July 17, 2301
I couldn't sleep a wink last night. The raids made sure of that. But, on the bright side, I am still here enough to write this! Or, at least, I think that is a bright side. Wouldn't really know though, seeing how there is not much left in this world that is still bright. One thing I hate about those raids are the sirens. Like it's their way of saying, “We are coming and we don't care who knows!” Then again, why would they? After the Battle of Bermuda in '98, they have been mostly unopposed. Poor rebel bastards didn't even see what hit them. And with them out of the way... Let's just say it has been a long few years. But you can't keep this ol' dog down! Speaking of which, I think I'm gonna take Shadow Jumper up today after I work on him a bit. It's been too long, but activity in this area has been too high lately to do so. But they tend to back off for few days after a raid. Here's to hoping, cause I don't think I can handle another day without seeing it.
As always, signing out,
Jason “Cloud Walker” Jones
Ex Favilla nos Oriuntur
As Jason closed his journal and put it back in the floor safe, he couldn't help but look at the old photo album tucked neatly away in there. Within it, the only memories of his family. And the one most important picture on the back page. The last time he saw them. Steeling his nerves, he closed the safe and stood up. After stretching some and scratching his stomach, he headed for the front door of the house he had taken refuge in the last several years.
Once outside, he stopped to look around. The brown grass at his feet crunched under every movement. The two sickly trees, remnants of an old apple orchard, still drooped just as low. Their few brown leaves rustled in the wind, a few of them fluttering down to join the grass in death. A couple of apples still grew on each tree, though not quite what Jason would call edible. He looked further off, towards a small camp several miles off. Or, what's left of it. “Huh, must have been hit by the raid,” he said to no one in particular as he watched the column of smoke drift up to meet the sky.
The sky. The once beautiful blue dome that covered the land was now a dark, angry expanse of pollution and ash, among other poisons killing this planet. The giant, flaming orb that once dominated the sky was now hidden away, leaving the clouds to shroud the land in their darkness. But no one could really blame the clouds for doing such. It wasn't their fault they are as they are. No, that blame rests solely on the people of this world. We made it this way with our actions. Even when we were warned, no one would listen. So now we die as does our world. An eye for an eye as the saying goes.
Looking back down, Jason focused on his destination. The old, white, moldy barn about a hundred yards or so from the house. As he walked towards the barn, he ran through his mental checklist. “Okay, so I need to check fluid levels, fill up the tank, make sure the Big Button is still functional, check the gauges, the alarms, the targeting AI, run a full system diagnostic check on it and the computer. What else, what else? I know I'm forgetting something.” Jason racked his brain for a few moments, trying to figure out what it was. “Never mind. I guess I'll figure it out when I get to- WAIT! I got it! I need to check the landers. I probably won't need them, but if I finally find one, I won't miss out on the chance.”
As he neared the all but dilapidated barn, he slowed to avoid setting it off again. Jason remembered what happened last time, and he didn't feel like spending two more days patching up another hole. He pulled up next to the barn and slowly opened the door, wincing at the creak it produced. A light whirring noise started up from within and was joined by a mechanical voice. “Come forward five steps then halt for identification. Failure to comply will result in immediate termination.”
Jason proceeded as instructed, coming to a stop just inside the door, facing the owner of the voice. “Identification: Charley-Whiskey-80902. How's it going Shadow Jumper? Ready for your check-up?” The lights above and below the voice clicked on, revealing a rather ominous looking fighter jet. It was painted a sleek black with a single dark, crimson line trailing along either side, just below the cockpit and above the wing. Two lights rested on the front, that emitted a hellish red glow that could send even the bravest men scampering for their lives when the jet itself is cloaked in the shadows. On the front is a dual barrel chain gun capable of firing two thousand rounds a minute. Either wing is capable of holding two missiles, which are conveniently difficult to acquire, and each has an auto-charge, long range flamethrower capable of spitting out flames up to three hundred yards. They have an internal reaction that is charged by electrons pulled from the air. It then pulls apart the atoms, and smashes them into others in a way that causes a chain combustion reaction that can extend in a highly accurate burst of flames before dying off at a distance. How the scientists that created this found a way to not burn up the entire atmosphere around the jet remains a mystery to Jason.
On the belly of the jet is a swivel mounted atmospheric charger. That puppy can send forth a bolt of lighting which rivals that of the sky. This, just like the flamethrowers, feeds off of the very atoms in the air. This one, however, does it in a much different way. It starts by taking a single atom, which it will become charged. The atom then steals an electron from the nearest atom in order to stabilize itself. The next atom, now charged, repeats the steps, and so on and so on, causing a bolt of lightning. Because this bolt is artificial, and the process itself happens much faster than in nature, it travels in a straight line for up to a mile before it slows down and arcs off in a random direction. But, more often than not, it stops when it hits a target.
“ID and voice analysis confirmed. Hello Cloud Walker. Are we performing diagnostic scans and maintenance today?” The tinted cover on the cockpit faded to transparent as a harsh red light from within turned to a soft blue hue that pulsed with the words.
“We sure are. Go ahead and get started on fluid levels and gauges. I'm going to go get my tools out of the back room.”
