2 months since OBJ-503 was relocated, there has been a breakthrough.

Dr. Anno Ansbro looked over the newly filed incident report. He had to just read it over one last time for the information to really sink in before the meeting. He couldn’t afford to make a bad call. Not now. One more time, he read it.

OBJ-503 Incident Report-2: After approximately 48 days since relocation, communication has been recorded from beyond the storage room. The conversation was held between 2 unknown individuals, hereby referred to as Subject #1 and #2. The following is a transcript of the conversation.

[Begin Transcript]

[The sound of glass shattering can be heard.]

1: Aw, damn. You think she’s gonna be mad?

2: Uh, maybe not? I mean, it still kinda looks like it can be fixed.

[A sound of something being lifted can be heard, just before a smaller shattering sound]

2: Hehe, whoops! Scratch that.

1: Well, gotta get rid of the evidence. Don’t need auntie on my ass-

2: Language.

1: Shut it, you pot-bellied lizard! This wouldn’t have happened if your arms weren’t so stubby!

2: No no no! It wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t throw the ball so hard!

[The 2 subjects share a laugh.]

1: What can I say? I don’t do things in half measures.

[The sound of footsteps becomes more audible. Subject #1 appears to be approaching the door.]

1: We’ll just sweep it up in here. Not like auntie goes near this closet, let alone checks it.

[The door briefly opens. A flood of light engulfs the camera, briefly blowing out the image in light. Then the door slams and darkness returns.]

2: Uh, better idea! Why don’t I just burn it all away!

1: Doesn’t your fire, like, teleport stuff? Pretty sure the princess doesn’t want to be showered in glass.

2: It only does that sometimes. Here, watch.

[The sound of flame propulsion can be faintly heard.]

1: I hope you’re right. But in case you’re wrong…I never knew you!

[Footsteps and Subject #1’s laughter trail off. #1 appears to be running from the door. A smaller set of footsteps follow after.]

2: Hey, wait up-

[A moniker is presumed to be said here but the equipment could not record it. The identity of #1 remains unknown.]

After Anno was done reading, he lowered the report.

“Just couldn’t leave it well enough alone…” He muttered. He stood up from his desk and tucked the Manila folder under his arm.

Down multiple halls, pass multiple card readers, he found himself in a conference room. Same bland architecture, same bland colors. In the center of the room was an oblong table. Seated there were the Assistant Director of Security, Assistant Director of Containment, Assistant Director of Personnel, and Ms. Floretta Boyd, Assistant Director of Research. Floretta was particularly animated, as she stood behind her seat and bounced a leg up and down. Beads of sweat rolled down her head and her smell had gotten more pungent. The other directors didn’t seem bothered.

“Take a seat, Ms. Boyd.” Anno ordered. He had already anticipated when Ms. Boyd ignored him as he took his own seat.

“Just checking,” Ms. Boyd started and looked up at the other directors before her. “We’re all here for the same reason, right?”

“That is what a meeting is.” The Assistant Director of Security (hereby referred to as ADS) stated. Her stern gaze and shaved head gave the message that her role as security is well-earned, a true military type. Ms. Boyd was intimidated but continued.

“I mean, we all know who ‘Subject #1’ is right?”

“No, no we don’t.” The Assistant Director of Containment (hereby referred to as ADC) asserted. He was an older gentleman and he sounded it. Still, one look would tell you he takes pride in his work.

“We have procedures for a reason.” The Assistant Director of Personnel (hereby referred to as ADP) added. He had a combover, glasses, and a nasally voice. You get the idea. “Making assumptions makes ‘asses’ of ‘you’ and ‘me’. Heard of that one?”

“Please try to keep the space professional.” Anno pleaded without much plea in his voice, as though he already accepted that he would be ignored. Even when the ADP, nodded in acknowledgment, Anno kept track of a mental timer.

“B-But why else would Subject #2 be so quick to shut the door?” Floretta began to pace. “You do that when you try to hide something from someone.”

“Ms. Boyd, you are making leaps in judgement I don’t think you can land.” The ADC insisted. “You always did get carried away with your work.”

