Her Majesty's Service: Secure, Contain, Protect
Chapter One: Mechanizations
"Is it ready?" General Kosak asked as he looked over the bright but small control room. The question directed at one of four scientists. Each of them in crisp white lab coats as three of them looked over control consoles. The fourth stood, close by to the general. Eyes darting between the three other scientists. Occasionally looking out through the observation window that formed the wall of the half circle room.
"Well, in theory it should be.....but," The lead scientist said as he turned to face the general. The ID badge that hung from around his neck helping to identify him as Dr. Rosenberg. "The real question is if it will accept it. Objects like this, they tend tend to do things we weren't expecting," He said as he glanced back around the room. "I really must advise against this...."
Kosak sighed as he reached up and rubbed his fore head. His eyes tracing hostilely over the man in front of him. "How many men have we lost to SCP artifacts like this one?" he asked as he pushed past the nervous man to look down in the room. His eyes falling on the crate in the middle of the room. The guards in the room below occasionally looking back up at him as they seemed to mill about nervously. The large arch on one side of the large room humming. "And how much longer can we contain things like that? How much longer till a full breach and a K class incident or worse?"
Rosenberg just shrugged his shoulders as he looked down at his clip board. The fatigue heavy in his voice.. "It's still wrong. We don't even know anything about whats through that portal. For all we know there's intelligent beings down in there. They wont have a clue whats coming and when we do this it'll be a death sent--"
Kosak put his hands behind his back as he summoned the most commanding voice he could. "Dr, what is the name of this group?" He noticed that it must have worked. The sounds the others in the room had been making, though soft had stopped and the tension in the air grew thick.
Rosenberg could only give a defeated answer. "SCP sir. Secure, Contain, and Protect."
Kosak's head nodded ever so slightly "And protect is just what I plan to do. By tossing the god damn thing in there so it can never threaten life on this planet again," He turned on his heel. Eyes narrowed as he sized up the doctor. "Now I don't give a flying fuck whats on the other side of that portal. I don't care if it's as innocent as Bambi and has never seen a day of fighting in its life. It will learn to do what it has to or die just like we have. Have I made myself clear?"
Rosenberg just smiled and nodded. His head held low as his eyes softy began to glow.The smile on his face twisting as he tried to hide it from the general. "You have made yourself very clear sir. But I'm afraid I can't do that."
His nostrils flared as his face almost turned red from rage. "Like hell you can't" He yelled as he walked up, jabbing a finger at his chest. "You are not the project man-"
"Why don't you talk about her sir?" Rosenberg asked. "She told me you were proud of her. She was such a lovely woman." Rosenberg's eyes were bright as flashlights as his head flew up, cocking to the side. The smile twisted in ways a man's face couldn't.
"Oh fuck, oh shit." The other three started to yell as one of the scientists fell out of his desk and started crawling away. Kosak could hear another crying. But as Rosenberg smiled and his hand began to sear and burn, Kosak took three large steps back. His hand slamming onto a large red panic button on one of the consoles.
"She screamed your name on the sands. She screamed as she bled out." Rosenberg said as his hand began to glow, starting to form into a lump "That's what her squad leader never told you. He said she served, but he never told you about how she cried for you as she died."
"This Is general Kosak. Level 6 clearance. Enact quarantine now! We have a containment breach!" He screamed into the intercom. "Get that portal open now before it gets us all!"
"its too late for that. You know, she was also screaming your name last night. And it wasn't because she was BURNING IN HELL! IT WAS FROM JAMMING MY COCK UP HE-" The bang echoed loudly around the room. Rosenberg's head flew back as a large red stain filled with bits of brain splattered the window. The lifeless body of his head researcher slumping to the ground as Kosak let out a relieved sigh. He tore his eyes away from the mess to look at the other scientists.
"Get the hell back to your stations!" He screamed s he ran over to the one that was still desperately trying to crawl away. Grabbing him by the collar and hauling him back to his empty console. "How long till drop?" He asked as he walked up to the window and leaned against it. Looking down on the room. The soldiers all training their guns on the crate as it began to glow red and shake.
"30 Seconds till portal stabilization." Came the panicked cry of one of the scientists.
Kosak slammed his fist into the glass and turned back around. "We don't have 30 seconds. I want it opened now. Skip the damn safety protocols."
"B-but sir, if we skip those there's a chance we'll have a full reactor melt down. We'll lose half the" The scientists eyes went wide as he looked up to see the barrel of a gun pointed at him.