“Yes sir. Preparing diagnostic check on fluid levels. Diagnostic check ready. Beginning check.” Jason walked to the back room, keeping an ear on the jet as it rattled off numbers and confirmations. Once in the back room, he went over to a pile of clothes sitting on the ground. His grease-monkey clothes, as he liked to call them. After changing into those, he went over to his old tool box and started looking through it to make sure he had everything. An assortment of screwdrivers, allen wrenches of every size, zip ties, duck tape (cause why not?), and just about everything else he could think of except-
“Where is my ammeter? Hey Shadow! Do you know where I left my ammeter?”
The jet paused in its test to reply, “I believe you threw it up into the loft last time after you got shocked while using it. Would you consider it futile for me to remind you to seal up that frayed wire again?”
“What was that Shadow?” He swore he needed to stop being a smart ass around this jet. It was learning too quickly for its own good.
“Nothing sir.” The jet replied quickly before getting back to reading off diagnostic reports.
“Wise choice.” As Jason headed up to the loft, he thought back to that frayed wire. He really should fix it soon. Sounds much better than getting shocked again. Once up in the loft, he looked around for the device in question. At first, all he saw was a large nest of rats. “Filthy pests. Really should get rid of you soon.” As soon as he said that, he saw the ammeter sitting in a pile of old hay and rat droppings. “Two things. One- gross! And two- crap!” This last word wasn't pointed at the rat feces, but rather at something else the rats did. And that was chew the frayed wire on the ammeter clean off, leaving it sitting off to the side in the mouth of a dead rat. Cause of death was, no doubt, lacerations and internal bleeding caused by the wire.
As Jason picked up the rat and pulled the wire out of its mouth, he couldn't help a small laugh. “That's karma for you. Didn't think it hit rats too, though.” He threw the carcass over to the nest of other rats, sending them scampering, before he bent over to pick up the ammeter. As he grabbed it, another rat came out of nowhere and nipped at his finger before running off again. “Ah! Just had to bring up karma, didn't we Jason? We couldn't keep our mouth shut, could we? Nope! Of course not!” After shaking his finger around some, he inspected it. “Well, at least the little bugger didn't break the skin. Disease is not a fun way to go.” With the ammeter in hand, he headed back down to the back room, grabbed the rest of his tools, and went back to Shadow Jumper.
“So what are the results of the check, Shadow?”
“Oil level is low and the altimeter is busted. Everything else is in working order.”
“What? How can the altimeter be busted? What happened?”
“Rats, I believe, sir.”
“Okay! That's it! Those rats are out of here tomorrow! Uugghh, good thing we 'found' that spare on that other jet the other day. I just hope that guy doesn't mind too much.”
“I don't think he can sir. I killed him, remember?”
“... Shadow, that was the point. I was using sarcasm. And yes, I remember. Mainly because you turned him and so much of his jet to ash that the altimeter is the only thing I could salvage.” Jason saw the light in the jet glow red while it let out an evil sounding laugh, before turning blue again. Jason shivered. “You know, you scare me sometimes.” When the jet chose not to reply, Jason continued, “Okay. Well I will get on the repairs. Go ahead and make sure your aim is calibrated as well.”
While the jet made the proper adjustments, with the undermounted charger swiveling during the process, Jason popped open the side panel on the right and started pouring in more oil. After that, he grabbed a fuel tank and topped of the jet's supply. The engine doesn't really need it to function, since it runs off of an internal combustion reaction similar to the flamethrower. However, Jason prefers to keep it full since the atmosphere gets thin higher up. Not to mention the fact that, when the intake gets clogged or broken, the fuel becomes the only source of energy. So it is in his best interest to keep it full.
With that done, he grabbed his screwdriver, his wire cutters, the electrical tape, and the spare altimeter. About five minutes into an intense session of screwing, cutting, a sliced finger, and lots of cursing, Jason's progress was interrupted by a notification from the jet. “Calibration complete within one one-trillionth of full accuracy. Next?”
“Give me a sec, I almost... got... it! There we go. Alright, check to make sure I got that thing in right.”
“Checking. Altimeter installed correctly. We are currently 157 feet above sea level. Next?” Jason could practically feel the enthusiasm rolling off the jet. He smiled to himself before running over his mental checklist again. Got the fuel, got the fluid levels, got the gauges, got the targeting calibrated. All that is left is to test the alarms, check the Big Button, the landers, and then run a diagnostic check on all systems and the computer.
“Alright, test the system failure alarm.” Immediately, lights started flashing from within the cockpit as a faced paced, high pitched whining started to play. “Okay, that's are working,” Jason said as the alarm died off. “Next up, the the enemy lock-on alarm.” This time, a series of rapid beeps sounded off, followed by a single, constant beep. “Okay, that one is good too. Alright, last one. Incoming nuclear strike alarm.” This alarm sounded off a low pitched wail that slowly increased in pitch before going low again. It repeated this cycle three times before stopping. “Okay, sounds like all alarms are functional. How is the Big Button doing?”
“Do you mean-”
“Yes, you know what I mean. I just like to call it the big button. So, is it working.”
“Hold on. Running performance test.” Jason waited patiently for a little over two minutes while Shadow Jumper tested the button. Finally, “The 'Big Button', as you like to call it, is fully operational. Do you wish to rename any more systems while you're at it, or should we continue?”
