Twilight and Spike sat curiously watching Daxx as he fiddled with his electronic devices that he had sprawled all over the tables within Luna's tent. Each of the electronic boxes was a dark black, being about the size of a cereal box, with many different buttons and flashing lights that Daxx would only tell minimal amounts about when asked or simply respond with "Irrelevant," much to Twilight's frustration. Each of the devices, there being roughly ten in total, was connected with series of wires that strung out like a harvest-ready vineyard.

Luna, who was currently talking to several of her officers about national security was in a different tent only a few block equivalent lengths away in the large tent city. Daxx didn't entirely know what she was doing, but he had a pretty good idea of what she could possibly be talking to her soldiers about. Not to worry, he would be out of her mane soon enough and back on bridge of the Javelin no doubt giving a report to Captain Walsh. Of course, he would need to finish his beacon before that could happen.

"Soooo," Twilight began, not really doing a very good job to start a conversation as she trailed off and silence once again fell upon the room. She wanted to relieve some of the tension in the air, but she wasn't really sure as how to do it, not with that number still fresh in her mind, despite the fact that it had been hours since it was first uttered. She had been asking him tons of questions over the time that he had been there, but many of his answers were vague or he would just dodge the questions all together. The clearest answer was when Twilight finally asked on the nature of his necklace.

"What's the significance of your necklace?" Twilight eventually asked curiously. "Is it a cultural piece?"

"No," Daxx answered without looking from the keypad that he had been typing away at for the last few minutes. The small screen connected to it that had fascinated Twilight earlier was now flashing with all manners of colors and patterns. He had called it a "laptop." One of the small rectangles from his necklace had been stuck in the side for some reason. "They are portable digital information storage devices, more commonly referred to as "thumb drives" by most. They are used to store large amounts of information in a small space. I like to keep my memory banks clear of anything other than memories, therefore I carry any additional information with me on these thumb drives with the exception of when I have been deployed into battle. The one currently plugged into this laptop is filled with emergency distress signals for all different situations. Is this answer satisfactory?"

Twilight admitted, she was more than surprised by how much Daxx was willing to reveal all of a sudden. She had kind of gotten used to her questions being dodged entirely. "So what you're saying is that you can store information on one small device?"

"Yes," Daxx answered. "These are mostly empty, but I carry them just in case."

Before Twilight could inquire on the exact nature of such an invention, Luna entered the tent not looking too happy as she stared at Daxx with a piercing glare.

Daxx turned to face the princess of the moon, as if answering a challenge. He didn't say anything, simply choosing to remain silent, but whether he was going to listen to what she had to say was a different matter all together.

"More debris from your ship has entered the atmosphere and landed within our borders," Luna said bluntly. She didn't seem happy at all, no she seemed angry. Something else had happened, something that she wasn't disclosing quite yet. "The impact point was only one mile outside of a major city." There it was. That was why she was mad. Large scraps of debris were falling from the sky and nearly hitting centers of population.

Twilight's eyes widened as she heard this news. If more debris was falling from Daxx's ship, then all of Equestria was in danger. "Where?" she asked suddenly, fully understanding how much weight this carried.

"Manehattan," Luna answered, sounding very bemused. "How is this happening?" she asked, turning back to Daxx. "What are you not telling us?"

Daxx just looked at Luna for a moment, as if thinking, before finally answering. "There is nothing that I have not told you that relates to this current situation. As I stated before, the USS Javelin sustained heavy damage before making a random warp jump to this location as a means of evading pursuit. It should come as no surprise that debris has entered the atmosphere."

Despite this fact, Luna was flustered. She didn't have time to debate and needed to take action so that nopony would get hurt. She had already sent word out and pegasi patrols were actively patrolling the stratosphere, but this would not be enough. They were not being granted enough time to stop the deadly projectiles hurtling toward their planet. They just couldn't have pegasi everywhere all at once. It was because of this small window of time they had, that any defense that they could create was crude. If they had a better early warning system though, they could stop this. They would need something better than what they had. They needed the proper technology.

Luna took a deep breath, putting aside any ideas she may have had before that might have lead her to arguing with Daxx. After collecting her thoughts, she spoke. "How long until your beacon is finished?"

"I was setting the frequency just before you entered," Daxx answered. "Why do you ask?"

Luna thought for a moment, contemplating something. "So what you're saying is that it is ready to go?"