Kosak's grim face met his as tried to hide the fear in his face. "If you don't open it now, there wont be anything left to lose. Do it or I'll put the bullet in you myself."
He nodded. It was only a few moments but seemed like an eternity. A loud crack like thunder left their ears rining as the room felt like it had been plunged into winter. Kosak let out an elated cry as he turned and saw the purple swirl of a dimensional gate open. He reached for the microphone again but smiled. The guards had already began doing their job, grabbing and shoving the crate in.
"Sir!" The scientist on the left barked out. "We can confirm it entered. But it's destabilized the portal. We're getting readings of.....It's a quantum cascade. Full Borenghimer collapse!"
Kozak gasped as he saw what was going on. The room began shaking as he noticed two of the guards getting pulled into the portal. He pulled his gaze away to look over at the scientist who had just called out. "Come on, English for the rest of us. Is that bad?"
The scientist looked down at his control panel. His face going white as he calmly sat there and merely looked at him."We um....sir we don't have a model for it in this realm of physics. We think there will be an explosion though when it happens."
"What kind? How big?" Koasak asked in a panic. Running next to him and looking down at the panel, desperate to do more then just be another victim of fate.
The man sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his head "Best theoretical guess ummm....somewhere.....ummm...somewhere between Hiroshima and destroying ninty five percent of the north american continent. Assuming it only uses particles known to exist in our reality."
"Well god damn it, shut it off. Kill the power."
"Sir we...." The scientist bowed his head "It wont work. It's a self feeding cycle. The energy is powering the machine directly. We're all going to die..."
Kozak looked down, a glowing intensity coming from the portal as he bent over to scream in the microphone again. "Security, blow the damn thing. We're going to lose the whole east coast at this rate. Come on, deploy the high explosives."
A few moments later, the scream of rending metal reached him as he saw the explosions of grenades and satchel charges. The metal and wiring that made up the arch of that generated the portal falling to the ground in bits. The room rocked and pitched but the glow from the portal started dying down as he looked over the survivors in the room.
"We lost four more men to this thing. I needed them." He said as he stood up. Brushing himself off. He winced as he felt the pain from putting pressure on his leg as he turned to the closest person in a lab coat. The man looked shell shocked with a blank stare on his face. "I need that portal back. Please tell me you can build another one."
"We umm....Sir I think we can do it but its going to take years."
Kosak nodded at the response. Walking up to him and patting him on the back "That's fine. Moment quarantine is lifted I want you working on that immediately. We need it as soon as we can. That wasn't the only dangerous thing we can get rid of."
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Moon Glow sat up, the young light blue colored earth filly looking at the stars outside. She smiled wide as she held her teddy bear close in her bed. She loved star gazing and as she saw a bright twinkle in the sky couldn't help but look over at her telescope. She wanted to run to it and bring it over. To look up through it to get a good look at the streak of light. But she knew the noise it would make and that it would let her parents know she was awake. She did the only thing she could, she stared and smiled and wondered about it. The twinkle pulsated a second time, this time brighter then last.
"That's kinda cool." She said as she held her teddy bear up. "Think if I make a wish on it it'll come true?" With a smile she closed her eyes and thought real hard, trying to come up with a wish. "I should wish for....." She mumbled.
She remembered the sudden bright flash. As her eyes fluttered open she found she was in complete darkness. Her chest hurt with every breath she took and she could feel pain shooting from her side all the way up to the top of her head.
"Mommy? Daddy? Help?" she softly cried out as she tried to sit up. Her hoof hitting something sharp. "Mommy?! Help! I'm scared." After a few minutes of sniffling she looked around. Seeing nothing anywhere she summoned her strength and pushed up. She could feel whatever it was on top of her budge, and she smiled a bit through the pain.
With one final push she moved what sh realized was a large bit of wood off of her. She could hear something shift though, and just as the light began to stream down on to her form the moon, something fell. She cried out in pain as she felt her hoof get pinned by what felt like a large rock and a heavy warm mass landed on her.
"Mom! Dad!" She cried as she pushed it up just enough to see what it was in the light. She regretted it almost instantly. She recognized it as the colt who lived next door. A good chunk of his head missing and blood dripping on her. "C-crystal?" She asked as she shook him a bit. his lifeless body finally too much to hold up as he fell back on her.
"M-MOM!!! DAD!!! HELP" She screamed. Her world world becoming shrouded in blackness again. "HELLP! ANYPONY HELP" She screamed. She thrashed about furiously. Something grabbing her in the dark.
