Man, Mare, Machine

by willstob

Chapters

Crescent Watch
Valkyrie
Guardian Angel
Under Your Nose, Cave Conflicts
Through the Haze
Lucky Dog
Black and White
Stay
Other Side

Crescent Watch

Crnl Gd-2: Have the reports all identified similar circumstances?

Sct-1: Yes sir, the planet has been confirmed to be terra. It has multiple climates and native wildlife.

Crnl Gd-2: Intelligent life?

Sct-1: Multiple intelligent species confirmed. Confirmed even split between peaceful and militaristic cultures.

Crnl Gd-2: Multiple? That is quite rare. What are the recommended plans?

Sct-1: One moment, info being patched-through right now, please confirm passage.

Crnl Gd-2: Confirmed, twenty-two plans recovered.

Sct-1: Full transfer confirmed.

Crnl Gd-2: Have the votes come in yet?

Sct-1: Yes sir, plan seven earned a twelve-percent lead, it has also been confirmed acceptable by 87% of voters for other plans.

Crnl Gd-2: Continue to transfer any further biological data you find.

Sct-1: Yes sir.

The various delegates gathered within their meeting halls. The halls themselves were just individual rooms on different ships, meant to allow the delegates to establish meetings without wasting time with travel. One by one, the holograms of the various men and women blipped into the meeting hall of the G.E.A. Artemis, filling the room with a pale silver light. Each of their forms conveyed an air of pride, easily recognizable even as their figures twitched and flickered in the light. The council was not an actual formal organization, they had no government and held no elections for office. Entrance to the council required one of three things: The first was recommendation by another council member, a method rarely adopted due to the relative unfairness of such an act. The second was mass-recommendation by people of authority, people like generals, dignitaries, and other influential figures. The third and most common method was from a citizen campaign. Citizen campaigns tended to be slightly unruly, usually flooded with requests for inclusion of every slightly influential person among the citizens, regardless of qualification. Luckily, these requests were commonly shot-down before any momentum could be built. There hadn't been any new council members for over five years, a good sign in their eyes. It meant that nobody was desperate to kick them out of their positions any time soon.

The representatives bowed to each other before taking their seats. One of the delegates, an older man, stepped forward. He was the oldest council member, maintaining his position for over twenty-five years with relative ease. His hair was more gray than black but his eyes still showed a clever, wily spirit. He was also the captain of the Artemis. "Ladies, gentlemen, I believe we are all aware of the current situation. The last mission update you received should have been from scout-one, update number twelve."

The other delegates all gave a nod. Although quite comfortable with each other, interruptions were often very poorly received until the speaker was done.

"Excellent, then I shall serve as main speaker for this meeting. Colonel Alexander, your ship had the highest percentage of citizens who would not consent to the plan, have pacification efforts been successful?"

"They have been calmed down sufficiently, chances of rioting commencing are negligible."

Another one of the figures rose from her seat. She looked to be in her mid thirties, although her demeanor would paint that of a much more mature woman. She wore a comfortable dress of blue which reached the floor. When she rose, several of the other members shot their eyes towards her with slightly more-than-normal attention. "What about you, Jeremiah? Have your scouts reported anything out of the ordinary?"

He gave her a wrinkled smile, flashing a set of large, white teeth. "Nothing of note, Angelica, they know what they are doing."

She nodded and returned to her seat, sitting quickly and immediately becoming a perfect example of quiet dignity once more.

One of the delegates stepped forward, this one a very broad, tall man. Unlike when Angelica rose, his movement caused the other members to hardly bat an eye. "The reports were not quite as clear as I would have liked, while the scouts investigating the equine-based civilizations have been feeding solid reports concerning their customs, there remains a noticeable drop in intel concerning the militaristic civilizations."

"I assure you, the intelligence is strong. The more aggressive races have almost neglected their cultural development to the point of stagnation. Most of the races live in a tech range primarily comparable to the human medieval era while they remain within the classical, if even at that." He punctuated his responses with slight silliness, lending a feeling more akin to talking to a slightly crazy grandfather than to a decorated political figure.

"How can such a gap exist?" He asked with slight bafflement. Such extremes were not actually not that rare, a similar situation could even be seen when compared to development of human civilizations. The odd part was the immense lead of one race in particular above the others.

"We suspect slightly xenophobic tendencies caused by a slightly above-average period before the different races established first contact. As such, idea-sharing has suffered. It's all in the report."

"Yes, thank you." The large man returned to his seat.

This meeting was to continue for at least an hour more, new races were a delicate matter, a delicate matter that was handled very differently depending on who finds them first. No gap in information could exist that would compromise greetings. Strictly speaking, there was no strong legislation outlining what could or could not be done with a new race, the classification of any new species was always left to the first qualified crew to investigate them. Qualified did not always mean magnanimous, however.

"General coat color seems erratic. Some subjects that appear related share similar colors, as the farmers do, while others are only tangentially related. Genes for coat color must be extremely varied." One of the scouts droned into a recorder from his perch. He had been dead-dropped over three days ago and had been making updates around the clock that entire time. Finding an adequate vantage point had been more difficult than intended, he had needed to adjust after discovering that some of the equines possessed wings. They swarmed the sky all day, doing this or that. It made a comprehensive view of the town much too dangerous so he had been slowly edging the town in a half-crescent, usually moving a few yards before observing for several more hours.

He didn't mind the waiting, in fact he appreciated it. He had always found a strange wonder in being surrounded by nature. He especially liked moments like this, times where he had been still for so long that the wildlife itself had forgotten about him, considering him just part of the landscape. He certainly wasn't any greenhorn scared of action, he had been to battle, but it had only made him appreciate these kind of moments more.

He only made noticeable noise when he adjusted his position. Other than that, the forest had surrounded him completely. His recordings made no noise, his suit was designed to not allow sound to escape without his input so he didn't have to worry about talking too loud. He didn't carry a weapon, after general satellite surveillance, scouts were not allowed to bring them. Even if they couldn't defend themselves as well as some of the other units in direct combat, scouts could handle themselves, even if that sometimes meant retreat.

"Scout-one, come in." Squawked the static-laced voice in his ear.

"Scout-one here, what is it Guardian?" He responded to the interruption while trying to keep as much disappointment out of his voice as possible.

"Natives heading toward your position, flyers in group, suggest adjusting position."

"Affirmative." He climbed the tree he had previously been standing near, using the elevation to adjust his position without leaving a silhouette in the tree cover.

"(I swear! There's a creature in the woods!)" Yelled a voice past the tree cover.

"(Really Rainbow Dash, monsters?)" Questioned another voice. "(I know that you've gotten into stories only recently but you really can't let them adjust your perception of the real world.)"

The scout watched as he crouched in some bushes that covered a small alcove he had dug, had he been seen? How on Earth had he been discovered, he couldn't think of a time where he was less than five-hundred feet from an equine. Maybe he hadn't done a good enough job applying camouflage and accidentally let the sun reflect off him? If that was the case he was going to sock himself for his stupidity, although he doubted that was actually the problem.

"(Now Twi, I don't think Rainbow's tryin' ta fool us, she don't look like she's lyin' to me.)"

"(I'm more worried that she really *does think this monster is real.*)"

They had searched around his hovel without success, they clearly hadn't been given a very good description of what to look for.

"(I *know it was here, it must just be hiding. I say we try to wait it out.*)"

"(Rainbow, if you think you're going to get us to stay out here all night then we're going to have to disappoint you, and besides, do you even know what you are trying to wait out?)"

"(Indeed dear, I don't want to stay in this filthy place any longer than is absolutely necessary.)"

"(Fine, see if I care. But when I show-up tomorrow with an awesome monster you all have to admit that I was right.)"

"(Just go to bed Rainbow, please.)" Groaned the lavender mare in the group. "(I promise, if anything comes up again, we'll gladly help out however we can, just promise me you'll go to bed.)"

"(Fine, but we're coming back later.)"

They dissipated, each leaving for their own homes. The scout stayed in his makeshift hovel. Sure enough, less than two hours had passed before the cyan mare returned. She searched for almost an hour before finally giving-up, it was lucky that she had started her search a few yards too far, else she would have found his hideout for sure, regardless of camouflage. He had to admit, there was a small bit of glee in his mind as he watched her search without success, it was like beating someone at hide-and-seek, but the other player had wings and backup.

He decided it wasn't safe to stay on this side of town anymore, he would have to switch-over to the opposite forest or abort his main mission and stick to the deeper portion of the woods until it was safe. Neither option was particularly appealing, but duty calls.

Jeremiah continued. "The drop-pods should deliver our messages to the various leaders of the races simultaneously. After we have established greetings, we are met with the first choice, how do we establish our presence?"

"Simply assembling the fleet above their planet would be foolish, it would scare the simpler species and make us look like warmongers to the rest." Intoned Angelica.

"Would it?" Asked Alexander. "They wouldn't even know what the ships are, how would they know their purpose?"

"Experience isn't required in a matter like this. When they see the gigantic metal figures looming above them, their instincts will lead them to the same conclusion."

The broad man rose again. "We can't send the drops without having at least one ship in orbit."

"Not quite." Asserted Jeremiah. "The scouts have a transmitter, standard-issue. They could serve as a holographic communicator."

"Are we even sure that we can understand each other?" Questioned Angelica.

"The language doesn't seem too complicated, we have a few vocal samples but we'll need more if we want the translator to be able to pin anything down. I've sent some of the advanced scouts to the edge of smaller towns to procure more samples."

The broad man shot from his seat. "Jeremiah! You are in no position to pass aggressive scouting without notifying us."

He simply returned with a calm, grinning smile. "I'm sorry Marco, it was necessary to act while we still had the night to work with, I want to avoid complications as much as you do."

"Just don't let them do something foolish." He muttered as he slumped back into his seat, not actually planning to argue.

He gave a deep laugh, stretching the wrinkles on his face. "Dear Marco, where would our fleet be if it wasn't for the occasional act of recklessness?"

Scout design:

Valkyrie

Sct-1: Scout-one reporting.

Crnl Gd-2: Go ahead scout.

Sct-1: Presence has alerted small portion of populace, seeking orders.

Crnl Gd-2: Too risky to maneuver past alerted townsfolk, stay secluded until reclamation team can descend.

Sct-1: Which team will handle retrieval?

Crnl Gd-2: Valkyrie squad will handle it. Sky-high, scout-one.

Sct-1: Yes sir.

The forest was no longer a smart place to hide, there was too high a chance of discovery by that flyer making another surprise return. The scout began to head for the mountains near the edge of town, he could survive on the supplies in his pack until the rescue team arrived. Even as he thought it, he mentally retched, those 'supplies' would serve better as a weapon than as any kind of food.

This was a comfortable planet, very temperate without having too much or too little humidity. The wildlife itself was very interesting. Never before had he seen an animal with bark for skin, could they produce chlorophyll as well? It completely redefined the ideas of biological energy production if they could. He was sure that the research team would be interested in getting their grubby mitts on a few, most animals were not allowed on the ships due to the increase in oxygen usage, that could be ignored if the animal was producing oxygen.

He had also seen some strange chicken-like creature, it had been in the middle of some sort of stare-down with a rabbit before he arrived. He had tried avoiding it but it noticed him and tried getting in his face with those fangs. He broke it's neck.

