Fallout: Equestria - Operation Killjoy
Chapter 10: Connections
Previous ChapterNext Chapter“I keep opening these doors to these terrible secrets. I am unable to close them. Instead I continue opening them unwillingly.”
Key’s PipBuck registered the quarray eel as a harmless, yellow signal. Even as the wind picked up and brought some snow from the north, they didn’t seek shelter in one of the many caves. Midnight, Key and Shibboleth were quietly sitting among the trees. Fade had left to search for the vault alone. Feather returned only briefly, alarmed by the battle and left to patrol the area to see if the Steel Rangers heard the battle as well. Midnight was worried about Feather’s indifference, but shook his head to chase the thought away. He didn’t want to waste his time caring about ponies who didn’t care about him.
He felt like he was being used as a pawn in a game he didn’t understand.
He didn’t understand the rules.
He didn’t know whose turn would dictate where he’d go next.
He didn’t know how to leave the game. His brother forced him to stay and for the first time he didn’t only feel the urge of violence for him, but for Key as well. He looked away, making sure she wouldn’t be scared by the expression filling his eyes.
After many hours Fade returned. Her wings were cold and hurting, the feathers so frail, that Midnight even compared them with his own. “What was this journey doing to us?” He wondered.
Fade sat down, her tired wings hanging weakly. Her body was drenched in sweat and shivering as her clothes were no longer able to protect her from the cold. “I found it.”
Before they could go to the Shadowbolt vault, Midnight wanted to talk with Fade and Feather. When Midnight was sure that Key and Shibboleth weren’t listening, he spoke. “I want you two to leave.”
Fade and Feather stared at him, unable to believe what they had just heard.
“What the fuck are you talking about, you brainrotten idiot?” Fade eventually said.
“I am talking about exactly that!” Midnight’s voice was terse. “Every time I have a slightly different idea from what you are thinking you either insult me.”
Fade sighed and shook her head. “I don’t mean it that way—”
“You don’t mean it? Do I have to assume you didn’t mean it when you called me a Ministry of Morale cuck boy? And I also assume you didn’t mean it when you suggested I am Feather’s cuck boy?”
“Midnight, stop with this petty fucking logic. We only had an argument!”
“And maybe you should stop trying to avoid taking responsibility with your perfect logic and consider apologizing for once.”
Fade scoffed. “Why do you try to put the blame on me anyway? Have you thought about what happens to Shib and Key when we are gone?”
Midnight shrugged. “Why do you care? Feather tried to ditch them in Stalliongrad and you only care about your father.”
“I care for them, you dirty little bastard. You didn’t—”
“Quiet!” Feather interrupted them and took a deep breath. “Midnight… Have you considered that if there is no clue about Blue Sky and that vault, that you will never find out about him and your friends?”
Midnight just shrugged again. “You should tell me why you are so dead set on having me stay instead of coercing me with yet another promise.”
Feather sighed in frustration. “Okay. On that night when the war ended I was on stand-by. If the bombs hadn’t been dropped that morning, I may have been directly involved in what happened in Stalliongrad. Operation Killjoy could be connected to—”
“And when did you plan to tell me that?” Midnight struggled to keep his voice low.
“I have no idea if these two things are connected. Do you want me to rely on speculation and conspiracies?” Feather asked.
“Yes. Like you did in the Ministry hub. You are desperate enough to have me around, for some reason, that you start to make up some nonsensical connections between my life and your shady O.I.A. business. Now, answer me…” His voice grew darker. “Why do you want me to stick around?”
“You know…” Feather tried to find the right words. “I feel safer with you around.”
Midnight huffed. “That’s it?”
“Yes. Sometimes it is as simple as that. So… At least stick with us until we have visited the vault. Don’t do this for us, but at least for Shib and Key.”
Midnight begrudgingly accepted Feather’s request to wait. He couldn’t shake off the thought that Feather was merely playing for time. When they returned to Shibboleth and Key, he was sure both had noticed that something was wrong. Both remained quiet and he swore he could see the worry in Key’s eyes that any word could start another argument.
