Alicorn Imperium Bunker
Dusk

“Just who the hell are you?”

The alicorn mare rolled her eyes as she made her way over to the wall next to the case and punched a series of keys. As the display case hissed open and it’s occupant started to stir she turned her attention to Tempest and I. “I’m Faust. And you are a damned idiot!” The mare shouted. “Do you realize how badly you just messed up here?!”

“What did I mess up?! I just followed your map!”

“I didn’t put a map in the damn book because I didn’t want this exact thing to happen!”

“Can you both stop yelling?!” Tempest hollered. “I don’t think Dusk expected anyone to be in here after all this time, so do you care to tell us what the hell is going on?”

“You just unlocked the proverbial gun safe for Euripides.” Faust replied.

“Oh… Fuck.”

“Fuck- wait, give me just a second.” Faust pushed me out of the way to give the still groggy Spartan a steady shoulder to lean on. “Now where was I… Oh, yes. Fuck indeed. Now I’ve already removed all of the Imperium artifacts and information, but we still can’t let Euripides have this bunker.”

“So what do we do? We can’t hold him off.”

“Simple, we destroy the bunker… Or at least the Endeavor does.” Faust nonchalantly said. “We just need to get out of here with the data core so it can’t be used against us and we’ll be golden.”

“Data core? For what?” Tempest asked.

Faust quickly fished a small hard drive-like piece of hardware out of her jacket pocket. “This. It contains every piece of information on the Velos Initiative. If Euripides gets his hands on this all of Equis will be in grave danger.”

Velos Initiative? I know I’m not versed in the minutia of Alicorn history but if Faust is holding on to a hard drive, then it must be VERY important. “Then do you care to explain why you’ve been keeping this walking tank to yourself?”

“I guess that’s one thing you could call me…” The Spartan mumbled as he slid his helmet off, revealing an unkempt and pock-marked face. “But I’m not dead, am I?”

“Nope.” I replied, cutting Faust off. “This lovely mare decided to… Well, I don’t know exactly what Faust did. Point is you’re not dead but you could easily end up the other way around.”

“What?”

Faust finally pushed me out of the way and hefted a massive machine gun into the Spartan’s hands. “Dusk is trying to say that you’re going to need this.”

While the obvious question of where Faust found the machine gun didn’t have a clear answer, she wasn’t wrong. “Look big guy, we could all either stay down here and die or we can get the hell out of here and talk through the specifics later. Personally I’d say let's go already, but I tend to be biased towards living.”

The Spartan glanced past me for a second, likely recognizing the helmet in the display case behind the three of us. “That was Six’s helmet…” He muttered. “We lost, didn’t we?”

Faust nodded. “Reach lasted another two weeks after Upper Cut was finished.”

“Well, no reason to stay here then.” He said as he slid his helmet back on. “Let's get the hell of here.”

The four of us immediately made for the door, pausing only as Faust closed it behind us and bent one of the locking pins. “So how exactly in the Endeavor going to take out the bunker?”

“If Dawn is sticking to the contingency plans we developed she’s probably in the middle of refitting a pod’s worth of Archer missiles for bunker busting.” Faust said as we started our walk back towards the dungeon entrance.

“Did you say Archer missiles?”

“I did Jorge.”

“And just where did a bunch of alien horses get human munitions?”

Faust shrugged. “If my understanding is correct, your friend Serin got the Endeavor and all of the munitions for her.”

Jorge must’ve wanted an answer, because he immediately took to the front of the pack and blocked our way forward. “Serin? As in Serin-019? She died during augmentations years ago.”

“Hate to break to you big man, but she didn’t.” I countered. “Apparently a bunch of washouts actually survived, but she’s the most powerful one these days running ONI.”

“You know her?”

I nodded. “I consider her one of my closest friends these days.”

While none of us could see Jorge’s face under his helmet, I could imagine what was going through his head. “Alright, but when we’re done here you and I are having a long talk.”

We started walking again almost immediately, and I finally registered the weight of Jorge’s words. They weren’t a request, they were hard and immovable like a promise. “Wouldn’t have it any other way big man…”

***

Outside the Storm King’s Palace
Spark

“What the hell are those things…” Rush muttered as he studied the palace entrance through a set of binoculars.

“They almost look like those synths that came up in that briefing the other day…” Pumyra observed.