“Yeah, how about we rename-” Jason stopped when the blue light turned red once more. “Heh, heh, kidding. Alright, go ahead and run a diagnostic check on the computer system as well. I am going to check on the landers.” As Shadow started on the computers, Jason got under the jet to check on the landers. These were one of his favorite parts of the jet. Similar to how the landing gear can land on water, these had their own function. What looked like water landers, and could actually be used as such, were actually an expensive piece of technology created almost two centuries ago. And, as far as he could tell, Shadow was the only jet that still possessed the tech. But that is one of the benefits of stealing a jet that most thought to be non-functional, from the forgotten Museum of Ancient Wartime Technology. Turns out, you just gotta say the right stuff to the onboard AI. And since most of the tech on and in the jet was so expensive to replicate, it is superior to all jets in production and service today.
Getting his mind back to the landers, he checked to make sure that the condensers where still intact, and the anti-matter chamber had no leaks in it. He was pretty sure that it didn't since the island was still here, but it was safer to check anyway. After checking that and all other things on the landers, he deemed them working. If only they weren't so particular, he could use them more often. And his other piece of prized ancient technology for that matter. But it could be years until he finds one, or until things clear up enough for them to exist again. “Sir.” The jet spoke, startling Jason out of his thoughts and causing him to jerk up and slam his head on the atmospheric charger.
“Aaghh! Yes, Shadow?” Jason got out from under the jet and stood up, turning to face Shadow Jumper. He rubbed his head and winced in pain. That was going to leave a bruise by morning.
“Computer systems are tuned up and running at full capacity. Anything else?”
“Yes, one more thing, I think, then we're done. Run a diagnostic check on all systems.” The jet complied, and a series of whirrings and clickings sounded from it. Finally, the thrusters kicked on, giving a low hum and warming up the air by about fifty degrees. “Okay, okay, cool it hot-shot. I think it's all good.”
“Indeed sir. All systems are running at peak efficiency. And I apologize if things got a bit warm in hear.” The noises from the jet died down and Jason was about to suggest a flight when he remembered one more thing.
“Hey Shadow, I just remembered one last thing. You know how I have laid low for the past week and a half because of the raids? Well I managed to set up a little something for you while I was at it. It was something that I picked up from the museum I got you from a while back. I just never got around to installing it. But I have now. Go ahead and scan for nearby beacons.”
“Ah, so that is what that is. I already noticed it earlier while performing scans, and noticed you ID on it. It was heavily encrypted, however, so I figured you wanted it to remain private.” Jason was almost surprised. But he knew this jet already, and knew better than to underestimate it.
“Well, I don't know if you could have cracked the encryption on it too quickly. And yes, I do want it to remain private, from everyone but us anyway. I have something that should allow you access fairly easily.” He went over to the pants he was wearing earlier and produced a small device, very similar to a portable hard drive, from the pocket. Walking back to the jet, he opened another back panel, this one much smaller than any other, and connected the device to the jet. “Here you go.”
“I assure you I could have broken the encryption, but this does shorten down the process exponentially.” As the jet was connecting, Jason went ahead and explained what it was Shadow was connecting to. While the raids were being performed, he had set up cameras, microphones and speakers throughout the house, the field, and the barn. Shadow now had eyes and ears on the entire property, and could communicate with anyone on or in it. This would be a major boost in safety if they were out on a flight. Shadow could watch the house and warn Jason if there were any intruders. He could also listen in on any conversations, or hold conversations of his own with Jason anywhere on the property. “Alright, I am now connected. I can see and hear everything in the area, including you and me at this current moment. And yes, I remember this kind of technology. I was connected to it for a short time during the War of Chinese Indoctrination. It was used to connect me to base, my pilot at the time, and as recon set up by spies within China. I had eyes and ears all over the place. Many beacons were destroyed during and after the war, and the rest shut down shortly after. If you were to find any and reactivate them, I could have those eyes and ears again. It might benefit you to have insider news as to what's going on throughout the world. I can also use this system to hack into other networks and take control of them. This feature was used quite often during the war to hack into enemy turrets and turn them on each other and the soldiers they were supposed to protect.”
“That's... actually pretty cool, if not a bit gruesome. Glad to know. Well, anyway, I also have this earpiece hooked up to the system, so you can hear and speak to me at anytime, no matter the distance between us. And it can keep some of our conversations private if we are in the presence of someone else and you don't want to use the speakers.” Jason put the earpiece in. “Okay, go ahead and try it out.”
“This is Shadow Jumper performing test one on a new earpiece. Does it work?”
“Yes, good. It works perfectly. Okay Shadow, I think we got you all fixed up and ready to go. You wanna head up now? We might not get another chance anytime soon.” The jet's only reply was to open up the cockpit cover and start up the engine. “I take that as a yes. Alright, let me grab my flight suit.” Jason headed back to the back room once more, this time picking up a different set of clothes. This particular suit was specially designed for high altitude and high g-force survival. It had a layer of thermal insulation to keep the wearer warm in colder environments, such as the higher portions of the atmosphere, and it pressurizes parts of the body during high G's in order to push blood flow back up to the brain, preventing the pilot from passing out. And because of the particular design of the suit, the inflation it uses for the pressurization does not interfere with flight at all. Most flight suits these days, with the requirement to be cheap to make, can push on the flight stick, causing mild to severe inaccuracies. Most of the time this is harmless, but when maneuvering in close quarters, this can be fatal.