Fade was leading the way and she dreaded what they may find more than anything else. Her stomach cramped and she wished the vault would only provide them with old and stale food. It took her half an hour to bring them to a cave, which looked exactly like the other holes where the eels had made their nests. However, it was the only one without a skeleton inside or nearby.
After Fade and Feather carried Shibboleth and Key to the entrance, Fade told the others to wait. “There are some turrets. I don’t know if they will open fire on you. They certainly didn’t attack me.”
The double barreled turrets were aiming at her as she approached a thick steel door. Only the light of a wall-mounted terminal allowed her to see the heavily armored defenses. She approached the terminal, unsure if touching it would alert the turrets. With her heart beating so much that her head started to ache, she placed her hoof on the display.
Nothing happened at first but then a tiny noise made Fade move her hoof away.
“Swift Wings - Access Granted”
The door slid upwards and Fade took a deep and shaky breath. The light in the facility flickered and came to life. The first thing she saw was a skeleton on the floor. The bones still bore the mummified remnants of flesh, dried skin, fur and feathers. A black stain covered the floor around it and dead insects and maggots were scattered nearby.
Fade took a big step over it. She moved through a short hallway, followed by a room with more turrets and barriers with ingrained gems for protective spells. A security station was adjacent to it. She headed there, past a few weapon racks, terminals and monitoring screens. Unfamiliar with the system and her limited authorizations, it took her a while to deactivate the turrets.
“You can come in.” The speakers were still intact.
Neither Fade nor the others knew where to go in this deep complex. It felt bereft of any purpose. None of them knew what to look for. It was the uncertainty that eventually forced Fade deeper into the complex, while it made the others hesitate and wait.
Eventually Fade wandered into the storage room. The shelves were still filled with valuable equipment. She didn’t feel elated or happy. The sight of weapons, ammunition, rations and even healing potions only left a dull feeling. It didn’t catch her attention at all.
Instead she headed for another room, filled with huge metallic cabinets. Each one was easily seven feet high and wide. Every one of them showed a small screen, waiting for input. Fade wandered along these and read the names on them. They were all unfamiliar except one.
“Shadowbolt #165 - Brave Heart.”
Fade stared at the name for a long time. She was convinced that her father was a Shadowbolt ever since she found his locker in the Ministry hub. Seeing his name again in the confines of the vault, made her feel a betrayal reaching even deeper than her mother’s lies that he would be back for her birthday.
She heard Feather’s careful hoofsteps. Looking at her, she saw the horror and tears in her mother’s eyes. A horror she had never seen before, not even when the bombs fell. Before Fade could ask anything, her mother turned to leave.
In the silent room, Fade’s attention was ultimately drawn back to the screen. She placed her shaking hoof on it until another short signal told her to move it away.
“Swift Wings - Ancestry Timeout Protocol Enacted
Do you want to inherit permissions formerly issued to Shadowbolt #165 and become an official member of the Ministry of Awesome and of the Shadowbolts? Tap the field to confirm.”
Fade stared at the message for a long time. Like in a trance she confirmed.
“Congratulations. You are now registered as Shadowbolt #165-B. You have inherited all permissions and can fully access the installation.”
A hissing noise opened the seal and the cabinet slid open. Inside she found the various components of the black and dark purple Shadowbolt power armor. All of them meticulously arranged on the backside of the shelf, alongside a Ripper knife and two magic energy rifles. Everything was in a pristine condition. There was not one single personal item. The only thing that appeared out of place was a folder, labeled Sunset Protocol.
Not knowing what it meant she picked it up and sat down to read. It didn’t feel like a choice, but a motion she felt obliged to follow. She hoped to find something to fill the void in her past.
“Sunset Protocol - Regarding Shadowbolt #165 - Brave Heart
The purpose of this protocol is to prevent any further physical, mental or emotional damage to the aforementioned Shadowbolt and any member of their wing. To ensure this, a complete identity overhaul and relocation have to be enacted upon the protocol’s activation.