He decided against leaving it to rot, taking a small portion with him. Who knows, he thought as he finished carving, maybe it tastes like chicken.

A cadet walked toward the Captain, handing him a small electronic book. "Sir, I have comprised a full list of currently identified intelligent species."

He grabbed the book, giving him a quick nod. "Excellent work, that was much quicker than I expected."

"It was nothing sir." He replied. "I actually quite enjoy organizing the biological information."

"Glad to hear it." He gave him a firm pat on the shoulder. "You'll be getting a job with intelligence division at that rate. Who knows, maybe when I finally kick the bucket we'll have someone who can do the paperwork around here!"

"No offense sir, but it's hard to imagine something killing you."

"Don't go trying to butter me up, son." He spoke with a certain seriousness but it was clear that he understood the miscommunicated meaning of the cadet's words.

"N-no that isn't what I meant! It's just that you seem so energetic... even though you're...uh..."

"Old enough that if I acted my age I'd die?" He asked with a slightly bemused expression, finding the cadet's fidgety demeanor oddly relaxing if only due to the complete lack of authority behind it.

"That isn't what I was planning on saying sir."

"Maybe," He uttered as he sank back into his Captain's chair, groaning a little as he slid into the comfortable material. "but it would have been closer to the truth." He pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "Really didn't need to discover another species right now, too much logistical work."

Celestia was getting ready for bed, she had just finished wishing Luna goodnight and was eager to go to sleep. Before she could reach her pillow, she heard Luna teleport into her room.

"Sister, we have found something."

"What is it Luna?" She asked while letting a small yawn escape, she didn't need to concern herself with appearances as much when it was just her sister around.

"Come to your balcony."

She walked out to the balcony, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "What is it you want me to see?"

"The sky."

"It looks like your usual night." She did a small twitch, not meaning for her comment to come out like that, but it appears Luna had completely tuned her response out.

"No sister, watch."

Luna used some of her magic. Across the sky, small stars twinkled that weren't there before. With a small accent from her horn, the stars started moving around the sky like a whirlpool.

Celestia thought it was indeed a wonderful spectacle, but she quickly noticed something. In one small part of the sky, the stars didn't shine. It was a patch of black.

"What is it?" She asked.

"We have no idea, it has been there all night. No matter what we try, it stays dark."

"This seems ominous, but let's avoid making any rash deductions right now. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Luna."

"Goodnight sister."

She teleported away, leaving Celestia to her thoughts.

The scout sat within the cave he had found on the mountainside. His beacon had been going for a few hours, he hoped that the fleet had some reason to swing-by so they could get him quicker. It had started raining about twenty minutes ago, had his beacon only been a few generations less advanced, that could have been a real problem. As it was, it reduced the chances of an animal messing with it. It also allowed him to start a fire without fear of natives being out to see it.

He heard the faint sound of a sonic boom, followed by a loud thud from above his cave, he might have been worried, but he knew what it was.

A tall, slim figure stepped into the mouth of his cave. She was wearing black armor with a amber cover over the face. As she approached, the visor retracted into the helmet, revealing a pretty pale face. As she removed her helmet, a long stream of greenish-blond hair fell out, tied together neatly in a braid. Without a word, she sat across from him in the cave.

"You're here pretty early, did the fall go okay?" He asked. He didn't get any response, just a 'look'. It wasn't really a mean look, more of a 'let's just try our hardest to get this done with as soon as possible' look.

Speaking of looks, the scout had to admit that he had never seen a Valkyrie that wasn't pleasant to look at, maybe it was a requirement? If it was, they certainly would never admit it. She wasn't pure human, her hair and eyes could give that away at a glance, but whatever she was, it was either very diluted or simply a combination of too many different genes. He had to shake himself a little to gather his thoughts after he realized that analyzing the woman's face was more than a little inappropriate when he himself was wearing a mask.

The Valkyries were, primarily, a shock troop meant for breaking an enemy's front line but they were also called on for orbital pickup regularly. They reported directly to chairwoman Angelica and were, according to rumors, given quite a short leash during their training, not to say there were that many units that had a simple time of training, the scouts certainly didn't, it just made it that much more interesting that there was supposedly a more difficult regiment. Of course, those rumors could have easily just been a load of bunk created by the overactive minds of fan-boys but it was hard to not give the rumors some thought when you really got to see them in action.

They still wouldn't be able to leave until the rain stopped. Unlike the beacon, orbital transfer had a higher margin of error during severe weather, a margin that was just high enough to make them have to stay in a damp cave for the rest of the night.

He noticed that the Valkyrie was looking toward the cave entrance fairly often. "You can look around if you like, doesn't bother me." His mask caused his voice to be heavily traced with static, he didn't like it, it made him think of those dime-a-dozen space-marines from those old TV shows with the giant suits of ugly armor.

She just stood up and headed toward the cave entrance, staring at the landscape. He briefly thought about joining her, but decided against it.

The scout just removed his backpack and laid his head on it. This mission had been a bust. Sure he had gathered a decent amount of intel but being discovered this fast just made him feel... not pathetic, more like disappointing, as if he had just permanently earned a big red sticker on his military report card. It didn't matter if he was discovered by the most eagle-eyed flyer of their race, he had been found and ordered back to base. "I'm getting another recon." He muttered to himself. He hadn't opened his comm so the only noise that came out was a faint whisper.

The Valkyrie looked in his direction with an odd look. They must have augmented hearing too he thought to himself, slightly embarrassed at getting noticed.

Instead of answering her look, he mumbled some sort of goodnight before going to sleep, not actually thinking about how much she would be able to make out of it.

This mission is a complete waste of time. Sent planet-side just to recover a single scout, and of course it would have to be right after I start moving in to the new place too. I should make this guy pay me back, maybe make him finish the rest of the unpacking while I relax.

Valkyries were a little sensitive about missions that they felt were non-essential, after the years of training required for their position, getting sent to bring some soldier home felt like needless busywork.

She knew her frustration was misplaced, it was just that she knew this was going to be a mission comprised of waiting around and doing nothing.

(Image by shadcarlos)

Guardian Angel

Crnl Gd-2: Scout-one, status.

Sct-1: Successful rendezvous with Valkyrie squad.

Crnl Gd-2: Good, anything to report?

Sct-1: No new developments. Valkyrie seems distracted.

Crnl Gd-2: Something to report?

Sct-1: Something has alerted the Valkyrie, assisting in investigation.

Crnl Gd-2: Do not engage, flee if locals.

Sct-1: Yes sir.

"Something wrong?" Asked the scout as he approached the Valkyrie, she had been spacing-out for the last few minutes, looking very concentrated on something.

She jumped a little at his appearance but quickly calmed herself. "Sorry, I didn't hear you." She was probably more easily startled by things sneaking up on her than other people, considering that she could probably hear things coming ten times better than the average person. "I can hear something in the woods. It sounds similar to the locals from the audio recordings but a different inflection, like a foreign speaker."

"Can you grasp any of the meaning?"

"The translator is still rough but it sounds like they're... sad."

"We were told not to address locals."

She looked at him, a fairly flat expression. He really did wonder what her parents were, he had never seen any species come close to perfecting a poker face like she had. Maybe it was one of those secret racial traits, like seeing in the dark, or maybe he was just terrible at making out faces.

"We should still probably investigate, if it's another equine, we can just leave."

They slowly crept through the underbrush. The scout was impressed, he hadn't expected her to be so quiet in that armor they stuck her in, maybe they received stealth and forestry training during their regime, she was far from noiseless, but the rain helped muffle the occasional rustled brush. They were close enough now that they could both hear the sound very quietly. He had to stop himself from blurting-out a question about how she heard the local through the rain, realizing that it would likely be taken as inappropriate. After a little jury-rigging of the communicators, they had managed to find a way to feed the translator output in the scout's helmet as well.

Eventually they came upon a clearing. Inside was another strange creature.

"It's fascinating..." Commented the scout, he had seen nothing similar to this creature while he was here and hadn't heard anything form the other scout's reports. It had what seemed to be a black exoskeleton around it's entire body which still allowed free movement. It possessed both wings and a horn, an event that he had not witnessed yet. He had noticed the fangs but they didn't look like meat-eater fangs, more venomous, but that didn't make sense, how would venom help this animal find food? He doubted it was actually a meat-eater, considering the still relatively equine nature, maybe it was just defense.

"How beautiful." She agreed, she found the creature enthralling, the large, expressive eyes that were currently looking downward showed that this creature was both intelligent and downtrodden. The mane was a beautiful shade of deep blue which sank under the weight of the rain. It was marvelous and mysterious. It was like something out of a children's book, a slightly deranged children's book, like the ones you could buy in Germany.

"Almost all *zzt* *zzzttt* are gone..."

They jumped a little at the sound of the translator, they had forgotten that the creature could talk. The translator had missed some of the words, but it was working fairly well.

"Did *zztt* *zzztt* all this?"

"It looks hurt." Observed the Valkyrie. Indeed the creature's legs seemed to be slightly bent, resting in a clearly uncomfortable way that couldn't have been by choice.

"It won't last long if it can't defend itself, I doubt it can stand." He knew that these woods were teeming with those wood wolves he had observed and if they were anything like normal wolves, they wouldn't miss an easy opportunity like this when they found it.

During their conversation it just stayed there, laying on the ground.

"Should we help it?" She asked.

The scout stayed silent, this was a complete mash-up of both direct orders and moral duty. It was sometimes difficult to tell which was more important in fleet matters.

He finally spoke. "I guess we should, if it's intelligent. You go, it'll be more trusting if it can see your face."

Slowly, she stepped out from the trees, trying to be obvious-enough to make it clear that she wasn't trying to sneak-up on it. It noticed her and went from a surprised look to one of intrigue very quickly. It looked her up and down, examining her and checking every detail.

"What do you want from me?" She asked with a certain edge. She seemed to be down-playing the fact that she had no idea what she was.

She really hoped this translator wasn't cheap. "I am... a friend."

"I have none." She responded quickly, apparently quite assured of that fact.

"Are you...hurt?" She asked while keeping her distance.

"None of your *zzztt*."

Pretty sure that was business "I am here to help you, but you have to let me."

She locked-eyes with her for a long time, looking for something. After a tense while she finally spoke again.

"I could not refuse you if I wanted." She didn't sigh she just... deflated, switching back to the sad state she was in before.

"Is it okay if my... friend helps?"

"Do what you will." She spoke as she turned her head, betraying her curiosity.

Although she clearly tensed a little as the scout emerged, she calmed-down little by little again. They each assisted in lifting her up and beginning the slow trek back to the cave... the cave that was up the side of a mountain.

"I don't know anymore. One moment there are three species, then there are five, then there are ten. I can't work with this many variables." Stated Jeremiah from his seat, hands linked in front of his face, he would almost prefer a battle to this, not a big battle mind, just a small one, anything to get away from this dreaded long-term planning he was forced to do.

"Peace, Jeremiah. We know your plight, leading a diplomatic mission in your shoes would indeed be difficult."

"Difficult? Try impossible, I don't even think all of the species on this planet are aware of each other yet, how are we supposed to get them all in a meeting?"