"Moon Glow! Moon Glow! Its not real! Wake up!"
Moon Glow let out a loud gasp as she opened her eyes. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. Her breathing slowed as she saw the smiling face of her room mate, an orange mare with a red mane, and a worried look on her face. It was Silver arrow.
"It....It was the same dream again." Moon Glow said as she sat up and put a hoof to her forehead.
"Are you going to be ok?" Silver asked as she hugged her friend. "I mean I know its been a long time since it all happened but still. These nightmares.
"I'll be ok." Moon said. "I just saw a flash in the sky the other night. It was almost exactly the same as the one from that night and I....I just keep thinking about it. about all the stuff it took from me." Her hoof gently rubbing against the scar that dominated the left side of her face. "That night, the explosion, the war, just all of it. I keep worrying its all going to happen again."
Author's Note
Hey there, part one is a little pony light. I apologize for that. The reason? I thought it would be good to give an explanation for where these things are coming from. I've seen one person just say that "Hey, they just start appearing" but me, I wanted something a bit more concrete. There's gonna be alot of history and I already have some major world events planned out. And I hope you guys do enjoy.
Her Majesty's Service: Secure, Contain, Protect
Chapter Two: Interviews and Jobs
Moon glow rubbed her eyes as she woke up. She'd had to fight for sleep but as the night went on she'd managed some rest. The bright mid morning sun fought past the blinds of her small room. The rays streaming across her bed and hitting the her dresser. She stretched as she rolled out of bed . Looking at the window though her heart sank as she thought about what she had seen in the night sky a few nights before. She reached up and ran her hoof over the burned side of her face. The rough burns and deformed features that she carried with her always reminded her of what she lost.
She shook her head and turned to the full length mirror that was next to her closet door. "Come on beautiful. Its time to face the day! I've got a life to live!" She said as she tried to hype herself up. Even going so far as to give herself a big smile, her ears dropping though as she thought how hollow the smile looked. "Yeah right........just another day with ever-" Suddenly a loud knock came from her door making her jump a bit.
"Moon? Moon are you up? It sounds like you're awake. There are some....odd ponies down stairs who want to talk to you." Silver shouted. Her voice tense and upset. "They're here from the capital."
Moon Glow looked back at the mirror and at a burned picture she had kept of her mother and father. Something felt wrong but she couldn't figure out what else to do. "Well, ok! Give me a minute though. I need to get dressed." She called out as she flipped her jet black mane to the side. The hair hanging down and covering most of the burns on her face. She smiled as she turned her head to make sure it hid everything before reaching for a hat. It was a very plain grey cap that most ponies wore during the winter. The fabric clung tightly to her head as she checked in the mirror. The cap hiding the fact her left ear was missing. She hated how she had to cover up like this but she knew it was for the best. The few times she had tried to go out had brought many odd looks and quite a few of her class mates pointing and staring.
She opened her door and trotted down stairs. As she reached the bottom she turned the corner to head into the dinning room where she spotted silver standing nervously beside the round table. The rose colored mare with an arrow and bow cutie mark looked like she was about to cry. The look shocked her a bit, Silver was one of the most calm and cool ponies she had ever met. Even when the parasprites had come to town she kept her head while everyone panicked. Moon's gaze immediately began to search for what had upset such a typically collected pony. Her gaze landed almost immediately on an unfamiliar Pegasus who sat at the table. His grey coat was contrasted by his very brown mane that had been cut short. The smile on his face was oddly off in a way that made Moon shiver.
He smiled at her as he sipped a cup of tea. Behind him were two armed earth ponies that stood silently, staring off into the distance as if nothing could bother them. They looked able to take any royal guard, and their armor bore an odd symbol she didn't recognize. An odd diamond with a circle around it. Slung over their backs were guns. Moon shifted a bit as she looked them over. She had heard of them, had heard of what they could do and how easily they hurt and killed ponies. They were relatively new but it was what she noticed next that took her breath away. She noticed a small gryphon next to the pegasus. Several papers in his hand as he frowned. Obviously as scared as silver was. He had a look of youth in his eyes and Moon guessed he was probably in his late teens.