The following exploits have to be mitigated:
Feather Swirl - Wife
Swift Wings - Daughter
Coat - Purple
Mane - Dark Red
Eyes - Green
Cutie Mark - Winged Heart
Name - Brave Heart
Species - Pegasus
Sex - Male
Age - Twenty-Two (22)
Occupation - Royal Equestrian Air Force
The following steps will be enacted to mitigate the exploits:
Family - A fake K.I.A. letter, dispatched as an emotionally intrusive, formal letter was issued to be written by Everlast, Ministry of Image, Canterlot.
The following Official Identity Documents will be issued to the Royal Equestrian Registry in Stalliongrad:
Coat - Dark Gray
Mane - Black
Cutie Mark - Shield with Heart Emblem
Name - Valiant Heart
Age - 24
Occupation - Unemployed
Addendum:
Shadowbolt #165 was successfully evacuated into Stable Fifty-Four.
Fade dropped the folder. Her body felt weak and frail. She heard somepony calling her name and when she looked up she saw Key standing at the door to the locker room. She looked at her; Looked into Key’s eyes. Those familiar green eyes.
Rage.
Rage was all she felt. She lashed out at the cabinets, the screens and the walls until a stinging pain in her foreleg forced her to stop. Key was staring at her and Fade covered her eyes with a wing in a failing attempt to hide that she was crying.
She fled the room, the storage, the hallways, the turrets and sought refuge in the cold cavern. Her legs were no longer able to carry her. She leaned against a wall and then sank to the ground. With a shaky breath and a burning throat she forced herself to stay quiet. She hid her face behind her hooves, hoping the others wouldn’t find her like that.
She heard a few voices and then steps. Fade recognized them.
“Leave me alone, Midnight.”
“Fade. It will be—”
“I said to ‘Leave me alone’!” Fade threw her knife at him and the blade missed him by a good length. “Fuck off Midnight! Fuck off, like you wanted to! Just fuck off and leave me alone!” She curled up, hiding her face behind her wings. “You don’t care anyway…”
The silence was only broken by gasps for air, as Fade failed to keep quiet. Eventually she heard other steps carefully approaching. Key was sitting down next to her, carefully rubbing her back. Fade looked up and saw Key’s teary eyes. She began to understand why each look into Key’s eyes was so frighteningly familiar.
Key didn’t say a word. They weren’t needed. Fade pulled her into a tight hug. She hoped to forget the pain. She hoped to forget the missed opportunities to be a child. And she hoped to forget what happened so many days ago in Stable Fifty-Four.
Hours passed.
Fade felt numb. Nothing mattered anymore. The cold, the exhaustion, the burning sensation in her eyes. She couldn’t even cry anymore and she didn’t want to. All she did was to hold Key. They both sought shelter and they found it with each other. When Fade looked into her sister’s eyes, she began to feel restless.
Her gaze returned to the vault. The turrets stood vigilant as ever, the light from the hallway shining into the cave. She rubbed her eyes one last time and stood up.
“Fade?” Key’s voice was weak and quiet.
Her eyes were fixated on the vault, filling with a violent resolve. “I will kill Everlast.”
Fade went back into the vault. Midnight was guarding the hallway and trying to attach a scope he found. He stopped when Fade passed by him. He was scared of the violence promised by her gaze and determined steps. He simply let her pass.
In the main hall she found her mother. “You didn’t know,” Fade said.
Feather looked up but instead of sadness, Fade only saw the eyes of a stranger staring back at her. She didn’t get an answer. She didn’t really care.
When Fade passed by Shibboleth, a small glimpse was enough and she understood what Fade was going to do. She didn’t stop her.
As she passed through the storage room, she took a healing potion and drank it on her empty stomach. The pain in her muzzle began to ebb away. Fade didn’t care for it or the hunger or even the thirst. Returning to the locker room, she pushed the dirty clothes off her body. She briefly examined the ghostly mirror image on the metallic cabinets; Seeing nothing but the emaciated shell of a pony.
Fade took the leg brace with the armor’s computer. She wrapped it tightly around her right leg. It booted up automatically and displayed instructions on how to put on the armor. Fade followed them, step by step. With each brace and armor plate the colors of her purple coat were covered in the same black the Enclave wore.