Another portion of the suit is the helmet. It is bullet proof, reducing most shots from fatal to just just severe headaches. The visor on the helmet has an uplink to the jet, allowing the pilot to use cameras and thermal imaging sensors that were placed on the jet, thus giving the pilot an effective 360 degree view of his surroundings. This also provides a map, direct uplink to the computer and the gauges, and can be used to help with the coordination of attacks, defense, and tight maneuvers. An additional aspect of the helmet, and quite possibly the most important, is the rebreather. It takes in the air that the user breathes out and filters out the carbon atoms, reducing it to pure oxygen. It can also pull oxygen from the air, allowing for more oxygen to enter the body. While the apparatus is very efficient, it still has the possibility of losing some of the oxygen, making it harder for the user to breath. This prevents that from occurring and makes breathing at high altitudes easy and short term breathing in vacuums or poisonous environments possible. Extended use was never tested, but was theoretically possible.
And last, but not least, his boots. He never went on a flight without them. Along with the rest of the flight suit, he got these when he got Shadow Jumper, as they were all neatly tucked away in the cockpit. These boots were a technological marvel, no matter what point in history you looked at it from. The amount of time, money and research that went into making these boots made them nearly irreplaceable, and the fact that all plans were lost, made them the only ones ever to exist. Or so Shadow told him. That old jet was just chock full of information about the past and several secret projects that existed. He was only willing to part with some of it though.
What made these boots so special though, was their durability and their capabilities. These boots could withstand temperatures up to 3000 degrees Fahrenheit and down to 870 degrees. Anything higher melted them and anything lower would render them useless until they thawed out. These boots were also bullet proof, meaning there was no accidental foot shooting going on, and laced with some kind of fiber that prevented anything sharp from going through. Not to mention they hooked up to the nerves and muscles of the body, allowing them to read the movements of the foot and leg. This allowed for flexibility, but prevented the foot from being crushed by anything up to five tons. That is, assuming whatever it was that landed on it didn't land on the rest of your body too. But hey, you can never be too careful. But, by far the most important feature of these fancy pieces of footwear, is what they are capable of doing. And this feature is what earned him his nickname so many years ago.
Once he had his gear on, he went back out to Shadow Jumper and climbed into the still open cockpit. “Alright Shadow, let's roll!” With that, the cover closed down, the outside tinted to black, still allowing for Jason to see out of it from the inside, and the jet rolled out the barn through the big front doors. Once outside, Jason flipped a switch on the control panel and pushed a lever to his right forward. One of the great things about this jet is that it had jump-jet capabilities. This was extremely useful in that he didn't have to have a runway ready. He could just use vertical take off and landing. That is where that switch came in. When flipped, it switched power from the mane thrusters to the vertical thrusters. Then, when he pushed the lever forward, or pulled it back, it controlled the altitude in a direct manner. This also allowed for hovering.
Once the jet was hovering about 100 feet in the air, Jason flipped the switch to the middle setting, splitting the power in half between the two sets of thrusters. This allowed for the jet to maintain its altitude while getting up to a high enough speed for lift to take hold under the wings. Once at a proper speed, Jason flipped full power to the main thrusters and climbed higher in the sky, closing in on the black clouds that dominated the Earth. “Nearing cloud layer. We are about to be flying blind. You will have to take full control Cloud Walker. Do you copy?” The jet normally had some small control over itself, helping maintain a level altitude and preventing the aircraft from pitching too far forward. This part, with total control and flying blind, was one of the most dangerous parts of flying these days. The other is getting too close to the ground, stalling out, or getting shot at by other jets or by anti-air weapons on the ground. Thankfully, there is not too many of those in this area.
“Copy that, Shadow Jumper. Give me full control. We are going in.” With that, he ascended to the cloud level and was plunged into darkness. The lights on the front flicked on, casting a hellish red glow on the otherwise black haze surrounding them. Jason tilted the nose up and adjusted the flaps so that the jet would climb faster. The only time he liked being in these clouds is when he is avoiding enemy fire. The stealth capabilities on Shadow prevent most lock on techniques, other than direct visual, so going into cloud cover prevents them from getting hit by anything but random blind-fire.
“Okay, we should be through the layer in a few moments. Are you picking anything up on the radar?” As he asked this, a radar visual popped up on his visor's HUD. There wasn't the slightest movement around them, giving them the all clear. “Alright, we should be good unless they decided to slap on stealth tech again. But I haven't seen them do that since before the depression. I guess it just got too expensive.” Right as he finished his last sentence, the dark clouds began to thin out, letting more and more light shine through. It soon got bright enough for Shadow to turn the lights back off. “Alright Shadow, giving normal control back to you. Copy?”
“Copy. I am glad to be out of those clouds. You make think I am scary at times, but nothing is worse to an AI than going blind. We are then basically an overrated, expensive computer.” Jason nodded his approval before focusing his full attention to the wide blue expanse above and around them. The only sign of the dying world lay below them in the form of the dark clouds. The warmth of the sun radiated through the cover, filling him up with a happiness that he only gets while flying nowadays.
“Sure is beautiful up here, isn't it Shadow?”
“It is sir. I prefer it up here to the inside of that barn down there.”
“I know, I know, but I think keeping you from getting shot down during the raids should be a top priority, don't you?” Jason did agree with the jet that being up here was much better, but he couldn't bear to lose Shadow. Not to mention he would probably die too if they got shot down.
“You are much too good a flier, and I am much too great a jet compared to what flies up here to be taken down easily, and you know that Cloud Walker.” Jason almost agreed right off the spot, but he stopped to think about it.