"Jeremiah, you have handled more than this with less to work with, you can handle this." Asserted Marco.

"This will be impossible to vote on, the citizens hate it when the politics get too confusing... that's why they're here after all." He muttered from beneath his hands, his voice low.

"Then forget formalities."

That got him to look up. He hadn't expected that statement from Angelica of all people. "What do you mean Angelica?"

"I mean just send a ship down to the leaders, one at a time."

"No no no, that wouldn't work. If we go to the peaceful civilizations, the militaristic ones will feel threatened and make things difficult."

"Then do the opposite."

"Then the more cultured civilizations will be offended, even if the leaders aren't the people most certainly will be."

"I hate to impose-" a voice stopped Jeremiah's thought-process. He knew that voice wasn't one of the other delegates, it was coming from behind him.

"but perhaps I should just handle this myself?"

Jeremiah was silent, not turning to face the man. "That's odd, I was almost sure only council members were allowed to sit-in on meetings. What do you want?"

"I don't plan to stay, I just came to say I have an idea that could fix this whole problem for us." he tossed a file to Jeremiah, as he read, he couldn't help but feel both hopeful and full of unease at the same time. The file was filled with information on a new species confirmed as 'Changelings', complete with a satellite image of one of the scouts carrying what was identified in the file as a queen.

Under Your Nose, Cave Conflicts

Sct-1: Sir, have there been any issues on the pickup time?

Crnl Gd-2: There has been a change in plans, we're sending in a diplomat to begin relations immediately, follow his orders from now on.

Sct-1: Yes sir.

"Road, street, path." Droned Chrysalis, seated across the cave floor from the scout.

"Good, do geography next."

"Mountains, hills, rivers, streams, lakes, seas, oceans..."

The advantage to having a native speaker nearby meant that they could basically have her talk about anything and it would help the translator. In the last few hours, they had already covered a vast amount of the language, allowing the translator to figure out the rest on it's own.

"Jeremiah, this plan is dangerous. Think of the possible repercussions if they see through your plan early." Warned Angelica.

"Relax, almost all of the races know what a changeling is, they should have knowledge of their abilities. It will help solve the issue of meeting all of the leaders at once."

"I supplied the men out of my own pocket," Inserted the man, still maintaining his position at the doorway despite his earlier statement of just stopping by, "so what does it matter to you? They aren't your precious Valkyries or valuable scouts at risk here."

"It's the fact that they're from your pocket, Mr. Argrave." Growled Angelica, glaring daggers at the man fiercely enough to cause some of the other delegates to back-up in their seats, despite being only holograms.

"I do not expect any issues to occur. Should the plan go awry, I will place the full responsibility on your shoulders." Stated Argrave, updating his men on their own situation.

"Yes sir." Responded the two men partially listening.

"Remember, a slip-up, and those suits are gone." He accented his point with a snap of his fingers. "That means no fighting, no insulting, no anything out of the book."

"We get it. Let's just go, my chest has been hurting like hell today and I want to go home." Replied the slightly surly man smoking a few feet away.

"I wouldn't dream of keeping you."

"That should do it, we can totally understand each other now." Reported the scout.

"Good to know." She replied, that attitude was certainly a little on the grating side but he didn't let it get to him, it was understandable that she was in a bad mood, having only recently gotten out of the rain and into a dank cave without anything to eat, a fact that he would to have loved to correct but sadly fell on it's face when he found out she wouldn't even think about eating meat from that chicken-creature despite his monitors saying it was perfectly digestible.

He just sighed and headed back toward the front of the cave, closer to the fresh air. Unfortunately, this left him standing completely silent next to the Valkyrie, creating a slightly awkward atmosphere.

"So..." he began, "my name is Paul, what about you?" He really hoped that she wouldn't leave him hanging like he sort of expected her to.

"My name is Sylvia." She responded quickly, killing the conversation as soon as it began.

"Okay then Sylvia..." He once-again fished for some topic to discuss, "have you had anything to eat yet?"

"No, I didn't expect to get held-up this late so I packed light." At least she was responding in complete sentences to him, even if that only sentence had been used to explain why she wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Well I'm not sure about the taste, but I have some leftover supplies if you want any, they taste like cardboard but they're something at least."

"I'd appreciate that." She responded holding a hand to her head. "Just think, we could both be home by now if they let us leave, but of course that won't happen."

He handed her a small wrapped ration bar before answering. "I'm going to have to write a report when I get back, and even then I'd be heading back to the barracks afterwards, so I don't mind sitting planet-side for a little while."

"Scouts have to stay in barracks?" She asked. The barracks weren't really used that often on her ship, mostly just during battles when all the soldiers had to be at hand for orders, usually they were allowed to stay at their own homes otherwise.

"Well no, not technically." He responded rather awkwardly.

She thought about that for a second before realizing what he meant. "Oh, so, you don't-"

"Yeah." He responded again, hopeful that this part of the conversation would pass quickly.

It wasn't as surprising as it was awkward, lots of people couldn't afford nice housing on the ships, and even the more slummy parts quickly filled up to capacity. Sometimes the only options were the streets or the military. It's not like being homeless on a ship was as bad as it was on a planet, the ships kept a comfortable temperature and disease was relatively uncommon, the only real danger was from the other people you could meet.

Although she didn't care to admit it, Sylvia had some questions about his situation, none she would ask, but still lingering in her head. Scouts were technically a specialist squad like hers, so their pay should be well above the average soldier. He should be able to afford any place he wants she thought to herself. He could be in debt, though she doubted the military would pay to train some gambler or addict, neither of which she could really picture him being. Without much thought, she finally took a bite of her ration, quickly thrown back to consciousness at the terrible texture, taste, and smell. Yeah, cardboard, riiight. Maybe if you seasoned it with a sock.

Although they hadn't noticed it previously, the sound of polished leather striking the floor could be heard from the mouth of the cave. They backed away from the entrance as a man in a black suit with golden hair stepped in.

"Hello," Spoke the man, "I am Krimwalt, diplomatic emissary in charge of this region, call me Walt."

"Greetings sir." They both responded, their other guest still silent from within the cave.

"I have been informed you have a guest with you, may I come in?" He spoke without any acknowledgement of the fact that he had clearly already entered.

"Of course, she's in the back. Be careful, she's still weak and hasn't been very trusting."

"Of course." He responded as he removed his jacket and placed it over one of the piles of leaves that had been serving as a bed.

He approached her casually, making sure to progress slowly but not so slowly that he appeared threatened. He eventually knelled down by her, loosening his tie and speaking in a soft, low voice. "My name is Walt, I know about your species, they're called changelings, correct?"

"Yes, they are. How do you know that?" She asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Later, what is your name?"

"I am queen Chrysalis, although my kingdom could be considered scattered at the moment."

"Did something happen?" He asked gently, a tender note of concern visible in his unnaturally symmetrical features.

She shivered a little, the emotions coming off of this creature were confusing, twisting and branching so much that she couldn't actually tell how it felt. "We... tried to invade a country. At the end of the battle, we were launched a great distance away, I hardly had time to spread my wings and slow my fall, I hope my children did the same."

He placed a hand on her hoof, it felt warm and soft compared to the cave floor. "I'm sorry, I certainly can't help you invade a land, but I could give your people a place to live, provided you agree to some terms."

Those eyes of his were piercing directly into her every time she looked at him. It was like he could read her emotions just as well as she could others. She couldn't look him in the eye for more than a few seconds without feeling... exposed and easy to read. She could almost swear she saw them grow larger and smaller as they looked at her but it was hard to tell.

"What are you proposing?" She asked, interested in what this strange creature could do for her.

"Your people will live alongside my race, anywhere you choose. While you are living there, you will not take any military action against any nation if even one of my people is there, that includes neighboring lands."

"Why should we live under the heel of another ruler? My people have as much right to exist as any other!"

He drew closer to her, silencing her. "Because if you agree to help us, I can make your race the most respected on the planet. Nobody will ever think of your changelings with contempt ever again, you will be the pinnacle of what a species can achieve. The best part is, you won't even have to dirty your hands with warfare to reach it."

The maelstrom of emotions running from this man was overwhelming, her mind was fogged and she couldn't even tell what was happening around her. Everywhere she looked, there were more strands of emotions, intent, thoughts, all intertwining with each-other.

She whipped her head away from him, it was maddening. "What do you need?" She questioned as she kept her head down. Changeling senses weren't as black-and-white as the other races, they were able to use all of their senses to detect emotion. Currently, she was dealing with what sounded like a wind tunnel, reeked like incense, felt like an earthquake, and was all happening during a laser light show.

He rose, once again fastening his tie. "I need you to find your children for me, we can go from there." Without pause, he turned and walked to the entrance of the cave, grabbing his jacket before turning to Sylvia. "My associate should have landed by now and he'll need an escort, understand?"

"Yes sir." She replied. She wanted to check on their guest before leaving, but a diplomat was waiting.

"He will be at the base of the mountain, I hope you have a pleasant journey."

"Thank you sir." She replied before jumping out of sight, down the cliff face.

After she was gone for a few seconds, the scout spoke up. "Whatever you did, it hardly seemed necessary, she had been complying well over the last few hours."

"Well we don't have any more hours to wait for her to cheer up." He pulled a small silver clip in the shape of an oval from his tie, twisting it to let the sunlight twinkle on it's surface. "It releases a weak mixture of hormones and stimulants through the air, completely harmless in small doses. She should level-out in a matter of minutes."

"It wasn't fair." He reaffirmed, apparently no more accepting of Walt's trick now that it was explained.

"You're one of those lawful-good types, total paragon of humanity and all that. Haven't you ever realized that there's more to a decision than your moral compass?" He posed the question as he re-inserted the clip behind his tie.

"Those types of devices exploit less-advanced species and only lead to more problems."

"That's very true. When you look at it in that context what I just did was completely unethical, but what about the goal I get closer to reaching by doing it? Peace between the various races and, by extent, ours." He walked up to the scout and let his eyes drift past, briefly locking onto the section of mask exactly where his eyes were. Even through the mask, Paul couldn't help averting his eyes to read the atmosphere readings he had memorized ages ago. In the brief moment of their gazes locking, Paul could make out some odd symbols on Walt's irises. They were lines, like muscle stretched tightly under his irises. "I want you to think about that, can you do that for me? Try looking at things from a more objective standpoint."

"You can't look at things like this objectively, these are entire races we're dealing with. Using tricks like that doesn't let them decide on their own. She had no way to prepare for something like that and what you did was exploitation."

"Never thought I would get to meet a scout with guts. You have no idea what you're talking about, and who are you to lecture me when you haven't even given me your name first?"

"My name is Paul, and who are you to twist my words like that? I understand that I'm out-of-line, but I have to make it clear that I will have no part in actions like that. What happened to actual diplomacy? Talking things out on even terms? Maybe if it had actually seemed necessary, but you just decided to take the easy way out."

"Tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing you like to romanticize the whole 'space exploration' thing, don't you? New places, new people, new things." He took a long stretch, letting a few pops escape. "You have to be truly naive to think like that. Haven't you seen it? More or less, all advanced races are the same, species who survived by being more paranoid and exclusive than the rest. Don't tell me you considered our guest back there to be more than a damsel in distress, followed by science-project afterwards. Which method is really more demeaning? Mine, doing what I would be expected to do with any other race in this position, including ours, or yours, trying to defend them by trumpeting their own ignorance? Your method may indeed carry kindness, but it is a demeaning kindness, the kind people pay to an urchin or invalid. "

He was silent for a bit. He could tell that he was being taunted by the array of questions being sent towards him without actually responding to his questions directly. It was an obnoxious tactic but one that rarely had any drawbacks. It reminded him of a bully, trying to get another kid to say something he would regret so he could abuse it. "Why bring it here if the goal is long-term peace?"

"It isn't really that complicated, there's a schedule to keep, it isn't like we can just contact the races one after another back-to-back in meetings, it would take far too long. For now, all we have to worry about is her." He walked back towards Chrysalis, slowly petting a hand along her mane as she laid there, too distracted by constant stimuli to notice any of the conversation. "I think her kind is my favorite, so unfit for war yet so destined to experience it. I think there is a tragic kind of pride in their story."

After getting no response he put his jacket back on. "But here I am telling a soldier-boy about war, she'll be up soon, then we can begin."

Instead of quietly following, Paul had one last question to ask. "Why does a diplomat need implanted eyes, and nice ones at that?"

He turned around half-way before turning his head away again, thinking over his answer. He eventually walked back toward the cave entrance, back to the sunlight. "I looked at your file before I came here, standard procedure for all escorts." He spoke suddenly, apparently finding the words he wanted. "I'll tell you what, I'll tell you about my eyes if you'll tell me about those fake legs you have on you, it's only fair." He gestured toward both of Paul's legs, heavily covered by the scouting gear. "I'm not the only one with above-average gear here."

It was silent for a minute, then two.

"Guess it isn't that important then." Confirmed Walt as he leaned against the wall, waiting for Chrysalis to come-to.

Through the Haze

As she reached the bottom of the mountain, Sylvia was unable to locate the other diplomat she had been guided towards. Most of the land surrounding the mountains was fairly open but she didn't see a thing.

"Hey you... Valkyrie, come here." Called a voice from one of the many boulders at the base of the ascent.

She walked over and found a man in a red shirt laying against the boulder, fiddling with a lighter while an unlit cigarette hung in his mouth. He tried getting the lighter to work time and again but got nothing but sparks each time. He eventually gave up and deposited the lighter back into his pocket.

"We can build pods that launch us from outer space but we can't make a single decent lighter for the life of us, what good is technology?"

He just stood there, staring at his cigarette like it had called him a bad name. After a few seconds, he turned to the Valkyrie again. "Hey, I asked you a question, when someone asks you something you answer." He spoke in a fairly bored tone, apparently only continuing his facade of grumpiness so as to not seem inconsistent.

"I guess technology is good because... we probably couldn't live without it?" She really didn't know a good way to explain just how useful technology was to someone who just left a spaceship. To her it was just... there, helping you all the time.

He fiddled with one of the small metal rectangles on his suspenders. After a small *click* noise, the small shape began to glow red. He held the tip of the cigarette to it until the tip erupted in a small burst of fire. Another small *click* signaled the device turning off. "When you say it like that, it makes me think that everyone couldn't even wash and feed themselves without a machine to do it." He took a very long draw on his cigarette before letting out a cough. "Work on your answer, now let's go, I want to go home and I'm pretty sure you agree with me."

She walked a little quicker than normal to reach him after he began walking away briskly. "What is our destination?" She asked. The 'ponies' as they had been named were settled in the opposite direction and the changelings were being handled by Walt from what she could tell.

Now that she got a look at him, he didn't really look like a diplomat, more like a bad gambler. His clothes were speckled with small gray rocks from where he had been laying and his hair went every which way, apparently having been left uncombed for quite some time. Surprisingly, he didn't smell like smoke. There was an odd scent scent coming from him, it was a smell that reminded her of a large hospital, the smell of faint medicine and polished metal. It was a scent that made her uncomfortable, it reminded her of her own time in the hospital shortly after becoming a Valkyrie.

A faint beeping filled the room, a constant reminder from the heart rate monitor telling her that she was, indeed, still alive. She couldn't move, every part of her body was firmly tied to the bed, not allowing so much as a twitch from the new sensitive muscles that encompassed her body. It felt disturbing, she was linked to an IV filling her with some oddly-colored fluid that she guessed was responsible for her just bearable level of pain not being worse. Despite the drugs, she could still feel a soft buzz of pain covering her body, it felt like she was a doll, torn open and filled with new stuffing, the muscles, bones, and organs inside her felt like they weren't attached, like they were just sitting atop one-another inside her.

The medicinal whiteness of the room, despite the small, lightly-colored posters dotting it's surface, made her feel trapped. It was like the ceiling was a heavy white cloth covering hers eyes along with the rest of her body, holding her tightly, like a cocoon she should have escaped from long ago but instead continued to grow and squeeze into.

Every so often, or maybe it wasn't so often, a doctor would enter, say something unintelligible, wait for a moment, then leave. She thought that they, she called all the doctors they since she could rarely differentiate between the male and female doctors, were perhaps asking her something and waiting for a response. She tried to make a few words while alone but only managed soft, low croaks. After her experiment, she felt sick, like the process of talking was disturbing something inside her, not quite in-kilter with the rest of her body yet.

She had been told that the procedure wasn't the hardest part of this process, that alone was almost enough to make her give up, not that she exactly could by this point. After the body was considered healthy enough, the patients were weened off of the painkillers and body restraints, almost like being left broken anew, this time to fend for yourself. Maybe she did give up, the doctors being the only thing keeping her alive in that room with no desire for life on her part. As with all the memories of the hospital, she could only barely remember the setting and a few events, how she actually felt or what she thought was just a haze.

She hated the hospital, she felt like the doctors around her were not doing anything to help her, not counting the IV. They left her to stew in her room, not so much waiting to see when she was healed as they were waiting for her to get up and leave so that they could use her room for a more worth-while patient.

She came back to reality as she realized they were no longer heading in the direction of the nearby village, instead venturing deeper into the forest. He apparently hadn't responded to her original question, instead continuing to walk though the greenery. "Aren't the natives in the other direction? Where are we going?"

He rummaged around in his pocket for a little while before handing her a small laminated card. On the card was a picture of a bipedal dog-like creature with two lumbering arms at it's sides. It had a small section of information on the species.

Species: 'Diamond Dog'

Behavior: Territorial, Pack-Mentality

Customs: Slavery, Banditry, Basic Metallurgy, Fixation with gems and their trading

Noticeable Habits: Often raid caravans for weapons and armor, as well as for basic resources. Enslave peaceful races to work in their mines used to harvest gems, purpose of gems unknown, likely cultural habit.

"What could we want from a species like this?" She asked, usually natives like this were ignored in negotiations, the fleet generally favored a more quick approach towards the most advanced races on a planet and that was about it.

"Believe it or not they do know how to listen to reason but due to their terrible state in resources, they are usually just driven out by better-equipped forces."

"Why isn't that on the card?"

"It's a small card, what do you want from me?" He responded as he blew three small circles of smoke. She realized as the rings dissipated that the medicinal odor got stronger afterwards. Whatever that stuff is, it definitely isn't just tobacco she thought as she waved one of the rings away that had landed a little too close to her face for her to consider an accident. It was overwhelming when sprayed in her face like that.

The Artemis had managed to reach a state of relative calm. Now that there was a concrete plan decided on, all that was left was relaying updates and keeping things under control.

Jeremiah felt good, really good, he felt like he could stand to go to a party if work wasn't waiting to pounce on him at any moment. He had managed to get out of the military portion of the ship for a little while and decided to head to a civilian cafe he liked. Of course, being the man he was, he wasn't left alone for very long.

"Ah, Jeremiah, just the man I was looking for." Announced the voice of Argrave, appearing apparently out of the ether behind Jeremiah's seat as he tended to.

Jeremiah was trying to not let his appearance spoil his relaxation time. Trying being the operative word.

"I don't have time for you Argrave, I accepted your plan, that doesn't make us friends. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some food coming and I would prefer if you didn't spoil my appetite."

Ignoring the greeting/dismissal, he seated himself across from Jeremiah at his table. "Be mature Jeremiah, I don't expect you to be my friend, just my ally."

"You're expecting a lot." He replied while taking a sip of his drink. "In all of my years, I don't think I've met a person more responsible for shortening my lifespan. Every time I see you it's some different form of nonsense guaranteed to send me to my desk a few nights later and my grave a few nights sooner."

"That's a rather harsh way to describe me isn't it? You act like I've never done anything for you. What about all those vehicles that the fleet happened to procure despite there being a manufacturing shortage? What about the hospitals always managing to scrape together just enough credits to fund their next research effort?"

"You provide resources, and for that I'm thankful, but I would suggest you stay out of political affairs. You keep up like you have and you'll be considered a weed soon, and people tend to deal with all weeds the same way."

"I'll consider your advice." He responded while resting against the chair back. "I just thought you'd like to know that we've already convinced the changelings to join us."

"Is that supposed to surprise me? I guessed that when I saw their leader getting a free ride from our soldiers, I highly doubted they would just kidnap her." He stated matter-of-factly as he took another drink, letting his eyes wander around the cafe, mostly empty save their table and a few single patrons. He wondered which of them was an informant, that being the only rational explanation for how he had been discovered so fast.

"Just thought you should know that you were correct then." He rose from his seat and patted out his suit again. "I should be going, lots of races to cozy up to."

Before he could go, Jeremiah spoke-up again. "Oh yes, Argrave?"

"Yes?" He asked as he turned around.

"Next time you want to talk, just remember, I don't want to." He stated with a trademark toothy smile.

Argrave left without saying a word, not looking very disturbed by the remark. Shortly after he left, a woman approached Jeremiah's table and took a seat next to him.

"I go to the bathroom for two minutes and you get in an argument." Scolded Angelica. "I swear, it's like you're both in middle school. I was almost tempted to shout 'and then they kissed!' just to break the tension."

He let out a laugh at her off-color joke, it was always nice to see her when she decided to finally let her hair down. "I'm sorry, let's just try to enjoy some time off. It isn't often that I get to talk with my daughter alone."

"- and then they expect me to go to a meeting every other day over some other guys problems, like I'm gonna fix it." The man had been complaining about anything that crossed his mind while they walked. So far, he had complained about smoking laws, the price of nice clothes, the food he got at work, his work, his coworkers, meetings, and the weather which was odd considering the ships didn't really have weather. No matter how many subjects he covered he always had a few more ready to mention before he could break his verbal onslaught.

"I could see why that would get tiring." She had been using the same four or five responses each time he finished a story, trying to tune-out as much of it as possible, instead focusing on her next location of footing. This forest was immense, you couldn't see very far in any direction due to the thickness of the tree cover and the fauna, while she was sure it would be great to an expert, was constantly making attempts to trip her. The only comment her 'friend' had made that wasn't a complaint came when they came upon a cluster of bright blue flowers.

"Don't touch those." He broke out of his story just long enough to express his warning.

"Why, are they poisonous?" She asked as she stared at the shining petals.