Only one last piece was missing. Fade sat down and looked at the black helmet with the chaotic array of dark purple and insectoid looking eyes. She didn’t want to wear it. She wanted Everlast to see and recognize her. She wanted him to see her eyes. She wanted him to see her father’s eyes.
She took the Ripper knife and inspected it. The magical blade was charged and still working. The magical glow was barely noticeable. She wasn’t surprised when she discovered the enchantment, which allowed her to flick the knife with her hooves, as if she had claws like a griffon. It elated her. It made her imagine how it would feel to cut off Everlast’s head, while she kept glaring into his eyes. He won’t be able to stop her. Maverick would not stop her. She decided that nothing would stop her.
Shibboleth was on edge and gasped when Fade entered the quarters in her armor. Key was sleeping in one of the many bunk beds but Fade didn’t feel like resting. She sat down on a bed across. “I will hunt Everlast,” she whispered. “I will kill him.”
Shibboleth couldn’t bear to look for too long into Fade’s eyes. She sighed and rubbed her nose. “My poor thing. Why do we deserve to go through this?”
Fade was quiet, indifferent to whatever the answer may be.
“Is there anything… Anything I can do to stop you?” Shibboleth asked. “So that Key doesn’t have to lose anypony else?”
Fade shook her head.
Her answer made Shibboleth tense up, but then her body appeared to lose every bit of strength she had left. She suddenly looked tired, unable to argue back. She took the remaining crumbs from the rations out of her bag and gave them to Fade. “At least eat.”
Fade took them and chewed on the food without any appetite. Eating didn’t feel like something for survival or something to enjoy anymore. It was only a process necessary to achieve her goal.
“Fade?” Midnight asked quietly from the door. “I know you don’t want me to be around. But I owe you something. If… if I would have shot at Everlast’s horn, Brave could still be alive.”
Fade looked only briefly at him, before she gulped down another crumb of the stale food. “Next time you’ll do. And I will fight Maverick.”
With Key asleep, Shibboleth was strangely concerned about Fade’s wellbeing. She urged her to eat more, take a shower and sleep. Before Fade did any of that, she activated the terminals for Midnight and granted him full access to the Shadowbolt files.
Afterwards, Midnight found himself alone in the security station. He didn’t know where Feather was but heard Fade and Shibboleth searching the storage room. They barely spoke. Nobody did. Not even a tiny ‘thanks’ when they helped each other.
The first thing he did was to reactivate the shields of the Ministry hub near Stalliongrad. Then he searched for any information about the Shadowbolt raid. He found all the files quickly but hesitated to read them. He only stared at the file names. Inventory. Injuries. Treatments. Dispatches. Collateral. No. He didn’t want to read them.
Instead he searched for something else. Blue Sky.
This time, various files appeared. The most recent one was only a few hours before the bombs fell.
“Investigation Report of Transportation Waiver
The waiver to transport the Balefire Eggs was issued by Blue Sky and acknowledged by a royal official. A royal confirmation was required due to the nature of the acquired weapons. The format, names and signatures on the waiver appear correct and withstand a first review.
However, since the latest developments regarding the O.I.A. Princess Luna conducted a hearing of Blue Sky to assess his loyalty. Princess Luna found that Blue Sky was to be trusted, but that he was involved in personal projects of questionable nature.
Due to this finding, Princess Luna issued a royal decree to forbid delivery of any assets to Blue Sky. This would have prevented any acknowledgement of any waiver issued by Blue Sky.
We sent a request to the Royal Equestrian Security Service in Canterlot to get a transcript of the hearing. This information will help us to find out what kind of project Blue Sky was working on, which would require the illegal acquisition of Balefire Eggs.
Lastly we want to suggest the positioning of one or two Raptors in Vanhoover or the Royal Equestrian Air Base in Quebit. A transport of Balefire Eggs to Vanhoover could anger the local dragon Pyroclast. Should the dragon go into a frenzy through noticing them in any way, we have to be prepared to dispatch the dragon.”
Midnight continued reading through the other files. The ones dating only a few days back were nothing more than brief notes about Blue Sky being auditioned by Princess Luna. When he opened the folder for the oldest files, something immediately caught his attention.