"Nearly, yes."

"May I ask a favor, Daxx?" Luna asked. Her expression had soften and she no longer sounded mad. She sounded concerned, almost scared. She was serious, but still scared. Her words had come out a little more emotionally than she had initially intended and she hoped Daxx did not pick up on this.

"This depends," Daxx answered with his usual blunt tone. "What is it that you require?"

"We are in danger," Luna admitted. "The debris that is falling is of substantial size, more than large enough for us to be worried. I have been in contact with my sister for the past hour, and we have found it necessary to declare a state of emergency. Magical barriers are currently being erected over every major city and town."

"I would hardly call this course of action discreet," Daxx said. He didn't seem to agree with Luna and Celestia's decision.

"Being discreet is the least of our worries," Luna challenged. "An explanation for what is happening can always be made up later. The safety of the citizens of Equestria must always come first, no matter what."

"You would be very popular with the people of my country," Daxx suddenly injected.

Luna wasn't sure how to respond to this seeing as it had more or less caught her off guard. Was she supposed to take this as a compliment? "Um... thank you?"

Daxx did not say anything else, indicating that the moment had passed and that there would likely not be another one.

Luna took a deep breath, regained her composure, and put on a serious face. What she was about to ask was not just a desire, but an absolute need. Equestria was in danger and the technology that Daxx's people were in possession of could potentially save them. "If you are able to come into contact with your people, would it be possible to gain your assistance in the detection of this falling debris?"

"Uncertain," Daxx answered. "There are many variables in play with this situation. This would entirely be the decision of my superior, the commanding officer of the Javelin."

"How likely is it that your superior would be willing to grant aid?" Luna asked hopefully. Everything was riding on the answer to this question.

"Knowing Captain Walsh, I would say that this is a likely scenario, assuming that the proper equipment was not damaged during the battle prior to our arrival. It would also take time to be set up."

If this was the best that Luna was going to be able to get, then she would take it. She had been more than worried about the arrival of more technologically superior beings right in the middle of Equestria, but her hooves had been tied. Fortunately, Daxx seemed to suggest that this Captain Walsh was benevolent. At least, this is what she hoped. "Send your message," Luna said after a quick moment of thought.

"I already did," Daxx explained.

"You what?!?!" Luna nearly shouted, quite angrily. "When?!"

"Before you entered the tent, I set up a wireless link between me and the beacon," Daxx began. "I activated the beacon through this link during our conversation."

"You should have waited for my approval," Luna scolded. "You are not doing a very good job of holding my trust with such erratic actions."

Daxx looked at Luna for a moment before taking several solid steps in her direction. He stopped just in front of her before kneeling down until he was at eye level with the angry alicorn. The small lens on his emotionless metal face, if it could even be called that, seemed to dilate slightly, as if this was his way of narrowing his eyes and glaring at her. What came next, alarmed Luna. For the first time, he spoke in a way that was not a blunt and emotionless. His tone was organic sounding while also retaining its synthetic hum.

"There is one thing that needs to be made clear," Daxx said, sounding almost angry. "You," he pointed a menacing finger at Luna, "do not control me. I never had any plans of getting your approval for anything. The directives of my mission are very clear and I will do anything necessary to complete it, whether you like it or not." Without waiting for any kind of response, Daxx rose and walked passed Luna, right out of the tent, leaving every pony standing there with wide eyes. Their expressions were those of shock, their mouths hanging agape.

Spike, who had remained silent for some time, was the only one to speak. "Um, what just happened?"

Daxx rummaged through the cargo hull of the shuttle, not really looking for anything in particular. He had broken into a locker and pulled out a backpack along with a side arm, which was now securely fastened to the side of his leg in a holster. Arming himself was not exactly a conscious decision of his. His programming simply dictated that he be carrying a weapon with him when he was not aboard the Javelin. Now that his primary objective for the moment was complete, he could focus on these secondary directives.

The backpack that he had now recovered, was pre-packed with survival supplies, such as first aid kits, MREs, rope, and other basics. He had also taken the liberty of attaching a basic harness to himself, one that clipped on to his outer shell of armor that protected all his inner components. This harness had been fully stocked with spare magazines for both a side arm and a standard issue rifle.