"Hallucinogenic." He elaborated before going into another story she didn't care about and which she thought he didn't care about either.

"I can hear them. They're about two-hundred more yards, dead ahead."

"Good hearing." He stated as he lit what must have been his fifteenth 'cigarette'. He now smelled like what she imagined breaking all the bottles in a pharmacist's back room would smell like.

"There's a good chance they'll smell you smoking." She mostly included the word 'chance' to be polite.

"Let 'em know. We aren't scouting, we're interacting."

She pulled him aside before he could continue walking. "What is wrong with you? It's not like the first ones we see are going to welcome us with open arms, the first ones that find us will probably be guards."

"That's why you're here, you get to act as a deterrent. Thank you, by the way."

"That is a stupid plan, what if they decide to rush you? Or throw a weapon at you? I don't think we've made suspenders that can stop spears."

He chuckled a little, causing his lit stick to fall out of his mouth. "You're funny." He shook out of her grip and continued forward, stopping to stamp-out his light. "Now let's go, better to get this over with."

Before they continued, Sylvia couldn't help looking back at the flowers once-more. They were a vibrant blue which evenly spread across the healthy petals, despite the oppressive darkness of the tree canopy.

Weening had started, that meant a new room. It was almost exactly like the old one but with the inclusion of a panic button and a thicker set of doors and windows. Everything came with pain: moving, blinking, thinking, shots of pain across the body. Despite the term 'weening', she was still on a low drip of painkillers, just a much more temperate kind than the last, she was pretty sure she had heard they used it for gunshot victims, whatever it was it was complete crap. She had regained speech, although it was still uncomfortable, and was generally lucid enough to understand what the doctors wanted from her.

She hadn't received any visitors during her stay, not that she was expecting much from any crew mates. It was later in the day, the dusk lights had already been switched on outside her room, and the hospital was relatively quiet, the exception being several others on the weening stage who hadn't been able to shut up and move at the same time yet. Despite the time, her door opened and in stepped a quite androgynous-looking woman in a military uniform. She wore a black uniform with a deep blue sash over her shoulder. Sylvia noticed that the woman had a scabbard on her hip, a part of the uniform due to the modern uselessness of the object, and she was carrying what appeared to be a large cloth of red in her hand.

She looked over Sylvia, stopping briefly on her face and again on her hands sitting still on the bed sheets. She developed a rather unpleasant look, one that wasn't friendly but not aggressive either, more challenging. "Sylvia Dezamm?" She asked.

"Yes?" She replied slightly hoarsely.

"My name is Eliza Luckenbach, I'm here to ask you a few questions." She had a slightly malicious glint in her eye as she said it. Her demeanor was fierce, it made Sylvia feel like a shy little girl despite that being quite the opposite.

Sylvia just nodded.

"How long have you been in the military prior to your hospitalization?"

"Three-and-a-half years."

"How have you dealt with the procedure?"

"Quieter than most I think but they keep us behind these doors to block sound so I only know when the doctors come."

"Indeed." She responded curtly. "During your stay, how many times have you pressed the assistance button?"

"Once when an intern forgot to deliver my meal."

While it wasn't an overly pleased look, Eliza did produce at least a small grin noticeable enough to tell her her answer was more than acceptable. It made her happy, although she had no idea why, to be considered commendable by a woman with an air of ridiculously high standards. "How did you feel for the first few months after the procedure?" She asked this question in a more leading manner, telling Sylvia it was alright to use a longer response.

"I felt trapped, like my room was drowning me. Everything looked foreign and I couldn't understand what was happening around me. The doctors seemed distant, unconnected to my actual well-being. I honestly thought more of my IV than them while I was in there. I realize that they are clearly skilled to do a procedure like mine but it seemed they completely severed ties after they were done."

After a few moments of silent contemplation Eliza laid the red cloth on the bed sheet. "You will wear this at all times when on duty and at all times when wearing your armor. Should you lose this cloth you will not receive another. You may use the material for whatever you see fit so long as it can be shown on short notice." She turned the cloth, revealing a small line of squares. The squares were numbered 7, 4, 7, 3, 2, and a blank space at the end. "You will write a one in the last box before wearing it, the rest of the numbers are random code assigned to your name."

"Understood."

"Until next time." Eliza gave a salute. Instead of breaking the salute, she continued, the glint once-more in her eyes, an additional test and, in Sylvia's mind, an important one if she wanted to be distinguishable from the whiners down the hall.

Struggling, Sylvia stretched her arm upward. It felt like her muscles were going to snap like wire at any second but she continued to raise her hand as it slowly creeped toward her forehead. By the time it was to her nose, droplets of sweat were already on her face. Finally, her hand rested against her head, forming a salute.

Eliza broke her salute and turned to the door, stopping at the doorway before exiting. "You will change the one to a zero." And with that, she exited, closing the door behind her.

Lucky Dog

"Hup!" Groaned Paul as he lifted Chrysalis above his body yet again so that he could navigate the cliff-face. Walt had quickly sped down the hill, much to his annoyance, and left him in the dust with the lifting.

As he continued to pull, lift, and maneuver, a rather bored Chrysalis began to talk above him. "Tell me, Paul, what do you think of your companion Walt?"

He wasn't sure why she was asking but he decided conversation might help distract him from her weight. "Well, he seems... good at his job." He had to separate his phrases as he descended. "He definitely keeps his eyes on the finish line."

Chrysalis hummed to herself for a second. "You dislike him, don't you?"

He quivered for a second before resuming his walk. "What? No, I wouldn't say that-"

"When I asked you about him you started giving off a large amount of negative emotions, much more than before anyway." She cut him off very matter-of-factly.

"Then... why ask?"

"I was just curious." She responded quickly.

"I dunno, seems kinda... like you're invading my privacy if you do that."

She was quiet a moment, lost in thought. "I'm sorry." She replied in a meek manner which Paul found slightly worrying.

"No need to take it personally, I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it."

"I don't get that much outsider interaction apart from my hive and the changelings, bless their multiple hearts, don't really know how to address authority with anything but strict attention. It's just the way I got used to having one-sided conversations with them."

"Well then I guess I can't blame you then, goodness knows I'd go insane if everyone starting talking to me like that. I'd probably order some decree saying that everyone had to relax around me. If I were you, I'd stop doing the whole 'sensing intent' thing if you want them to relax."

"I appreciate your honesty." She responded with a smile that he couldn't see.

"I don't have any reason to lie, what would that get me? The way I see it, that story of yours just told me that you're a lot tougher than most, like I said, that kind of living would drive me insane. Although I have to ask, why do you feel comfortable telling me?"

"I have been trying to... change myself since I landed in the forest. I realized that I was doing things that I couldn't easily make up for and... let's just say that you aren't the only one who would go insane if you had to live like that."

It was quiet for a while yet before either spoke again. "Well," spoke Paul, "I appreciate that you told me, that takes a lot of guts to admit something like that about yourself."

"Thank you, in return I don't think I'll tell Walt about your feelings just yet."

"Not sure how useful information he already knows is. Either way he's going to have a hissy-fit if we don't meet up with him soon."

"Oh how one-sided you are." She quipped at she tapped a hoof against his helmet.

"You want Walt's side, talk to Walt. You want conversation, you talk to me." To stop the rebuttal that he was certain was coming, Paul took a small leap from a rock, falling a few feet before landing.

"Don't do that!" Yelled an irritated Chrysalis, 'tapping' his helmet much harder this time.

Sylvia and the man in red, still nameless due to never actually introducing himself, exited the tree cover. Unsurprisingly, several guards with haphazardly strapped-on armor were waiting for them. Something that was surprising was the fact that they didn't seem particularly startled by their appearance. Wary, but not startled.

"Stop! What are you?" Yelled the smallest of the dogs, mostly hidden inside of his spotty armor.

The man, mostly hidden behind Sylvia after she had stepped in front of him, stepped forward with his hands in the air. "We're humans, we came from far away. We don't mean you any harm, we just want to talk."

"Talking is what ponies and pony lackies do!" Yipped the tiny guard again.

"Well we're talking, aren't we? You aren't a pony, and I'm a human, so no ponies here. If I'm not a pony, then you don't have any reason to not trust me right?"

Despite not being a very difficult concept to wrap you head around it was somehow still enough to throw the little dog off. "Wait, so... neither of us ponies... and not pony either... but human which is..." The guard actually had to take a seat and began rubbing his paws against his helmet, pausing after a few seconds as if reaching an answer before blowing a frustrated huff and trying again.

After rubbing himself for a few seconds without any apparent need to stop, a different guard came forward. this guard was much, much larger and had on a suit of armor that didn't look like it had been pried from five different sets. "Don't worry about Lucky, hit head once. My name is Bowser, sorry for Lucky."

"Well I didn't want to be rude and say anything." Responded the man, putting his hands down. Looking back at the frustrated little guard did reveal a rather nasty-looking indent in his helmet. It looked wider than a baseball and, judging from the bent metal, something with a lot more force than a baseball.

"We know you were coming, watched you with scouts to make sure you not dangerous. No weapons, so you not seem dangerous." He let the rather menacing spear he had been holding slide to the ground as a makeshift walking-stick, clearly showing his point.

"Clever." Nodded the man. "Are you the leader here?"

"No, Alpha is chief, Bowser is just guard."

"Well Bowser, are we allowed to meet with your chief or are outsiders not allowed?"

"No, you allowed, not dangerous. Supposed to take you to chief."

"Well then I guess we'll follow you Bowser."

"What names?" Asked their lumbering companion.

"My name is Dominic, my companion's name is Valkyrie." He shot a small look in Sylvia's direction, apparently hoping to find a response to his lie. Finding none, he gave a slightly disappointed frown before turning back to Bowser.

As they progressed through the village, more and more dogs could be seen moving about. Many regarded the duo with odd looks and whispers, whispers that could only be half deciphered by the translators. Although there was clearly a certain level of unease at their arrival, the villagers still seemed to be trying to avoid ogling their guests too much. Sylvia had to admit, they seemed a lot more considerate than that card she saw would have suggested. More and more homes could be seen covering a large expanse of cleared forest. Despite the large portion of land, most of the houses were built mostly or completely under the tree canopy growing on the edges of the town. It took Sylvia a few seconds to hazard a guess as to the reason for this design choice.

"Are your homes close to the trees so that you don't get seen from above?" She asked.

Bowser looked back at her with a close look, apparently matching her voice to her face after not getting a particularly good look before. "Yes, ponies like to think they own the forest, even though they never use it. Sometimes they look for dog camps after a dog attack, see a stray house sticking out of the canopy, and try to scare us away. No pony has been able to take Home Den though, always fail. They like to think that they scare us but they don't. Dogs raised being taught 'nothing taken from ponies ever worth it, you take their gems, they take your home, you take pony slave, pony takes your family.'" He growled lowly before finishing. "Ponies have no need to keep dogs though."

After they had traveled a few more yards, Dominic leaned over toward Bowser. "So uh, what happened with Lucky?"

Bowser wore a small frown at the question, not one of annoyance, more of a sad frown. "Kicked in the head by red pony, big, Bowser-sized. Not the same Lucky after."

"What was he like before?"

"Violent, stupid, liked to attack lone ponies without order to, same reason he ran into red pony, chief would never send him, at least not alone."

