///LOCATION - NUAKEA/OBLIVION/SOLAR PUB///TIME - 23:16 LMT///DATE - 42-01-2232///

A medical squad, guarded by a local SWAT-team, was on it's way to the Solar Pub, after having received reports of a gunshot being fired in the pub. They had immediatly left for the pub as soon as they had received the first call, but after hearing that the person who was shot was none other than John Mc Arthur, the task was moved from PRIO-1 to PRIO-2, no longer warranting the use of dangerous driving or sirens. The local authorities had never been able to lock John up, and after hearing that he was shot by a random civilian, they were somewhat reliefed to know that the feared crime-boss was finally taken care off.

Back at the pub, most people were fleeing and running for their lives, whilst a few others were trying to attend to the shot John Mc Arthur. But all the help was of no use, as John had died almost instantly after the hollow-point 9mm round had demolished his heart. Blood was quickly pooring out of his aorta, causing the people that were trying to help the fallen crime-lord to end up being covered in a thick layer of their former bosses blood.

Whilst all of this was happening, Eric hadn't once looked up from his drink, taking a sip from it every now and then, whilst still pointing the R-55 pistol at the place where his attacker was when he charged at him. Most people were running away from him, some were staring, but nobody dared to approach him, perhaps out of shear fear that they would suffer the same fate as the person laying there on the floor, bleeding profusely, without an end in sight.

Outside the pub, looking trough the window, Michelle stood there, terrified at what she had seen. She would have never expected Eric to do something like this, not even out of self-defense. She was horified by the thought that he was carrying a firearm, which was illegal in Oblivion, except for law-enforcment. Knowing this, she started imagining all kinds of possible scenarios: Perhaps he was part of the maffia, or maybe he was a secret agent. Perhaps he was even part of a cult like the Discordian Angels.

Whilst Michelle was thinking about all the possible ways he could have ended up like this, Eric finished his drink, and payed the bartender, who was somehow unphased by all the events. The bartender seemed merely annoyed at the mess in his pub, which he would have to clean up when the police were done. Eric then got up, and holstered his gun, after which he started to slowly walk to the exit, making sure not to get any of John's blood on his dark-brown trenchcoat on his way out.

Eric managed to slip away into an alley before police arrived, making sure not to be taken in for questioning. He was sure that he was gonna end up in jail for atleast a few years, which he was not looking forward to. Not that it mattered, since the police didn't care who killed John Mc Arthur. All they cared about, was the fact that the biggest criminal in the station was finally dead. They hoped that peace and safety would return to Oblivion once and for all.

Ofcourse, it wasn't that easy. Other lower-ranking criminals, who used to serve John Mc Arthur, started to claim the bussines left behind by their previous boss for themselves. This resulted in a severe spike in crime inside Oblivion, much to the annoyance of the security department. They started enforcing stricter rules in an attempt to fear people into compliance. Like the events that occured during the infamous April-Riots of 2017, the results were horrifying.

Many people were killed after police engaged in violent conflict with protesters, who were protesting against the new laws that were put in place by the council of Oblivion. This council was so afraid of the protests, which were quickly getting out of hand, that they asked the Head-Council of the UEE for support. The highest council in all of human space subsequently announced that they were contracting the Olympus Organization to take back control of Oblivion.

When the first Olympus ships arrived, they quickly took back control of the landing platforms and the inner floors, establishing a defensive perimeter. They then started sending out teams to escort people who were caught in the conflict, bringing them to the safety of the landing pads. Out of the 738 people that were rescued, 139 volunteered to help take back control. The Olympus Security Officers handed them standard-issue R-55 pistols, and tasked them to do reconnaisance missions, and to help Olympus with their knowledge of the local area.

After what can only be described as a local civil war, Oblivion was finally taken back by Olympus after almost a month of fighting. Both sides had casualties, but most of these were on the side of the rebels. They had suffered 173 deaths, 247 heavily injured and 332 lightly injured people, while Olympus had lost just 23 soldiers, and had 59 heavily and 77 lightly injured. This was one of the biggest conflicts ever since the creation of the United Earth Empire, and it wasn't against a common threat. It was against themselves.

Eventually, people learned to put this all behind them. People started to return to their normal lives, and appartments started to once again be occupied. For Eric, it had felt like nothing had changed. There were still bar-fights, criminals, and everything that came with it. He never came back to the Solar Pub, primarily because he didn't like the atmosphere there. He had, however, kept the gun. He knew that it would save his life someday.

During the conflict, Michelle was one of the first to be rescued by Olympus. She had to flee from her home, whilst still thinking about what happened at the pub that fatefull night. She had seen Eric around after the conflict, but rather than going up to him and talking like she usually did, she actively tried to avoid him. She was afraid of him, and she didn't know what to make of it. Atleast until Eric finally found her, and began talking to her:

"Hey, I was looking for you." He said with a serious tone.

"Oh, you were?" She replied, being somewhat startled after Eric had sneaked up on her. She felt like running away out of fear, but something inside her made her want to talk to him.

"Yeah, ever since what happened at the pub, I wanted to explain something to you."

"What do you mean?" She said, slightly scared. "I wasn't there! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I know you were following me that night. You are not a great detective, I'm sorry to say."

"Well, Uhm, you see, you're right, but I didn't say so, because..." She stopped, looking for words. "I WAS SCARED, OKAY?!"

"But you don't need to be scared." Eric calmly said. "You are safe."

"How could you say that, when you have a GUN on you?! I bet you still have it on you RIGHT NOW!"

Eric unholstered his gun, making sure that it was on safe. "You're right, I do still have it on me right now."

Michelle looked at the gun with a terrified look. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm giving it to you." He said, trying to hand Michelle the weapon.

"Why?! I don't want a gun!"

"I know you don't want one, but you need one. Trust me." He said, with a dead serious tone. "The station is not safe anymore, and I won't always be able to protect you. You need to be able to defend yourself if something goes wrong."

"But I don't want to have to protect myself!" Michelle almost cries out.

"Michelle, please..."

"No, I don't want it!" She says.

"Listen to me Michelle, I'm begging you..."

"And I'm telling you, that I will never, ever-"

"DO IT IRENE!"

Author's Note

Please keep in mind that this is my first time writing a story. Because of this, the reading experience might differ from stories written by more skilled writers. Names, locations, ships, technologies and events are inspired by various sources, including: Games - Elite: Dangerous, Star Citizen | TV - MLP:FiM, The Expanse

If you want your character to be featured as a human soldier, pilot, politician or civilian, or a pony civilian, politician or royal guard, please send me a message with the character's name, looks, characteristics, and role if you have any preference. All featured characters will be credited.