@A Melted Cheese Sandwich,
@Blackout,
@Wade Garrett,
@Xellos,
@Mina,
@Insufficient Dakka,
@Takoe,
@Umbra,
@tankdrop24,
@Necromage,
@MData,
@Silvan Eldar,
@Mew,
@shubzilla
"I ain't a runtherd ya gits! Start leggin' it! Today was only da start of whatz comin', an' I dun wanna miss da next foight!"
The orkish 'encouragement' was blasted through the UFO's comms, and hurried Sam's, Ethan's and Tsumugi's devious plan along. Thirty seconds later, Sam casually strolled through the UFO's front entrance, throwing Miriam a smirk and a wave as Tsumugi snaked a crate-carrying probe in through a separate entrance. She deposited her cargo, gave a wave and the concocted cover story to those gathered in the center room, and left.
Madelyn lifted off a moment later, followed by the Gauna hybrid and watched by the gathered people until they disappeared over the horizon.
* * *
Several hours later...
'Chrysalis' tapped Grimlugg on the shoulder. The Mek had fallen asleep after turning on the autopilot, and his snores filled the room with a growl that could easily be mistaken for a trukk engine. His snoring, however, wasn't what she'd come to disturb him with.
Seeing that a mere tap wasn't going to rouse the ork from his slumber, 'Chrysalis' decided that a more culturally-relevant approach was needed. A hoof slammed into Grimlugg's face, and the Mek woke with a snort.
"I'ze up, I'ze up ya grot!" he bellowed, a hand grasping for a weapon before realizing that there wasn't any foe to krump. He turned a cranky glare onto the disguised Princess.
"Wot da zog was dat fer? I wuz stompin' ponies wif a Gargant!"
"Sorry," she replied, "but I need you to move your route away from the Barrier. It's been interfering with my and Rythian's magic."
And my disguise dropping right now would be more awkward to explain than my first trip over was, to say nothing if Doppel or Melira woke and saw me like that.
Grimlugg grunted and punched a few buttons on the orkified console. A radar showing nothing but
Madelyn, Tsumugi, and their planned flight path with a dashed line changed to reflect their slightly altered course.
"Dere ya go Boss."
"Thank you Grimlugg. You can go back to sleep now," she said, slipping out of the room as Grimlugg grunted at her again. Hardly a moment passed before his chain-choppa snores filled the room again.
She took a moment to look over the main room. The sun had just disappeared beneath the ocean waters, yet many of the Company were already asleep, exhausted by today's earlier fighting. Lighting had thus been dimmed to acommodate them. Sleeping space was a precious commodity aboard the crowded UFO, though it helped that a few were still awake, whether because of projects that had to be finished or not needing to sleep in the first place. Nestor, Shimmer and Melira were all asleep in separate corners of the room, while Ryouga performed one-fingered handstands with an expression that suggested he'd done this many times before. Sam was also asleep, though he'd opted to sleep in his armor, head propped up against the wall next to the engine room where Doppel was being held.
While she couldn't see it, the background noise was muted enough for her to hear Miriam in the front room explaining the Company's upcoming strategy and the overall war situation, presumably to Jason and Snowflame. Celestia had already reviewed the planning and organization, but Miriam's choice of leadership was... dubious. She'd have a talk with her later.
She levitated two blankets and a pillow over from the supply cache as she walked over to the engine room holding their captive changeling. Prometheus had set up her own technology in this room, though unlike Grimlugg's haphazard workshop in the other engine room, her's was neat, clean, appropriately labeled, and didn't take up the whole floorspace. Celestia entered just in time to catch the tail end of a conversation between the Reclaimer, working on some alien device, and Nui, leaning against the wall.
"...but from a tactical standpoint, the Gestalt Mind prefers to simply read the mind rather than strip a prisoner of free will. 'Make their own decisions' and all that. Hi Chrysalis!" Prometheus waved to the alicorn as she spread out one blanket on the floor next to Doppel. Nui was pouting.
"Let the record state that I find the use of mind control to be morally abhorrent, even when the enemy uses it liberally," 'Chrysalis' stated, lying down and pulling the other blanket over her. "Goodnight."
Nui made a face that suggested she hadn't gotten what she wanted, though it vanished almost immediately with an airy shrug. "Goodnight, Your Majesty!" she said, chipper, before walking out to the front of the UFO. Prometheus looked between the two before determining that the conversation had ended, and resumed tinkering with the help of the Gestalt.
Celestia spared a moment to look over at Doppel, who was covered with a blanket and resting on a pillow. An inhibitor ring inset with an emerald (courtesy of Rythian) was secured around her horn, though she wouldn't know of it until she woke. Spark was also asleep, small enough to use his pillow as a matress. He was right behind the changeling, and behind him, tucked in a corner and underneath Reclaimer-built lighting, his berry project.
She exhaled through her nose as she lowered her head onto her pillow. A brief noise made her ear twitch, Miriam grabbing her own bedding, and she silently thanked the woman for not pulling an all-nighter with what was coming up.
Satisfied, she let herself drift to sleep.
* * *
@Wade Garrett
Celestia sat upon her throne in Canterlot, overseeing the constant reports that flowed through the Equestrian bureaucracy. The throne room was warmer than usual, and the finery was a more fiery color than she remembered. The stain-glass murals depicting the triumphs of the Elements and Equestria also had more orange than she recalled. Two rows of chevron banners dangled from the ceiling, red-to-orange-to-yellow gradients emblazoned with her cutie mark. Four guards stood at attention, two at the door, two at the base of the ramp up to her throne, in golden barding inset with gems that encased them completely. The papers levitated in her orange aura looked like nonsense, random letters arranged in a way to give the illusion of an actual report, but that was fine. In the back of her mind she knew that they made perfect sense, in the realm of unconscious dream logic.
A moment of going through the nonsense reports, and the main doors, enchanted and reinforced to withstand almost any conventional -and unconventional- assault, opened to admit Twilight Sparkle. Her faithful student was wearing a white robe with a stylized sun near the hem, clasped at the neck with a button of the same design. The starburst gem from the Element of Magic was socketed in a golden torc around her neck. While she looked unarmed, Celestia could sense the sheer number of complex, powerful defensive arcana woven into her clothing, and even without it the archmage wasn't truly defenseless while she still had a horn. She walked up to the base of the ramp with a measured, precise gait, and bowed deep enough for her muzzle to brush the red carpet. Two wings splayed out to finish the act of measured obeisance before she rose and made eye contact.
"Empress Celestia," she said, equally measured and precise as her walk and bow, "The salvation of Boston was a success and a net gain of approximately six hundred thousand Newfoals. Additionally, we have further insight on the Company's behavior, armaments and assets. However, we have lost Doppel, and no deaths have been confirmed among them. Princess Luna wishes to be sent out herself to nip this problem in the bud, and awaits your word."