"What changed?" Dominic asked, not really seeing a difference between present Lucky and past Lucky.

"Became easier to make him stop, tell him to do small task and he takes all day, no trouble. Still, not by his choice. Lucky was stupid, but he was still Lucky, he always shared what he took after getting punished, pony had no right to change that." He gripped the spear a little more tightly as he walked now, apparently the story still had some effect on him.

"I'm sorry to hear that, that pony probably thought it hadn't hit him too hard if he left Lucky alive. At best he probably thought he had just knocked him unconscious."

"That was what chief said when people wanted to get back at pony, said we were acting like banished dogs."

"And what did you think?"

"Bowser knows that Chief is right. Still, hard to forget when have to see Lucky and all Lucky sees is a big dog, no Bowser anymore." His tone let-on that he and Lucky had been a little more than just neutral coworkers in the past, perhaps friends. They continued a little further before reaching a cave covered with a wooden wall. "Chief inside, fine to go in alone, have things to do."

Before he left, Dominic patted a hand to the dogs shoulder. "You're a good dog, Bowser, Lucky really is lucky if he has a friend like you."

"Bowser isn't Lucky's friend, Bowser is Lucky's brother. Know what you mean though." The hairy leviathan gave a small smile and wag before walking off, disappearing behind the first set of houses he came to pass.

Dominic turned to Sylvia. "Nothing more for us to do after this, let's get this done with and go back to the ship." He said it without any notes of sarcasm or boredom in his voice for once. "I don't want to stay on this planet right now." He reached for another cigarette and, finding that none were left, sighed heavily, as if that evenly summarized his mood right now.

"How are things coming with the two in the central country?"

"Well sir, it looks like the dogs have been very receptive so far and the changeling is getting very warm and cozy with Jeremiah's man, Walt was almost not needed."

"That's good to hear, try to see if we can work the kinks out of the dog language before the day is over, I want the translations sent to our men before any big movements."

"Yes sir, and the changelings?"

"Keep a second staff on hand for when she starts talking, I feel like she will try to stay native while with Walt's group but just in case I want whatever we can get decrypted in my hand."

"How much should we send to the council?"

"Everything for now but keep the languages held tight. Anything else?"

"Sir... if I may, what are the exact goals for this operation?"

"All great relationships start with trust, to keep gaining trust, you have to know how to use the trust you already have effectively. Think of it as infrastructure. That's our plan."

Black and White

Sylvia took hold of the large wooden door's handle and pulled. The thick door easily glided on it's hinges, not producing so much as a squeak. After the door was completely open, a large wall of darkness was all that could be seen. No matter where you looked the darkness was absolute. The walls were lined with a smooth black stone which completely failed to twinkle or reflect light in any way.

As they peered in, not a single noise was heard coming from the cave, at least not any normal noise. Sylvia could hear just the faintest pulsing noise coming from inside the cave. She focused on the noise as hard as she could. It sounded like wind, but more level, controlled. She realized that the noise was the sound of something breathing.

"I know you're hiding over there, I can't see you but I can hear you." She spoke directly toward one of the walls near the door. At once, two large white orbs appeared against the wall, moving momentarily before becoming locked on Sylvia. Slowly, a diamond dog with deep black fur pulled away from the wall.

The trick to sizing up members of an unknown species is that there isn't one, most of it has to be done on gut instinct. Regardless of instinct, several facts were unchanging about the diamond dog before them. Firstly, he was smaller than Bowser, the guard had at least a good six inches on him. Second, he had without a doubt been hiding from them.

As he pulled himself away from the wall, a small parallel pattern of white fur was revealed on his chest, making him much easier to see. Two lines of white descended from around his stomach and sloped upward, connecting right below his chin. He didn't have any armor or even a weapon excluding several sets of claws which occasionally glinted between his hairs. Unlike most of the other dogs, this one had let his hair grow long on both his arms and body. The rest of his body was gradually cut shorter and shorter until his legs were of the same short length like Bowser and Lucky had.

It's so that the hair stays out of the way when he walks on his back legs, but then why let it grow out at all? Thought Sylvia, examining the dog as much as it was examining her. He hadn't bared fangs or done anything else aggressive so she didn't react when he started coming closer.

The dog leaned down and examined Sylvia. He looked around her body, examining every part of her armor before finally retreating back into the darkness. After a moment, the light of a torch appeared further in the cave. The dog, torch in hand, walked to the wall and held the torch to a small indent in the wall. One by one, more lights appeared until the cave was fully lit.

"Come in." Spoke the dog in a clear voice with just a hint of an accent.

They advanced slowly, coming to a stop in front of the large chair in which the dog was seated. The seat was made of the same hard to see material as the rest of the cave, making the chief appear as if he was seated in the air.

"What may we call you?" Asked Dominic, standing in front of the throne.

"Chief." Responded the chief, looking them over still.

"I am Dominic, she is Valkyrie. We are humans."

"What do you want from my dogs?" He asked, paws resting against his knees.

"You speak differently than your citizens." Observed Dominic.

"I am the chief, I must excel or else I will be replaced by someone better. Why are you here?" He was stating the law of the land with a fierce confidence, making the bragging statement sound almost mundane.

"My people wish to extend friendship to yours." Spoke Dominic, head not turning away from the chief, giving him full attention.

The chief was silent. "What am I supposed to do with friendship? Of your race I have seen two, a male to talk and a female meant to protect him." He cast a disapproving eye on the both of them as he talked. "If you ask me, that isn't quite enough to make a declaration of friendship out of."

"Please don't turn us away that simply, we only want to help your people, and you could use allies." They stared at each other, neither moving an each.

"I stand by what I said, if you really think that you are suitable representations of your people then by all means, prove it." He seemed to be treating their extension of friendship as a game, one meant to distract himself but by no means one he would actually take any results from seriously.

"You're people have shown much kindness to us since we got here, I refuse to believe that they are like that not due to you being their ruler. We heard stories of you, stories where you defended the name of your own enemies so that they wouldn't earn blame they didn't deserve, even after what they have done to your people. You don't blame the whole race for their past actions. I know rulers like that are few and far between, and I would have to be insane to let a chance of friendship with one of those rulers slip away from me."

The chief had a look of concentration on his face. "Who did you talk to?"

"Your guard Bowser, and his brother Lucky."

"Tell me what you think of Bowser." The chief said simply.

"I can tell that he hates the ponies, no matter what, I think he still wants to get revenge for his brother, but he won't. He has too much respect for you to do something like that. You could lock Bowser in a cage with a pony and he would eat his own arm off before hurting them, that is how much he wants to remain here."

"How long did you talk to him?" The chief continued to pose questions in a very leading manner.

"Around five minutes."

The chief nodded his head. "How could you tell?"

"The way he looked at everything. Everywhere he looked, even when he was talking about his brother, everything he saw seemed to be able to pull him out of it."

The chief sat there, now actually reclined in his chair. "You speak well enough." He gestured toward Sylvia. "How do your people fare against their enemies?"

Dominic let a smile come to his face. "Our people live peacefully but we do not stand down when an enemy comes. In many ways we are like you. One home, defended until the end."

"Do your people have ceremonies to commemorate friendships?" He asked.

"We believe it is generally more polite to experience the customs of those we wish to understand first. We humans are quite adaptable, but occasionally our customs have to be edited slightly so as to not seem distasteful to some."

"Living amongst both herbivores and carnivores, I can understand that."

"Does this mean you reconsider?"

"Oh no, not in a thousand years." The chief waved a dismissive paw. "Unfortunately, I do not have final say, or else you would already be gone from here."

"Aren't you the chief? No dog out-ranks you right?"

The chief stood, pawing the ground slightly. "Correct, but there is one who rules alongside me." He pushed against a wall and walked straight through.

Both humans present followed him, making sure to not trip in the dark cave. Dominic reached his hand out and felt where the chief had disappeared.

"It's cloth, he put black cloth against the stone out of the torch's light, clever dog."

They both entered and found the chief waiting for them. He gestured for them to follow and they proceeded deeper into the cave.

"He is responsible for our people's survival. Without him, we would have failed long ago."

Sylvia and Dominic both remained silent as they followed.

Eventually the small path in the rock opened up, revealing a huge, dome-like structure inside the cave. The ceiling was curved and faint traces of sunlight could be seen peeking in through the top.

"They are here!" Yelled the chief before backing away from the center of the room.

They could both hear a loud clicking noise coming from further within the chamber. Eventually, a large, pale, scaly head broke the surface of darkness and continued forward until a full-sized dragon laid before them. He was covered in a thick layer of pearly scales and had large, green eyes which stared at them intently. His back had a long line of spikes sticking out of them and ended with a long, pointed tail. On his back two large scars broke the otherwise beautiful layer of scales.

"Greetings Dominic, Valkyrie." Spoke the creature.

"If I may ask, what are you? You're magnificent." Stated Dominic, eyes open wide looking at the immense creature.

"My kind are called dragons. I am... you may call me Reh, I am afraid my other name would come out quite incomprehensible. I do thank you for your compliment." The dragon's eyes closed as he laughed deeply to himself.

"You heard our names from here?"

"This cave has many wonders, one of which is that all sound made in them eventually find their way here. The same can not usually be said for the opposite."

The chief stepped forward, injecting himself into the discussion. "Reh has saved more of my dogs with his power than any warrior could hope to match, he is considered our greatest hero."

"I am no hero," argued Reh, "heroes do not leave forests in flames, nor do they take the lives of guards doing what they think is right."

"No, but heroes do risk themselves to save innocents."

The dragon gave another laugh. "I am sorry if you had the misfortune of arguing with this dog my dear humans, he is as stubborn as they come and his opinion is quite like a mountain."

"Reh," spoke the chief, "they say that they want friendship, do they seem trustworthy?"

"Hmm." Reh pondered a moment. He ran his eyes across Dominic, then Sylvia, each getting the same amount of scrutiny. "Trustworthiness... I would say no, but at the same time they hold no ill will toward your people. They are an odd combination, but they will not betray you should you side with them. Should you not, well they will most likely not do anything directly but I'm afraid the future would not be bright for the diamond dogs. Let us just say that what they have would be better suited in your paws than that of the other races."

"Thank you for your council." He turned back toward Dominic and Sylvia. "I agree to declare public declarations of friendship with your people, I will sign whatever you want to prove it."

"You're just going to trust us, after everything he just said?" Asked Dominic, quite confused. "He made us sound down-right evil right there!"

"Reh only sees fractions of multiple scenarios, what you do in one is of no consequence to the others."

"Well I... that makes a kind of sense I guess."

"The document?" Asked the chief.

"Oh, right! Just give me a moment."

As Dominic digged around in his pockets looking for the right piece of paper, Sylvia could feel something prod her. She nearly had a heart-attack when she found Reh's head behind her.

"You seem like you want to say something, or maybe do something, what is it?"

She felt a little embarrassed that a giant creature had noticed. "It was nothing, I just kind of wondered what dragons are like."

