the glow of the tracks spotlights. His grey coat seemed darker than normal and his orange eyes stood out from the rest of him.

“Yes ma’am.” He said in response to me. I always liked him as a soldier, tall, rigid, loyal to the team, and best of all, good looking. Cloudchaser picked a good one. As the rest of the ponies took their starting position I quickly started up a little conversation with him.

“So Thunderlane, how’s the civilian life treating ya?” I asked jokingly. I saw him put on a smile and laugh. Looking at me with his half drained half awake eyes he began to speak but his tone was drowsy.

“What civilian life? We’ve been here posted on base for at least four months now, correct?” He asked. running through my memory I quickly recalled the call to action and it’s date. March 21st.

“Yep, four whole months. How’s Cloudchaser and your little brother?” I asked trying to keeping it going.

“Oh they're good, just haven’t really talked to them in a while. Last time I checked in they were making their way back to Ponyville from their vacation in Manehatten.” Intrigued by his story I asked more, or was about to until Spitfire gave us the go ahead signal.

Spreading my wings as far as I could I quickly gave myself a gigantic burst of speed as, in under ten seconds I reached 150 MPH. The cool summer night air fanned my tired face waking me up as the wind brushed by every feather on my wings airing them out. After reaching the required limit I maintained the speed and waited for Thunderlane.

After about another ten seconds he appeared by my side. Looking over at him I began to speak louder over the sound of the wind passing me and him.

“So, where did they go?” I nearly screamed out. Looking over at me, he opened his mouth and his lips moved, but I couldn’t hear anything. Assuming he wasn’t speaking loud enough I motioned for him to speak up. Seeing my signal he spoke up louder.

“I said,” He yelled, “They went to Times Mare and rented a hotel so they could see other things. They said they had wonderful time in the letter they sent me!” I began to imagine the bustling city streets of the dense city. All the lights, the sounds, the overall feel of Manehatten. I smiled and sighed inside.

“Sounded like fun!” I screamed back. Thunderlanes head was facing in front of himself, but he could still hear me cause a smile raised on his face and he nodded. Suddenly his smile changed into a face that somepony would put on if they couldn't see right. He squinted his eyes and his mouth opened a bit. I kept watching to see if he was going to say something.

But when Thunderlanes head whipped around and he start yelling something and his face wore an expression of pure shock I began to worry.

Turning my gaze back to the front of me, I quickly saw what he saw. Some sort of light blue and grey swirling vortex, directly in my flight path. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Thunderlane bail as I tried to do it myself. But as I tried to move my wings in another angle, the quickly folded as the vortex pulled my closer at lighting speeds. Panicking I tried every move I was taught, but nothing mattered. Fear took hold of me as the vortex grew closer, I tried galloping in place, grabbing onto clouds, and moving in every way I knew possible. But nothing mattered as I grew closer still

Finally accepting my fate I let my struggling stop as I fell closer and closer towards the vortex. The way I see it is, I’m either going to die, or die tired, I’d like to die at peace at least.

Just as I was about to fall away into the nothingness, a pair of hoofs grabbed under my arms and began to slow me down. Turning around I saw thunderlane with his eyes closed and wings fluttering faster than mine.

“Dash, I can’t hold you for much longer, get out of here!” He yelled over the sound of the wind.

‘He came back? Why?’ I asked myself as I began to flap my wings. ‘He’s risking his life for me, for what? This could kill him? He has a family!’ The questions kept coming. But as I was about break free and fly away from the death trap, the vortex grew stronger. His eyes opened with fear as tears flowed out and his wings stopped flapping and shot down with the current of the wind.

Then everything went black.