“You know what Shadow? You are half right. It would take a large amount of effort on their part to take us down. But I have seen what they throw up here during the raids, and it is a rather damning sight. Against three or four, we have no problem. Against a dozen, maybe two, and we have a good fight on our hands. But they put up hundreds of fighters during those raids. Not to mention the numerous mobile AA guns and SAM sights they set up. We're good, but not that good.”
“Hundreds?”
“Hundreds.”
“And AA guns and SAM sights?”
“Yep, those too.”
“I guess you are right Cloud Walker. I do rather enjoy existing. Just please try not to leave me in that old barn for more than two weeks at a time. If an AI can go crazy, then I surely would. Although, with the new beacons you set up for me, I guess it wouldn't be too bad. And I can see for myself the impressive numbers they put up here.” They remained in silence afterward for a while, just reveling in the experience of flight. Jason did a few barrel rolls before performing a split-s maneuver. After those he did a near vertical climb until he was about 8000 feet above the cloud level. He then leveled the jet back out then pitched the nose forward into a steep dive. He watched as the clouds grew closer, keeping an eye on his speed and altitude. He was just shy of going supersonic before he had to pull up 100 feet above the clouds.
“Ah, now that was fun, don't you think so Shadow?” Jason asked the jet. When it didn't respond he asked, “You still with me Shadow? Everything alright?”
“Maybe. I think I spotted movement in the upper layer of the clouds as we were diving. I am not too sure though.” Jason looked at the radar and noticed nothing. He then pulled up the 360 pan view of their surroundings. When he didn't see anything he asked Shadow to bring up video playback. “Right here is where I believe to have seen it.” Shadow paused and played the moment in slow-motion. Sure enough, a black blur was seen peeking out of the top layer of clouds for under a second before disappearing again.
“What was that? A bird?” Jason was confused. What was that?
“Not likely,” Shadow replied. “Most birds would not be able to travel through the clouds as they are too poisonous to them. This object was also traveling much too fast to be any bird indigenous to this island, or any mainland nearby. It may have been a new jet with stealth capabilities added to it. That would explain why it didn't appear on the radar.”
“Well let's hope not. That would not be the greatest thing for us. And if it is, let's hope it didn't see us.” Jason's hopes were dashed when Shadow said his next sentence.
“Sir, incoming transmission. Would you like me to play it?” Jason gulped and concentrated on his nerves in order to calm down before telling Shadow to play the transmission.
The transmission started as a staticky voice came through the headset. “You are currently flying in restricted airspace. Identify yourself or prepare to be engaged. I repeat, you are currently flying in restricted airspace. Identify yourself or prepare to be engaged. You have thirty seconds to reply.” Jason was wondering where this new aircraft was, as he didn't see it anywhere on his radar or pan view. As soon as he thought this, he wished he hadn't. A jet, similar looking to Shadow minus the red stripes on the sides, showed up almost out of nowhere right behind them. It didn't appear to have any of the weapons Shadow had, but it was still well armed. It had two large guns along with three air-to-air missiles and a single air-to-ground missile on either wing. And judging from the alarms going off in the cockpit, it was locking on. “You have ten seconds to identify yourself before I am forced to open fire on you.”
Jason took a deep breath and replied, “This is Cloud Walker. I understand that I am currently in restricted air space. And I have one thing to say to you.”
“What is that?” the voice asked. Jason couldn't help but smirk as he said what came next.
“Catch me if you can!” With that, Jason increased Shadow's acceleration until they were almost at top speed. “Shadow, can you hack into their com-link?”
“I did as soon as I intercepted their transmission. Playing now.” Jason couldn't help but laugh. They finally upgraded their jets, but their communication transmissions were still just as weak as ever.
“I am in pursuit. I repeat, I am in pursuit. Hostile in restricted air space is attempting to flee. He has identified himself as Cloud Walker and is in an unknown model of jet. And this thing is fast too. But I think I am faster!” Jason couldn't help but agree as he watched the jet near him from behind. He can't believe it caught up so fast!
“Roger that Black Wing. We will monitor your progress. Try and keep this jet in one piece will you? It is rather expensive. Base out.”
“Copy that. Black Wing out.”
Jason felt an evil scheme start up in his mind. “Hey Shadow, can you override his coms and patch me in?”
“You don't need to ask me twice. Done. You are in sir.” Jason nodded his thanks before smirking yet again.
“So, Black Wing eh? I suppose that is a fitting name. You having fun back there?”
Jason could here the pilot on the other end start, and couldn't help a light chuckle. This guy was too easy. “How did you get through to my coms?” He sounded more scared than angry, but Jason had to give it to him. He was holding up better than he thought he would.
“I have my ways. So, Black Wing, do you enjoy your job?”
“Yes. I like defending this planet from the likes of you.” Jason scoffed a little at this declaration. From the likes of him? What likes was that?
“From the likes of me, huh? You mean the likes that enjoy going on a leisurely fly every now and then?” It's not like he looked for trouble. In fact, it was the other way around. Trouble was always looking for him. He was just good at getting out of it.
“The likes that go against everything I stand for. The likes that started this rebellion and fight against us, preventing us from being united and peaceful.”
“Wait, wait, wait. You think I'm a rebel? I'm not a rebel at all!”
“Then why did you make a break for it when I asked you for identification?”
“Because I know that you would have shot me down. And if not that, then you would have put me in custody when I landed. Neither sound particularly wonderful. And I know what your people would do if they got their hands on me or my jet.” Jason was just a little miffed. How could this guy think he was a rebel? Honestly! He wasn't a rebel! Anymore, that is...