Reh breathed a small spiral of smoke out of his nostrils. "Dragons are old, we can live forever should we never fall victim to outside misfortune. Despite what you may think, few dragons are like me. My race is greedy, our avarice unmatched by any other. When a dragon sees treasure, he must use all his might to avoid taking it and hiding it away. Well, I say must, but it is a rare occasion to see a dragon that even hesitates before taking it. My race you see, we eat the gems that these mountains provide, they give us our strength and without them, we grow weak and small, more dependent dragons can even suffer a quick death when restricted from their gems."

"Why aren't you like that?"

"You may have noticed that this room has no dragon-sized exits. I was left here, abandoned due to my older ways. I knew my chances of escape were low, so I rationed the small veins of gems that originally grew here, but eventually even those ran out. I grew weak, my body became pale and I slept. I slept long, so very long. One day, I was awoken by the sounds of digging. These diamond dogs, although then they were being called digger dogs, they have had many names, had drilled into my prison while trying to find a new place to live. They saw me weak and unable to fight and instead of killing me like I expected, brought me gems. A myriad of gems of every color, style, and size. I asked why they gave me such a bounty and you know what they told me?"

"What?" Sylvia was engrossed in the story, it was like a fairy-tale, but real.

"They asked me if they could use my cave as a base for their new tunnel homes!" He began laughing, drawing Dominic's attention briefly before being pulled back into discussion by the chief. "In all my life, I had never expected that they would think of such a plan, a dragon, in the annex of their homes! I of course asked them why they wanted to live in the mountain, and they said that they had to, or else they would be hunted in the forest. In return for their generosity, I told them I would defend their village if they would restore my strength, to which they accepted. Over the next few weeks, countless dogs came in and made large cuts into the walls, allowing me to climb to freedom. Do you know what I found though?"

"What?"

"The sun's rays hurt my eyes, I couldn't go above without the blinding light rendering me an invalid, I was all but useless. Dragons, you see, have complex physiology, we change rapidly depending on our environment. This is why you see all kinds of swamp, desert, or arctic dragons. Over my incubation, I had developed all I needed for a life in a cave, slow metabolism, night vision, all the skills needed, but I had lost all my previous abilities used in the sky and lands above. I felt wretched, I had promised these dogs hope, and in return they get a protector who can be defeated by the sun."

He leaned his head forward, whispering to Sylvia. "But then the chief of the dogs had an idea. He came to my cave, as he had many times before, and proposed a new method. He tied a banner around my eyes and sat on my back. You should have seen our first attempt, broken columns and smashed rocks everywhere, I'm sure it must have looked hilarious. Over the next weeks however, we learned the correct timing and motions. From that day forward, it became one of the great dog legends, chief Chester, rider of Reh. Every chief since then has been required to learn how to successfully coordinate with me should he wish to lead."

"So does that mean the chief-"

"Indeed." He pointed a clawed finger at the chief. "Little pup, hardly the strongest, but smart, clever. He came here the most, often volunteering to bring me my food himself. Over time, we grew to understand one-another, as I had done with many dogs in the past, and eventually he asked me to let him train to ride. Despite his high intelligence, he had little talent, often becoming frustrated and cursing to the skies whenever he would fall off and need assistance. Now, he has earned the name Alpha, chief."

"Would you mind if I came back with a pencil and paper? I'm just thinking of writing this down so I can become sickeningly wealthy."

Reh laughed again. "It is nice to know that you don't let the little sad facts cling to you, people find comfort in that kind of person." He hummed to himself, occasionally letting a small plume of flame escape his lips, it appeared he had the giggles. "I'm, I'm sorry, just..." He began laughing again.

"What is it Reh?" Asked the chief.

"You were so bad!" He yelled before laughing loudly.

The chief looked furious. "Shut up! I learned just like the others had learned, and that was over a dozen years ago, just let it go!"

Reh was still laughing. "But... but... so awful and now you, you act all tough and-" He couldn't complete his statement before laughing again.

The chief grabbed Dominic and Sylvia by the arms before leading them out. "Let's go, there's no helping him when he gets like this."

"Come on Alf," Moaned the elder dragon through a small layer of mirthful tears, "you're being a stick in the mud again, I was having a lovely conversation with that girl."

"Not if you are going to berate me while I try to negotiate with them!"

"Okay, okay... I'm okay now, I'm sorry." The dragon held a fist up to his mouth, coughing and releasing a cloud of smoke.

The chief just kind of made some disapproving groan and turned to Dominic again. "Where were we?"

Sylvia had to suppress a grin when she saw Reh seated by her again. Her smile eventually won-out when he stared at her with a completely serious expression.

"Okay, that was really funny." She admitted through a small laugh.

"You need the little things sometimes when everyone gets too serious."

Sylvia had another request, but felt that it might be awkward. "Um, would you mind if I touched your scales?"

"Oh my, I don't mind, go right ahead."

She touched her hand to the scales. They were smooth and strong, the spots where one scale went to the next was completely untraceable to touch, they were clearly there, it's just that they were so close-pressed she couldn't tell. They felt cool, and slightly slick. They weren't slimy, it was just a faint feeling of dampness, the kind you can feel when waking up while camping and finding that a fog had moved in during the night. To her surprise, Reh started moving, adjusting his body. He was basically slithering under her hand, a very odd feeling as she felt the scales move along her hand. He suddenly stopped, and she had to look down to see why.

Her hand was inches away from one of the large scars across his back.

"Do they hurt to touch?" She asked.

Reh twisted his body around so that he could face her and stay in his current position. "No, the skin healed a long time ago. Do you want to know about them?"

"I'm guessing this story won't be as fun."

"You would be correct."

"Well I'd like to know anyway, if that's okay."

"Of course it is, like I said, we have to learn to accept the small things and move on. Where to begin..." He tapped a claw to his face. "It was... I believe it was around sixty-seven years, nine months, and fourteen days ago. The cave was dark and depressing, the dogs brought me some gems, I accidentally looked up once and got a headache, you know, standard day. Anyway, I hear this great rumbling and a dog runs in to inform me that another dragon had inadvertently caused a rock-slide. I tried to climb to the ceiling to protect the village but the rocks had already reached my escape hole. I couldn't fit through so I started trying to force the rocks out. I got a little headway but soon more rocks replaced them. I decided that if I didn't get out there right then that all the village would be lost before they could evacuate. I struggled to get through the hole and was most of the way through when this colossal boulder comes completely out of nowhere and pins my right wing. Now, I thought that was that, but I couldn't have been more wrong. You see, the boulder below my wing started to shift downward at the same time the boulder above did. Dragon scales are tough, but they aren't meant to be pulled, I felt my whole right side starting to tear, those rocks would have taken the rest of my skin before those scales snapped off so I did the only thing I could think of, I cut the wing off with my claws."

Sylvia winced at the story. "How could you handle that?"

"I told you how I had adapted to cave life, my wings had atrophied, to the point of uselessness anyway so it was no real loss, most of the nerves had died a long time ago."

"What about the other wing?"

"I asked the diamond dogs to help me remove it, they were small, but they were ballasts and I couldn't walk correctly with only one wing anymore."

"I couldn't handle that, I think I would just sit down and never walk."

"Something tells me you've already endured something far worse than anything I have dear." He gave her a knowing eye. "It isn't only the future you know, the past is a lot more concrete. You my girl, are stronger than any dragon I could name." He gave her a small nudge on the shoulder. "Go back to your companion, it looks like they are nearly finished."

"Thank you Reh." She said with a smile.

"Why, for what? Last I saw I was drowning a poor girl in history lessons." He looked around wildly in confusion. "Oh my, I do think the girl has lost her marbles completely this time!"

They shared a laugh at that.

Stay

The chief guided them back through the black passages of the caverns. The path was much more complex than it seemed on the way in, each diverging path they came to was always connected to at least two others. The chief would immediately duck into one of the many passages, leaving them to follow behind.

"You could separate so easily in here," commented Sylvia.

"If you separate, you're as good as dead." Responded the chief. "These are mostly mining tunnels, most of the abandoned passages are hazardous in the dark. Old scaffolding and other debris just waiting to collapse."

"Does that happen very often?" Inquired Dominic.

"Not many of my people venture in these caves since they are already void of gems. Unfortunately, accidents happen. The most recent fatality was a few years ago, Reh's feeder at the time didn't return. We found him a short while later, he had lost consciousness at the bottom of a shaft, he tried to climb out but there wasn't enough air for him to make it. There was nothing we could do."

"That's horrible, have you tried sealing parts of the cave?" Asked Sylvia.

"We have neither the tools nor the time. Between developing and maintaining mines, organizing the pack, helping Reh and a myriad of other things, extra resources are scarce. I have sealed several of the tunnels, but as you would expect of the cave our ancestors planned to live in, there are many more."

"So do you use the gems exclusively for Reh or do they serve another purpose?" Inserted Dominic.

"We trade away the extra when we can for what we can get." Huffed the chief in response.

"With who?"

"The griffons."

"Do your races get along well?"

"It varies every time they get a new leader. Their current king has no qualms with trading with us, so we are currently neutral."

"Have you ever gotten lost?"

"Just once."

"How did you get out?"

"I was lucky." The chief pulled back the black cloth, revealing the entrance to the throne room, to anyone else it would have just looked like more wall and been swiftly ignored. "I fell down a similar shaft but I was lucky that there was still an air flow leading to it. Without that, I would have had just as much chance as anyone else." He returned to his chair, paws once-more resting on his knees.

"We can see ourselves out." Dominic accented his statement with a half bow.

"Don't rush yourself on my part, as long as it doesn't cause trouble I could care less what you do."

True to his word he didn't see them out, instead remaining in his chair as they exited the cave, sealing the thick door behind them.

"That was an experience." Sylvia commented.

"Guess it was."

"Not the friendliest."

"He didn't object to us staying, so he doesn't think we're important enough to care about."

"I guess we head back now?"

"Yep." Agreed Dominic before turning and walking toward the village.

"What's the rush?" Asked Sylvia as she caught up.

"I want to at least see Bowser again, so far he's the only civilian we really know, we need him to like us."

It didn't take long for them to locate Bowser, the behemoth was carrying several large baskets when they approached him.

"How it go?" He asked, skipping any greeting.

"I think your chief tolerates us." Dominic deadpanned.

Bowser grinned. "Good." He set the baskets down, sitting on one of the more full-looking ones. "Chief now not the best at talking, but definitely best at leading."

"Do most of the dogs like him?" Asked Dominic with a raised eyebrow.

"Most." Bowser's demeanor had changed slightly as he answered. They saw the gears turning in the dog's head, deciding if he should say more. "Some... say chief is coward... say he ignores ponies so he doesn't have to fight."

"Do you think they have a point?"

Bowser reached into the basket he was sitting on, drawing out a small knife, apparently one of many that filled the basket. "Not sure, Bowser just knows that too many dogs have been killed by dogs called 'brave' before."

Bowser continued to sit, his mouth shut tight. After a few seconds, Dominic spoke up. "We don't want to cause any trouble by running our mouths, we'll be on our way."

As they turned toward the forest, they could hear Bowser mumbling to himself. "What good about being brave anyway? Lucky was brave, what happens when pony brave too?" He finished the statement in a rumbling growl.

The chief walked into Reh's cavern, the owner appearing at his side in a few seconds. "I heard those stories you told the female." He didn't say anything more, he didn't need to.