"You brought a gryphon here?" Moon Glow asked cautiously as she slowly approached the table. "Gryphons have been banned in Equestria as part of the tre--"
"Oh yes yes, I'm very aware of the treaty," The grey stallion spoke. His smile still wide on his face and his eyes glued to her. His voice sounding excited as if remembering a joke. "End of the great war signing that stated gryphon's may not leave their homelands under any circumstances." The pegasus said as he put the tea cup down. His hoof reaching out to pat the gryphon on the head. "Queen twilight has given him special immunity. I picked him up on the last trip into their territory. True it wasn't cheap to buy him but it's really worth it just for the conversation starters. It's fascinating. Did you know the war decimated their country so badly that many restaurants there now serve insects because of the food shortages ? Given another ten years I wonder just how desperate they will get."
Moon approached the table slowly. Eye darting between the two armed ponies before sitting down, staring for a bit down at the gryphon. "Who are you?"
"Who am I?" The pegasus asked with a chuckle before leaning back in his chair. "My name is classified to non organization personnel. But most ponies call me Doc." The gryphon nodded up at the Doc before walking up to Moon Glow, Holding an odd piece of paper up to her. "I'll make this short. I'm here on behalf of a special organization formed by her regal highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle to offer you a very special job. Don't ask me why but I get this feeling you'll be great at it. I made the same offer to this little guy." He said as he pointed to the gryphon. "So far he seems to like it."
"But why me?" Moon asked as The Doc seemed to take a joy in her confusion. "I mean, you can't just hire me based on a feeling."
The Doc raised a hoof and turned his head, nodding to one of the guards. After a few moments and some whispering, the guard nodded and stepped toward Silver. The rose colored mare took a few steps back as she shot a worried glance to her friend. "Just go with him Silver. I don't trust him either but, I don't think we have much choice." Moon said as Silver hung her head and Followed the guard.
The Doc's eyes followed silver as she left the room before he stood up. He slowly began to look around thee room before leaning on the table " Well, it is a little more then just a feeling. Truth is you've survived the longest from that blast." The table creaking as he motioned towards the gryphon who held up another sheet of paper and put it in front of her. Moon looked it over, recognizing a few of her neighbors on it. By all their names were dates and a list of what she assumed to be methods of death. Things like Asphyxiation, overdoes, and bleed out.
Moon shot him a worried look. "Whats with this list? They all survived the blast. I saw alot of them in the hospital and some of us even talked afterwards." Her brow furrowing as she pushed it away.
"The umm...." The gryphon started before looking up at the do. He waited till he nodded before continuing. "Originaly there were eighty six survivors of the blast. Of those seventy two died of trauma within forty eight hours. Of the surviving fourteen, all except you have been found dead within the past two months. We are still waiting for the official cause of death for the last two, but seeing as all the others were suicide, well...."
The light grey pony nodded as he slipped a hoof into a saddlebag that had been sitting by the table. "There was also a connection in all their cases." A jingle filled the air as he pulled out a round pendant with a red gem set in the center. He held it up for a moment before sliding it across the table to Moon . "You recognize this?"
Moon picked it up. Gasping for a moment before turning it over in her hoof. "Its the Lady Twilight Sparkle's pendant. The symbol of her royal power. She wears it all the time. How did you get a hold of it? How did they get a hold of it?"
The Doc let out a loud laugh and slammed his hoof down on the table. "You really think that's all it is? Its also the thing that fell from the sky that night. The night that everyone you knew or loved died." Moon Glow just started at it as she felt something deep inside her. Anger starting to build up as she saw what it was that had killed her family. "The best part, Its also what cost Twilight her leg. Not a gryphon spear like she claims. Kinda hilarious isn't it? Anyway, we've got no clue how anyone got a hold of it, or why they did themselves in. So far you seem unaffected. I thought we could hire you. Keep an eye on you to figure things out and at the same time you could do work for us. What do you say?"
Moon glow slowly shook her head as she stared at the pendant. "This is it?..." she muttered as she threw it across the room. "SOME STUPID ROCK KILLED THEM?" Her hooves slamming on the table as her gaze fell on The Doc. His smile still on his face as the tears streamed down her face. "My family dying isn't funny you freak. And I am not going to be your experiment. Find some other pony stupid eno-"
"You get to stop the next one." Doc said as he crossed his hooves over his chest. "And there will be a next one. Some where out there is another little filly. And the only reason she's safe at home with her mother and father is because some agent somewhere worked hard to keep it that way, to find those things that aren't supposed to exist and helped to lock them away. But we don't have enough. One day there will be an orphan screaming for parents while she bleeds out. That's why you're going to join us. Not because you love Equestria or because you want the money. It's because you want to do something about this"
Moon glow huffed as she looked him over again. Her hoof rubbed her fore head before letting out a long sigh. "Fine, but only if you tell me your real name."