“I-It’s not like that!” Ms. Boyd became flustered. Anon noted that this is a reoccurring issue with Floretta. “Look, a boy goes missing and we find a TV show that doesn’t exist made specifically for him. Is it such a leap that he disappeared into the show?”

“No.” Anno responded simply. “It’s not. Doesn’t make it any less right.”

“This deserves investigation!” Floretta’s eyes darted around the room.

“Where’s the Ethics Committee’s liaison?”

“Out on leave.” Anno replied with a sigh. The rest of the room either smirked or chuckled.

“Ain’t that awfully convenient?” The ADP asked sarcastically, perfectly coinciding with Anon’s mental timer. “Never here when you need them.”

“I-I have a suggestion.” Floretta spoke up before the room got away from the subject. “We go back to the James residen-“

“Not happening.” Anon shot the suggestion down.

“Oh come on!” Floretta threw her hands in the air.

“I think Floretta is too emotionally compromised for this assignment.” The ADS snarled, venom in her voice.

“A-And I think you’re too heartless to be a person!”

“Enough!” Anno shouted and slammed a hand on the desk. The whole room was taken aback and went silent. “I’m starting to see why I was assigned here. I don’t really give a damn about the politics we got going on here. So, respectfully, if we can focus on the work at hand, I would like to officially start this meeting.” Anno’s eyes darted over to each of the Assistant Directors. Silently, they all nodded.

“Good.” Anno relaxed a bit. “I agree that this development is significant. However, I’m not willingly to expend resources on a hunch. I am going to inquire Councilor P5 if the other objects at Site-234 are related to OBJ-503. If they aren’t, we will continue to monitor OBJ-503 as normal. If they are, I’m authorizing investigations into the materials for any connections therein. Questions?”

The ADS raises her hand. Anno nods.

“Why would we assume the Objects at Site-234 are related to OBJ-503? Wouldn’t the DoA Council have determined relevancy beforehand?”

“The Council are human, too. They could’ve missed something.” Anno leaned forward, interlocking his fingers. “Besides, I find it oddly coincidental that Object #503 remained unharmed when little else did. Same goes for these other Objects.”

“Dr. Ansbro,” Started the ADC. “How did Site-234 get so-called ‘dissappered’?”

“Can’t tell you.” Anno responded. “And it isn’t even a clearance issue. Literally no one knows what happened. The Site’s Blackbox was missing as well.”

“Just great.” The ADP scoffed. “We have a potential ticking bomb in our care. Who would’ve guessed? Death by ponies.”

“That is as much of leap as Ms. Boyd’s assertion to the identity of Subject #1. We don’t know if OBJ-503 was the cause of Site-234’s fate. But we won’t rule it out either.”

“And if OBJ-503 is more than it appears,” The ADC started. “What will we do after?”

“We’ll revise procedures. Elevate level clearances, hire more on-site guards, and segregate OBJ-503 further. We will limit casualties as much as possible.”

The room falls silent for a bit as the weight of the situation started to sink on all of them.

“I’ll take the contemplative silence as a sign this meeting is over.” Anno stood up from the table. “Let me make one thing clear. So long as I’m Site Director, we will not be ran by our emotions. Any decision made will be made with a rational mind. When our emotions control us, that’s when mistakes happen.” Anno collected the manilla file and left.

OBJ-503 Addendum-1: After further investigation of Site-234, the original Site that housed OBJ-503, it was determined that one of the items at the site was in fact related to OBJ-503. It had been sent to Site-12 due to a clerical error. This new item has been designated OBJ-503-G

OBJ-503-G is a leather bound journal. The name [Aaron James] is inscribed within the front cover of the book. The book contains [INCOMPLETE] entry logs, a video tape, a usb, and what appears to be a letter written in an alien language. With the help of DoA Linguistic Scientists, we were able to translate the letter. The previous 8 entries has been detailed above. The following entries will be listed below.

Author's Note

Finally getting back to journal entries now and, subsequently, ponies!