"There was no benefit to telling her the truth." Reh said it plainly, betraying no hint of guilt.

"Do you mind explaining how? I'm afraid I can't follow your master plan."

Reh let an annoyed puff of smoke escape his nostrils. "They could be an early route to the ponies, no dogs would have to die. All we have to do is let them use us for a time."

"Don't try that with me, answer the question."

Reh let his face adopt an annoyed expression. "Maybe because I've grown tired of that damn story and I wouldn't mind letting it be changed."

"It's a sad sight to see the defender of a race seeking shelter behind words." The chief left the cavern, leaving only his parting word.

"You did all you could, we'll see what happens. Meet with Walt at the expected spot."

"Yes sir..." Dominic's static voiced trailed as he answered.

"I'll tell her you're doing well, if it would help."

"Don't you dare." Dominic disconnected from the call before any response could be made.

Argrave pursed his lips, thinking to himself before pushing the call button on his desk.

"Yes sir?" The voice of his secretary came almost immediately.

"Connect me to Mister Robin, please."

"Right away."

A figure appeared on the screen opposite Argrave's desk. "Yes sir?" It spoke in a soft, slightly high voice.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Of course not sir, just getting ready to go out is all."

"I need you to head down for me."

"It would be my pleasure. I didn't expect to be needed, honestly."

"Yes well things are progressing a little slow for my tastes."

"Who will I get?" The figure asked with a less-than-honest curiosity.

"The griffons, knowing you I'm guessing you already read about them in the files."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Make them know we're a good choice, just don't kill anyone."

"Well then, I guess I'm already wearing the right suit."

Argrave let the call disconnect, Argrave didn't know what he meant by that statement and didn't want to continue the conversation long enough to find out.

Other Side

Paul and Walt continued to trudge through the thick forest, the former still stuck on Chrysalis duty. They had made fairly good time toward their goal, a location that they weren't fully sure of but which Chrysalis assured them they were nearing. Sometimes they were instructed to follow trails, sometimes to diverge from them. Either way, the continuous walking had taken them far outside of the scouted portion of the forest, forcing them to rely on Chrysalis completely if they hoped to get anywhere.

"We're close." Intoned Chrysalis, speaking for the first time in quite a while. She hadn't said anything for nearly half-an-hour since she had told them to keep going forward.

"To what exactly?" Inquired Walt. Unconcerned with appearance, Walt had removed his jacket, tying it under his suit with the excess fabric tucked into the back of his pants. To his credit, his refusal to remove the equally dark suit made it impossible to recognize the otherwise uncouth fashion statement.

"A changeling nest. Not a hive, just a small location that my people use when things are... complicated."

"Like a safe house?" Asked Paul.

"Well yes but I was hoping for a better comparison." Responded Chrysalis with a small added puff to show slight exasperation.

"Ah, gotcha."

"So where is it?" Walt hadn't objected to any banter prior but it was different when they had finally reached where they needed to be, especially after walking for what felt to be a generous portion of the day.

"It's not open to outsiders, I can call whatever changelings are there from here."

"How will they know you're here?"

"I've been releasing hormones for quite some time, leaving a trail through the forest. With the wind today, it should spread over quite a large area. All that my children need to do is reach our original trail and they can follow it straight to us."

"Why didn't you just tell us that was what you wanted to do?" questioned Paul.

"Would you really want someone to tell you that they're going to be using their scent glands to their greatest extent while you hold them the entire time?" She posed the question with an incredibly triumphant look on her face.

"Point taken." responded Paul as he quickly but carefully laid her on the ground. "I'm not going to get looks from them, am I?"

Chrysalis laughed at the honest worry evident in the question. "Maybe a few, I could always try overlapping the scent with pheromones, if that would work better."

The gap between Paul and Chrysalis widened, causing another laugh from the Changeling. "Not exactly pursuing a dream of unreserved romantic conquest, I take it?"

"I don't think that's for me."

"Well, either way, I don't think you'll need to be worried about changelings in your future." She thought to herself a moment before continuing. "I don't want to seem derogatory but... your kind... smell unpleasant."

"We smell, really?" Although static-laced, Paul's voice coming out of the mask was clearly amused.

Walt, finding a log to lay his jacket on before seating himself atop it, just sighed.

Nearly an hour had passed before they heard the first shifting in the foliage. "Come out, they are helping me." spoke Chrysalis in a clear, loud voice. Tentatively, several changelings of various sizes emerged from the brush, looking warily at the two humans present before approaching Chrysalis.

"Our queen." Spoke the changeling in the center before kneeling.

"Queen." echoed the three changelings behind him, kneeling as they spoke.

"Are you all there is? Where are the others?" asked Chrysalis. There was the unmistakable trace of worry hidden in her otherwise strong demeanor.

"My queen, the forest past here is untamed, there are many changelings there, but many are unable to fly and must move slowly to stay safe. We were lucky to be near the nest when we... landed. Most of the able-bodied are defending the... others. They will come, my queen, but they will be slow."

Chrysalis let the information stir a moment before reaching a decision. "I see... Then we will wait, once there are no more changelings coming, we leave."

"Mother, you show unlimited generosity to allow damaged changelings such as ourselves to walk alongside you."

Chrysalis showed little response to the honors bestowed on her. "Can any of you fly?"

Two changelings of the group extended their wings slowly, the thin membrane shining slightly against the dark backdrop of the forest. "We apologize to our queen, begging her for forgiveness, only two of us are able."

Once-more Chrysalis stayed silent as she thought. "The less damaged of you two will fly into the forest, look for whichever changelings are releasing the least fear, they will be the ones who are guaranteed to not be near anything dangerous. When you find them, bring them here. If they can fly, they will continue to gather more changelings. The more damaged one of you two will stay here and patrol this area from the sky."

"Our queen is fair." hummed the leader of the group. After briefly inspecting one-another, the two changelings with working wings decided on roles and took-off into the sky. The remaining group took places around the camp, all of them much closer to Chrysalis than to either Paul or Walt.

It wasn't long before more changelings began to appear, appearing just as often in groups as they did alone. Upon their appearance they were quickly ushered into the growing group of changelings before becoming completely indistinguishable from the others. Occasionally a changeling would fly away after reaching the camp, joining the group in the sky.

Some of the changelings watched the humans with suspicious eyes. More than one seemed ready to ask about the tag-along humans but, willing or not, none did.

The swarm continued to grow, spreading out further and further into the rather small clearing they had claimed as their camp. Paul was glad he had found a tree to sit against near the edge of the camp, it kept a favorable distance between him and the changelings. He would have liked to have tried talking to one of the changelings, but they were so tightly knit together that he felt his presence would go unappreciated. He did smile a little when he noticed Walt's log was becoming overrun with changelings as their numbers increased. After letting himself get bumped several times, Walt rose and marched across the camp before sitting himself against a tree adjacent to Paul's.

Neither of the men said anything to each other for quite some time, each idly watching as the occasional changeling appeared. It wasn't particularly exhilarating, but it was that or looking at shrubbery, something they had both had their fill of. At a glance it looked as if their plan had succeeded quite well, there were certainly a lot of changelings. Closer inspection, however, showed that there were likely no more than fifty or sixty changelings total, hardly a number close to the original force they had heard Chrysalis mention. Even with the addition of the changeling flying above and deeper in the forest, they couldn't have numbered over one-hundred.

"Must be hard." Walt spoke suddenly, not even turning toward Paul. He seemed to be typing into a small device he had fished out of his suit. "The missing ones, I mean." He said it more as a thought, not so much as a conversation topic.

When Paul turned to look at Walt, he saw him removing a small clear tube from his ear, Walt apparently felt that translators were not appropriate for this conversation. Paul took the hint and switched his off as well. "Yeah." he said dumbly. He didn't know what else to say, what else was there to say? "Has to be horrible. The waiting, I mean."

"Probably," Walt placed his hands behind his head, "she's probably been expecting this since before you found her though."

"That doesn't make it easier."

"Of course it doesn't," he wriggled himself into a better position against his tree, apparently he had abandoned the plan of keeping his clothes spotless and was content to just keep them better than ruined, "but she should at least be able to keep herself together until we're done here."

"I don't think you can fake in front of a species that can tell what you're feeling."

"Oh please," Walt scoffed "from what I heard they had been ignoring her feelings for years. They let her invade a vastly superior country for God's sake."

Paul leaned forward from his tree, staring at his companion. "Is that how you actually feel about all this? She was a fool for trying?"

Walt just kept looking forward. Like in the cave, he seemed to be picking his words in advance with extreme care. When he spoke, it came out calm. "I'm sorry, that was cruel. I didn't think about what I was saying." He slid the tube back into his ear before closing his eyes, rotating himself away from Paul so as to use his jacket as a pillow. Walt made it very clear that he wasn't interested in holding a conversation any longer. Paul couldn't help but feel distinctly scorned at that moment. The way that Walt had said his apology had been oddly cold, even for him.

Paul found his attention brought back to Chrysalis. Sitting amongst her people she was stoic, regal. Even while sitting on legs that he knew couldn't actually support her, she managed to maintain her pride. He found that proud look eerily similar to Walt's, and the thought disturbed him. It looked almost challenging, like they had just demanded something and were waiting to receive it.

Time passed slowly in the camp, the night had come and gone with the number of new changelings decreasing every hour. By the time the sun had risen there had only been one changeling in almost four hours.

Chrysalis raised her head above the other changelings. "Paul, come here."

He complied, maneuvering through the changelings, popping joints until he reached her. "Yeah?" He got some looks after he said it. Of course casual speech isn't appropriate, you idiot. Chrysalis herself didn't look offended, but it did little to help.

"It's time to go, if you know what I mean." She gave a quick glance down toward her legs.

"Ah, okay. Just give me a second... my lady."

"Paul, are you alright?" Intoned Chrysalis as he heaved her into his arms. "You seem to be unusually fidgety." Of course she would notice his hands were unsteady in his position but he really wished she would keep it to herself.

"Just-" For the love of god man, do not tell her you're nervous around her people. "kind of cold by where I slept, hands got pretty cold and haven't warmed up yet."

Chrysalis eyed him oddly but let it go. He really hoped that she hadn't just read his feelings. Either way, he doubted she would have addressed the issue if she had, especially after he had bugged her about it. He had started to call-out for Walt but saw him looking over from their individual trees, mindlessly beating the collected dirt off his jacket. He wasn't looking at Paul, though, his gaze was clearly fixed on Chrysalis. Paul had noticed that particular quirk quite some time ago, Walt seemed to have a need to be able to see Chrysalis at all times from his current location. At first he had waved it off as part of his job but Paul felt that even a job did not require quite this much attention.

"Are you feeling well this morning?" asked Walt as they approached.

"Yes, I believe the sleep has done me some good." responded Chrysalis.

They are all smiles this morning, thought Paul, though I'm not sure what it is each of them have to smile about.

"I hope you are ready for quite a full day, because I'm going to promise you one."

"Where are we going now?" asked Paul.

"We're leaving the forest. If we haven't gone too much further than I think we have then we should reach the edge by nightfall today."

"What are we going to be doing outside the forest?" asked Chrysalis.

Walt lowered his stance so he could look Chrysalis in the eye. "I'm going to get you a kingdom."