I had been at the briefing the day we arrived too, and internally I certainly thought that my companions were on the right track. But whatever these thing were they were far bulkier than what we were shown in the briefing. With clearly visible armored wings and far more organic movements I couldn’t help but think that we were looking at flesh and blood soldiers. “Blaze Leader to Endeavor, we’ve got eyes on the palace but there’s a lot of company down there… We’re outnumbered and outgunned.”

“Copy that Blaze Squad. Push the palace gates, we’ve got a fix on Dusk’s transponder and from what we can tell he’s on his way out. He’s going to need an exit.”

“Copy that Endeavor, Blaze Leader out.” I shook my head in disbelief. If Archer knew what we were looking at she would probably be just as apprehensive.

“Archer seriously wants us to push the front door? Is she crazy?”

“You’ve known her longer Rush… Now come-” I stopped cold, as the palace doors suddenly were blown off their hinges. Standing in that doorway was a large armored figure toting a gun easily half my size. Tracers started spitting out of it’s barrel and from behind the imposing figure I could see Dusk tossing bolts of golden magic at the assembled opposition. “You know what? I’m liking these odds.”

***

The Palace Gates
Dusk

“I’m really not liking these odds!” I shouted as I ducked back behind Jorge. “What the hell are those things anyway?!”

“They look like Combat Synths. They’re armored and flight capable versions of the standard model.” Faust called out.

“Wait, these are the combat versions? Then what the hell was I fighting?!”

“Repurposed maintenance and upkeep units.”

It took a second, but it finally clicked. “We were fighting the Imperium’s robot janitors?!”

“Hey, do you mind? I’d rather not do this on my own!” Jorge yelled.

The Spartan brought up a fair point and I slid out from behind his bulk and tossed a bolt of golden magic at the nearest Synth, causing it’s head to explode in a shower of sparks. “Alright, let's get the hell out of here!”

The Spartan led down the stairs of the palace as he chattered away with his massive gun, while I blasted any of the Synths that got too close… At least until we got to the bottom of the stairs and the robotic soldiers suddenly stopped and stepped off to both sides of the courtyard. “Who the hell is that?” Jorge asked.

On the far side of the courtyard was the last pony I wanted to see. “Hey Euripides, didn’t you get the message back in Canterlot? Buzz the fuck off already!”

“I’m not here to bother with insects today. Now then Faust, can the adults talk without your insolent children getting in the way?”

“You’re not going to get the Velos flight plans.” The Alicorn mare said as she stepped out in front of Jorge and I.

“Just get out of my way Faust, I want into that bunker.”

“I can’t let you do that Euripides. You’d lay waste to Equis.”

“Is it waste if I simply act to reclaim our land?”

“I’m sorry, but it isn’t your land anymore asshole!” I countered.

“He’s right Euripides. We gave up our claim to this world when we nearly destroyed it.” Faust added. “And you are not going to have that bunker, period.”

Overhead came the dull hum of engines and I realized that a cruiser-sized unit had moved into position over the citadel. “Where the hell did you get that?!” I heard Jorge yell.

But as three missiles streamed out of launchers on the underside of the hull, and Euripides started hollering something, I happened to look back at Tempest and the citadel. “Just where’d everyone else go?”

She suddenly came to that same realization too, but neither of us had time to react before the missiles slammed through solid ground and shook the entire area violently as they went off in the bunker. “Well I think those assholes had the right idea.” Tempest said, pointing out the now obvious absence of Euripides and his entourage of killer robots.

Yet in there place were three faces that were the last ones I wanted to see down here. “Spark? What the fuck are you doing here?!?”

“Uh… At this point I’ve got no idea.”

Chunks of the upper parts of the citadel were already smacking down into the courtyard. “Faust, how the hell are we getting out of here?” I yelled.

“Shit, look out!”

But the warning came too late, and I felt something crack against the back of my head before everything immediately went back.

***

HMS Endeavor Infirmary, One Hour Later...
Archer

“And what’s the final verdict?”

Constellation shrugged. “Dusk is going to have one massive headache, but I don’t see anything else wrong… Talk about one hell of a debut, eh?”

I shook my head. “You mean finding out Dawn modified ordinance without any of our knowledge and I sent a team down to the fortress that didn’t need to be there? Ya, that’s one hell of a debut alright. And of course there’s no sign of the Storm King or any of his forces, and somepony is going to need to explain this shitshow to Princess Celestia.”

“I take it that you’re not looking forward to that?”