Daxx looked over to the wall opposite to the one that he now stood closest to. There was a rack with multiple assault rifles neatly secured in their proper storage positions. Protocol had always stated that a unit was required to remain in possession of its rifle at all times while in the field. Daxx didn't always follow these protocols though.

He had already been breaching it for the last several hours by communicating with the indigenous life, but what was he supposed to do? Whoever came up with these damn protocols was most likely a pencil pusher who sat at a desk and was still able to go home at the end of every day. Many of Daxx's own friends were not even lucky enough to get to go home at all. Smith, Finch, Atkinson, Headrick, Shen, Lancaster. The list went on and he remembered them all.

There was no good in dwelling on the past few months though. He contemplated his position in his current situation. It didn't take long for him to come up with the right answer. The mission had to come first, no matter what. Establish contact, board the Javelin, get the hell back to UN controlled space. There was too much riding on this.

Daxx reached for a rifle. He pulled the bolt back, checking that the chamber was empty. It was, of course. He knew it was. He knew that every weapon in the shuttle, with the exception of the pistol on his hip, was empty. A photographic memory was one of the perks of being a machine, although sometimes it seemed more like a curse.

He loaded a magazine into his weapon and shouldered it, checking that the holographic sight had not been damaged during their crash landing. It was entirely intact. The little, red, holographic dot still popped up when he aimed. This brought him only a little satisfaction. He liked it when things worked the way they were intended. He had always kind of wondered if this had anything to do with the fact that he contained many different systems that all worked in unison.

"Daxx?," a familiar feminine voice called from the direction the shuttle's entrance.

Daxx clipped his rifle to his back and headed to the origin of the voice.

Twilight stood in doorway of the shuttle, looking around the darkened interior for any sign of the alien robot. She was easily able to notice him walking out from the cargo hull thanks to the clanking that his feet made against the hard metal floor. "Are you... okay?" she asked cautiously. "You seemed angry and you just stormed out. That doesn't seem like something you would do."

"I did not storm out," Daxx said. He was back to using his blunt, unreadable tone. "I no longer had any need to stay in your tent. I came here out of a necessity. Secondly, I simulated an angry tone only so that Luna would understand more easily. I do not get angry."

Twilight wasn't entirely convinced of this, but it was obvious that she was never going to get anywhere with him. He was hopeless, but maybe those who built him were not. As nervous as she was about more aliens landing on their planet, part of her was more than excited about their arrival. It was, after all, a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"So you don't resent Luna at all, right?" Twilight asked.

"No," Daxx answered simply. Of course, he did not elaborate on this anymore.

Twilight had to admit, it was good to see him back to his old self.

Luna stared at the series of wires and black boxes that now littered the table in her tent. The beacon that Daxx had constructed was quite impressive for only using parts that had been salvaged from a crashed ship, at least, she thought it was impressive. She didn't really know if it was hard to build a beacon or not. Whether it was hard or not though, didn't matter. Everything was happening so fast and it made her feel sick.

She felt a knot in her stomach and her legs seemed just a little weak. She hated being helpless, which is exactly how she felt right about now. All she could do was sit and hope that everything turned out for the best in the long run and she hated it. Everything was out of her control.

She truly wished that her sister could be here right at the moment. Celestia had gone one thousand years on her own, not only ruling a kingdom, but helping it prosper into an age of peace and tranquility. By comparison, Luna knew relatively nothing. There was so much that she was still learning about this new world she had woken up in. Now, on top of everything that already weighed on her, from trying to show all of Equestria that she was worthy of their forgiveness and trust, to just coming to terms with everything she had done, this had to be thrown into the mix. Extraterrestrial life coming to Equus.

In every challenge that Luna had faced since the end of her banishment, she had taken it head on, but now her hooves were tied. There was only one thing she could do. She could let Daxx's beacon do its thing or shut it down. Either way, Equestria would still be in danger and it would be all her fault. She was a failure.

This was all so much to handle. Luna, laid her head down on the table and allowed herself to do something that she hadn't done since the night of her return. She cried. Not for long though, less then a minute, maybe only thirty seconds. Tears had always been seen as a sign of weakness, but she didn't care. She had to just let it all out for a moment. Then she lifted her head up, wiped her eyes, recomposed herself, and sighed. It was time for her to suck it up and ready herself for what lied ahead. This was only going to get harder.

Author's Note

I really should be working on Husklands, but dammit the ideas be a flowin!