“No matter. I am close enough to take you down now anyway.” Jason looked behind him again and realized he wasn't lying.
“Shadow, cut the coms.”
“Yes sir.” With that Jason readied himself for something he rarely did.
“Shadow, are you ready for this?”
“Are you about to press the 'Big Button' sir?” Jason nodded once and moved his hand near the sizable red button. He pressed it.
Almost immediately, the jet increased beyond its normal maximum speed, and was well on its way to breaking through the sound barrier. And just as he was breaking through the white cone, everything flashed white, sending a massive shock wave rippling throughout the air. Black Wing was blown to several small pieces, with no chance of survival. Jason and Shadow were gone as well. There was no wreckage indicating their demise. In fact, the only thing in the space they once occupied was a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail.
“Alright Pinkie, you ready for this?” The multicolored mare, Rainbow Dash, called down to her pink friend. She had been showing Pinkie her stunts all afternoon, and now she was going for the Sonic Rainboom.
“WOOH! YEAH! LET'S GO DASHIE!!!!” The enthusiasm shown by Pinkie hit Rainbow like a brick wall. But this only served to pump her up even more. She climbed higher in the sky, until the air got thin and Pinkie was nothing but a small dot on the green expanse below.
“Okay, here goes nothing!” Rainbow said to herself, before pausing and thinking about what she had just said. She then decided to amend her statement. “Aw, who am I kidding? This isn't nothing. This is amazing!” And with that, she made double sure her flight goggles were firmly in place, and she broke into a steep dive.
With the pass of every second, and the flaps of two powerful wings, Rainbow accelerated. She could soon see a white cone of pressurized air forming around her as the wind attempted to rip her skin off of her body. As she came closer to the ground, ready to pull up in a sharp turn as soon as she broke through the barrier, she noticed Pinkie Pie trying to shout something to her. After a few moments she was close enough to hear her. “Dashie! My tail's a twitchin!!! Dashie!!!” Rainbow knew what that meant. Something was falling. Of course she was, but did that mean... was she about to hit the ground? She tried to stop her descent, but it was too late. She couldn't even slow down at this point. Ohh, this was going to hurt, wasn't it? Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and folded her wings in, waiting for the inevitable as she broke through the barrier finally.
She continued to wait, before realizing nothing had happened. Had Twilight come out of nowhere and caught her? Was she dead? No, neither of those could be right, as she could still feel herself falling. She snapped open her eyes and was surprised to find herself in the air again. Instinctively, she flared out her wings and ground to a halt, before looking around. Taking in her surroundings, she noticed something was off. “These aren't my skies. What's going on here? Pinkie, what did you do?” She looked over to her left in time to see a smoldering chunk of metal fall past her, followed by several smaller bits. “What the hoof was that?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow. Last she checked, Cloudsdale didn't have any metal contraptions. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't anywhere near Cloudsdale to begin with. “Oh well. Let's get back to Ponyville- WOAH!”
Looking down, Rainbow Dash saw something she couldn't even try to imagine before now. A thick, black, angry, unbreaking layer of clouds. These weren't your average storm clouds either, no way. Rainbow knew storm clouds like the back of her hoof. No, these were... “Wrong. It's all wrong!This isn't Ponyville's sky. I know! I just arranged it earlier for a warm, sunny day! I can't think of any place in Equestria like this. Not even Fillydelphia.” As she looked down at the enraged mass below her, she figured it would be in her best interest to avoid touching it. Then how would she get down? Just then, she the chunk of metal hit the clouds and push through, creating a hole big enough for her to fit through. Choosing not to waste any more time, she dove for the hole as fast as she could, and good thing too, as it started to close up almost immediately.
Flying her way as fast as she could through the darkness, she couldn't shake the feeling of falling helplessly through an impossibly deep hole, leading her to an unknown world. Similar to that old foals' book her dad read to her when she was younger. What was it called again? Never mind, not that it matters. She was nearing the light at the end of her dark tunnel. Okay, well when she thought about it that way, it sounded worse. But she couldn't turn back now, as the clouds were closing up behind her. She could feel their wrongness nipping at her mane and tail, beckoning her into their dark expanse. This only scared her into going faster. Scared? Who's scared? Certainly not Rainbow Dash! Maybe just a little concerned, but definitely not scared! In fact, this is kind of like that Daring Do book she read last week. Flying through a dark tunnel that was collapsing behind her, the exit her only saving grace, but with no clue of where it leads. With this thought, Rainbow put on an extra burst of speed, ready for adventure, and to be like her idol.
As the bottom of the cloud tunnel neared, Rainbow chanced a look behind her, only to see that the clouds had made it a fifth of the way up her tail. She turned back around, gave an extra powerful flap of her wings, and shot out of the clouds like colorful confetti from Pinkie's party cannon. She came to a stop and turned back towards the clouds to stick her tongue out at them. “HA! And you thought you could get me. You only caught up to my tail. My tail!” Rainbow Dash had looked down at her tail to see where the clouds had gotten at it, only to find that the bottom part of it had been turned black, brittle and frayed. “So help me Celestia, I will get you back for that.” And she meant it. No matter how long it takes.
Looking down, she noticed something almost as strange as the clouds, but by now, she was done being surprised by anything. She hoped. Below her was an island surrounded on all sides by murky green water. Floating in it for just a second before finally submerging, was the chunk of metal that had allowed her to make it through the clouds. “Thank you strange metal, whatever you are. Or were.” She saluted the metal chunk before flying over the island.