“Regarding Memory Removal of Shadowbolt #165 Issued by Blue Sky”
“Bingo.”
“The removed memories span a time of 70 hours. From what we can say, the removal contained a briefing, an operation, debriefing and return to base. None of the Shadowbolts show any ill effects. Each member of Team Diffraction was aware of the removal before the briefing and got to choose whether or not to execute the operation. However, without the actual memories it is not possible to determine if the promise was true.
The actual removal was handled by Blue Sky. It is not known who performed the removal. There were only clues that the Ministry of Image was involved in the actual process. Blue Sky has connections to the Ministry of Image (and other Ministries) but so do all high ranked members of the O.I.A. Observing Blue Sky is possible but not advised due to the O.I.A. having a concerningly deep reach into the Ministries to find out about any investigation carried out against them.
A week after the memory removal, a celebration was held in Orlov to honor Brave Heart. A member of the Shadowbolts was dispatched to join the celebration to show support of the Ministry of Awesome. His actual task was to observe the ceremony for any kind of clues and stay among the guests of honor and overhear their conversations.
The agent noticed one particular pony. Dr. Skreŝivatel was among the guests of honor. Currently Dr. Skreŝivatel is the head of the research clinic in Orlov. After the formal ceremony she approached both Blue Sky and Brave Heart for a few talks. She congratulated Brave Heart for his service and how his mission will help her research. Talks with Blue Sky regarded the support of the O.I.A. and that Blue Sky will do his best to connect her with other researchers currently working for the Office.
The conclusion of this event is that Blue Sky was only an intermediary but not responsible for the decision to remove the memories of the Shadowbolts.”
Midnight closed the file and decided not to tell Fade about it.
“Guys! Come quick!” The next morning Shibboleth brought the Shadowbolt radio equipment to life. “I am listening to the Enclave!”
They all rushed to her. None but Shibboleth understood the multitude of devices to receive radio signals and decrypt them in real time. She pressed a few buttons and the Enclave chatter was played back via the speakers.
“...report - no signs of Steel Ranger activity. Continue patrol. Over.”
“Confirmed. Raptor Cirrocumulus, adjust direction by uh… twenty and stand by. Over.”
“Raptor Cirrocumulus, confirmed.”
“I know that voice,” Fade said. “That’s Colloquy. The Enclave bitch from Edmareton.”
“The one who gave you slimy cubed?” Key asked.
“No.” Midnight answered. “The one who struck the deal with my brother to spy on us.”
Shibboleth worked on a few other dials and read some numbers on a display. “I still have to finetune the tracker, but apparently she is only a few miles south of Priob.”
“That is good.” Feather’s voice appeared distant and cold. While all of them were huddled quite closely around Shibboleth, Feather remained at the door. “That means we can travel south to the Smokey Mountains.”
“Are you still obsessed about that thing?” Fade asked.
“I am offering it. Right now we have a free route as long as we stay east of the Unicorn Range.”
“And then?” Fade was not convinced.
“If we have Killjoy… You know… It can help you with anything. The Rangers. The Enclave… Everlast. And not only that.” Her attention went to Midnight. “You know about Lunaland, don’t you?”
“Barely?”
“I don’t fully know how the Ministry of Morale operates, but Lunaland being the biggest hub in the Vanhoover and Stalliongrad region, I assume your arrest and transfer to Shattered Hoof was processed there. With Killjoy we can access that data and furthermore… Its radio tower should be strong enough to link into the Equestria-wide broadcasting system.”
“The M.A.S.E.B.S.,” Shibboleth said, with quite some excitement in her eyes.
“Yes. That,” Fade confirmed. “With that we can access any surviving O.I.A. office remotely and you can find out anything about Blue Sky that you want to know.”
“Are you coercing us into Killjoy again?” Midnight couldn’t hide the anger flaring up in his voice.
“You know… Even with all this equipment here, five ponies are not enough to take on three armies. You need any help you can get. Tell me when you are ready to go.” Feather left the room.
With Killjoy’s presence lingering in the air, none of them said anything.