“No, no I’m not.” I admitted. “Her advisers are going to have a field day… I’m officially an officer for less than two days and I’ve already been at the front of an international incident. The sooner Dusk wakes up, the sooner I can use his ass a shield. As far as I’m concerned this whole shitshow was his fault anyway…”

“Well thanks for the vote of confidence Archer.” Dusk groaned as he sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed. “Now what the hell happened? Did everypony get out in one piece?”

I nodded. “You can thank Faust.”

Dusk snorted in what seemed like amusement. “We certainly can… Now where is she?”

“Oh… In her lab.”

“Since when did you give Faust a lab?”

Thinking back to the short exchange I had with the Alicorn made my blood start to boil. “I didn’t. She walked into one of the empty cargo bays and dumped all of her stuff in there.”

Now it was Dusk’s turn to look angry. “Who the fuck does she think she is?!”

“Hell if I know. But she’s got Dawn and that Spartan as her private security, so I can’t do shit about it.”

Dusk forced himself to his feet and started making for the door. “We’ll see about that…”

***

Dusk

Walking into this deck’s starboard cargo bay, I could see what Archer meant when she said that Faust had taken over. Rows of loaded shelves took up half of the cargo bay, with large tables, chairs and rows of computers taking up the other. “This is remarkable…” I heard Rush say as Archer and I approached.

“Doctor, this is far from remarkable. It’s a potential catastrophe. Now can you use this to figure out where Velos could’ve ended up?” Faust asked as she tapped on a printed star chart.

“Absolutely. Give me a day or so and I’ll have some possibilities for you.”

“Uh, Rush? You mind telling me what the hell you’re doing with Faust?” I asked, finally drawing the attention of the scientist, the Alicorn and her two guards.

“Answering the question of where Euripides is getting his ships.” Rush said as he slid the chart around so I could read it. “The Velos Support Fleet, that’s where he got his ships.”

Wait, Velos Support Fleet? “The Imperium was space capable?”

“Only sleeper ships and system defense vessels.” Faust replied. “That was the Velos Initiative. If the Imperium fell one of those sleeper ships would take whatever survivors reached it and would abandon Equis for another world.”

“But how’d they get slipspace drives?”

“I don’t know, and that’s enough of a concern to justify locating the Velos colony.”

“Then here’s another good question… Why would Euripides need the flight plans if he already has the ships?” I asked.

“It’s possible they were ships that either survived the fall of the Imperium, or they were parts of the supply flotilla that was sent out about ten years in advance of the Velos’ launch. The mission planners would’ve put a rendezvous with with Velos Fleet into the flight plan, but it wasn’t finalized until about a month before everything fell. Those ships would’ve already have been out of communications range by launch. The mission planners would’ve known where the rendezvous would likely be and that’s it.”

“Is this where you tell me you have the only copy of the flight plans?”

Faust nodded. “As long as we have the plans, Euripides can’t find the Velos or any surviving Alicorns.”

Which would also mean that he is the only Alicorn we’d have to contend with for the time being. Cut that brings up another important question. “Just how many made it onto the Velos?”

Faust seemed to tense up at the question. “Two thousand souls… But when they launched no one recorded who got on the ship. The Imperium was falling so they only took a head count to know how many ponies got aboard.”

“There could be hundreds more of them…” Archer muttered.

“You’re going to have enough of a problem handling Euripides, but if even one Alicorn made it onto the Velos that’s a possible recruit that he could gain. Equestria would go from a razor-thin chance of winning to certain defeat.”

“And if there was more than one… He’d wipe us all out.” I realized aloud.

“Now do you understand what I’m going?”

“Ya, I do… So keep doing it.” I retorted. “Archer, send word to Baxter. Tell him I’m giving him twenty four hours to finish repairs on Paris and Redoubtable. Tell them to strip parts off of the Coral Sea if they have to, but they’ve got that long to get space worthy and combat ready.”

“How the hell do you expect them to do that? There’s weeks worth of work to do just to get the hulls air tight again!”

I shook my head. “Then tell Baxter to figure something out. In the meantime I need to go to Canterlot. Someone needs to tell the Princess what happened out here and it might as well be me.”

Author's Note

Welp, finally back with another update. These things don't edit themselves you know, but enjoy!

Anyone got questions? Like what you're seeing so far? Hell, maybe have some gripes? There's a comment section and the Mirrorverse Codex. Read and comment away, because I want to hear from you fellow denizens of this corner of the internet. Until next time gang!
-Striker