Deciding to stay high enough to keep an eye on things, she started flying a grid like pattern she learned in flight school to survey small portions of land. The plan is to go north-to-south covering the entire piece of land, then switch to east-to-west. Starting with what she believed to be north, she covered the west side of the island, moving up and down.
The first thing she noticed was the beach. It was a sad remainder of what was probably once beautiful. The sand was coated in some strange black stuff, that kind of resembled the stuff used in Rarity's mud baths. It was all thick and gooey. The only difference was that Rarity's mud baths were supposed to be cleansing, while this muck looked poisonous. Rainbow probably could have figured that much out on her own, but the hundreds of dead fish and birds lying in it gave it away without too much effort. She winced at the sight; she had never seen so much death before, not even in the battle against the Changelings.
Looking at other things lying around the beach, she noticed what appeared to be boats. She had only ever seen a boat once before, but these definitely looked like they fit the bill. Or did at some point, as many of them were now riddled with holes. The metal around each of the holes on the larger ships was bent in, indicating it was hit with some sort of large, blunt object. She wasn't too sure though, as she didn't want to get too close. Some of the smaller boats, ones that looked capable of holding no more than five ponies, or two plus Big Mac, had entire portions missing. Rainbow shuddered to think what could have caused all of this.
After reaching the end of the island, she moved east some, then turned to fly south. She thought. She still wasn't sure. This time, instead of a polluted beach, she was met with fields of dirt and dead grass. She saw the occasional cluster of tents, and two or three patches of ash with what appeared to be burnt tents with. She saw a strange looking, metal object moving down a dirt road behind her. It sort of resembled one of the carriages the Royal Guard used, only this wasn't being pulled by anypony. She decided it would be best to avoid it for now.
By the time she had finished up this fly through, the sun was starting to go down, and Rainbow had seen all she could take. “This place is dying. What happened to it?” She asked herself, as she flew lower, this time to find a place to sleep. She sure wasn't going to lay on any of those clouds, so she had to settle for something closer to the ground. Then it struck her. There was something she hadn't seen in this place yet. Something that she loved to nap in almost as much as clouds. She hadn't seen a single tree since she got here. “Ugh, I hate sleeping on the ground.”
As she continued flying around, looking for a decent spot to lie down for the night, her thoughts wandered back to what had happened earlier. She was showing some of her tricks to Pinkie, then everything went wrong when she did the Sonic Rainboom. Sure, not much was known about the phenomenon, but this was unprecedented as far as she had known.
Flying further inland, she noticed a small mountain, maybe a quarter of the height of the Canterlot Mountain. As she got about halfway to the mountain, the faint glow from the sun that managed to penetrate the dark clouds above finally gave out, shrouding the land in complete and utter darkness. “Great. Now how am I supposed to see?” A bad experience she had as a filly taught her to never fly in the dark, and that was in place she knew. Flying here while blind would be a great way to get injured, or worse. Then it would be impossible to got on the Wonderbolts!
Floating herself down very slowly, she did her best to not approach the invisible land too fast. But that did little in preventing her from landing at an awkward angle and rolling down off a short drop off. “Holy flying feather that hurt! What was that?” Picking herself up from off of her back, she turned to face the culprit. As she did so, she stepped on her right foreleg, finding out rather quickly that it was likely sprained. Letting out a small yelp, she quickly looked around to make sure nopony had heard it. She had a reputation to maintain darn it! This time as she turned to face what ever it was she had hit, she made sure to only use her three other legs and her wings for balance.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness some, she noticed a lump in the ground, roughly eight feet high and seven feet wide. It was a small hill with a drop off. Of course it was! With all of the land around she could have landed on, she had to find this one little hill! The only discernible thing about it was that it had a small hollow in it, only slightly larger than her. This could make a decent enough place for her to rest if her eyes don't adjust soon. As if this place didn’t feel like waiting, it made a decision for her. It was that moment that a crack of lightning filled the darkness, momentarily blinding her. It was soon followed by thunder that rumbled so loud that she felt the ground beneath her hooves rattle. “Ugh, can this get any worse?” she asked before slamming a hoof into her mouth. “Why? Why do I ask these things? Am I just trying to tempt fate?” Sure enough, as soon as she crawled into the little hollow, an immediate downpour of rain ensued. She pushed some dirt from inside the hollow to form a small mound at the entrance to keep as much water out as she could, then curled into a ball and let sleep take her. But where it took her was a complete surprise.
She was back in Ponyville. Sort of. It looked like Ponyville from two years ago. Everyone seemed younger and Town Hall hadn't been destroyed by Derpy and rebuilt yet. But something was off. She could feel it. Familiar, but off. It was then that she noticed. Dark clouds were filling the sky over Ponyville, coming from a mountain off in the distance. She knew this had all happened before, but she couldn't remember what had happened next. Maybe her dream was blocking it out. Whatever the case, she decided to go with it. Just then Twilight appeared. “Listen up! Smoke is spreading all over Equestria. But don't worry, it's not coming from a fire.”
Out of nowhere, she hears Fluttershy, “Oh, thank goodness.”
Twilight continued addressing everypony, “It's coming from a dragon.” A dragon? That didn't sound good. Wait! She remembered what was going on now! This was when they all went up the mountain, basically dragging Fluttershy along behind them. Rainbow Dash was rather regretful of that day. She wasn't acting very loyal towards her long-time best friend, complaining about how she was holding them back and how they should have left her behind in Ponyville. To make matters worse, after watching all of her friends get hurt, including Rainbow, Fluttershy went face-to-face with the fully grown dragon and gave him a piece of her mind. Rainbow felt particularly sheepish when the dragon said to Fluttershy, “But that rainbow one kicked me.”
Focusing back on the 'now' of her dream, she realized that the setting had changed. She was now up on the mountain listening to Pinkie sing “A hop, skip, and jump!” Rainbow groaned and facehoofed. “What's the matter Rainbow? I thought you liked my singing!” Well that's not how she remembered things going last time. Leave it to Pinkie to change your memories in the middle of a dream. Looking up, she noticed Pinkie's large, blue eyes mere inches away from her own, startling her into taking a few steps back.
“What? No! I love your singing Pinkie. It always makes me smile. Well, almost always.” Rainbow said, snickering slightly as she pointed back to what Pinkie was singing about. “THAT song is just plain annoying though. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize Dashie, this was just to motivate Fluttershy so she would get across the gap. And good thing to. I mean, who else would have stopped that dragon?” Huh, Rainbow didn't expect Pinkie to be talking about what hadn't happened in the dream just yet. Oh well, leave it up to her to act out of character in a dream, right?
“I guess that makes sense. Pinkie, you know I'm dreaming right now, don't you?” Rainbow couldn't help a slight chuckle as she imagined the dream-Pinkie's reaction, figuring she had thrown her for a loop. Instead, her reaction only confused Rainbow even further.
“I know. So am I! I remember this day perfectly! You almost broke the ball-bouncing record! Then I scared, uh, I mean I broke your concentration.” At the memory, Pinkie giggled, punctuating the laughter with a few snorts. Rainbow only glared at her.
“That wasn't funny and you know it! Anyway, what do you mean 'so am I'? You are just a figment of my imagination.”
Once the pink mare had finally calmed down enough to speak coherently, she replied with a sing-song “Wrong!” When Rainbow cocked her head in curiosity, Pinkie continued. “I am actually asleep and in your dream! Earlier, when you disappeared and I almost got crushed, I told Twilight about what happened. She sent a letter to Princess Celestia telling her, among other things, that you were gone. Of course, with you being an Element of Harmony and a personal friend of the princesses, she and Princess Luna came to Ponyville immediately. Once night had rolled around, and the others were off investigating the area, it was just me and Luna alone in the library. She said she had an idea that could help find you. She said that if I fell asleep, she could cast a spell on me to project me into your dreams once you were asleep. So I agreed. I figured the least I could do was bring a smile to your face, no matter where you are, so that you didn't feel sad and lonely. I owe it too you since I didn't warn you fast enough that something was happening. So-”
“Enough,” Rainbow cut her off. “First things first, it is not your fault in any way that I am here. Okay?” She used a tone that left no room for debate, getting only a nod and tear-brimmed eyes out of Pinkie. The sight pulled at her heart, so she embraced Pinkie in a tight hug. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, ever, but she needed a hug too after the day she had. Not letting go just yet she continued, “It's not your fault. The fact that you even tried to warn me is proof. And even if it was, you went this far to make it up to me, and that means more than anything in the world to me right now. Okay?'”
“O-okay.” Pinkie half-choked out as she tried to hold back the impending flood. Rainbow finally let go of her and took a step back to look her in the eyes, then frowned.
“And what do you mean you almost got crushed? I thought I was the thing your senses were saying was going to fall.”
Pinkie shook her head and explained. “Nope, I did too, but then you disappeared. I couldn't see much because of a bright flash of light, but a giant STOP landed right next to me.” Pinkie finished, grinning in satisfaction at being able to fill her friend in on what had happened. But Rainbow's frown only deepened.
“What was that Pinkie?”
“Silly Rainbow Dash, you gotta listen! I said PICKING UP A HEAT SIGNATURE ON THE SENSORS!”
“This isn't funny Pinkie, cut it out.” Rainbow was starting to get angry at her friend. This isn't the time to mess around, and if this was one of her attempts at cheering her up, it wasn't working.
“Cut what out? What am I doing Dashie? I'm just telling you what SIR! OVER HERE! I THINK IT'S COMING FROM BEHIND THIS HILL! CAREFUL! IT COULD BE ANOTHER RABID DOG! THOSE CASES HAVE BEEN RUNNING RAMPANT LATELY!” This time, Rainbow couldn't take it. Her anger melted into worry and she took a step back from her friend.
“Pinkie, what's going on?” Pinkie could see the worry in Rainbow's eyes and watched helplessly as Rainbow collapsed to the ground, shivering and crying like a lost little filly. She felt tears threaten to burst forth from her own eyes again, scared at seeing her strongest friend reduced to such a state. Worse, she still didn't understand what she wanted her to stop.
So she did the one thing she could do. She knelt down next to Rainbow and gave her the most comforting hug she could muster and told her, “I don't know what is going on Dashie, but I promise, I will do whatever it takes to get you back home. And I am sorry if WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?” Rainbow stared up at her friend in shock, not expecting her gentle words to turn so loud and harsh. The last thing she remembered was the look on Pinkie's face. The look of concern, of worry, of sadness. But mostly, the look of a friend that would do anything to help another friend. No matter the cost. Then she jolted awake.
