"I dunno, Karl Ebon! I really think it's something wrong with your end!"
"My end?!" Ebon Mane snarled, fussing with several levers in the lavender light of the Noble Jury's engine core. "How could it possibly be from my end?!"
Zaid's voice retorted through the intercom, "The ship keeps wanting to veer to the right!"
"Jee, I dunno..." Ebon snarled as he fussed with a dial. "Nnnngh... c-could it be that you're the one constantly turning it to the right?!"
"But it's wanting to turn even harder, though!"
"Then compensate for it!"
"I've tried! But if I jerk a little too much to the left, we'll be caught up in the outer cloud wall and be torn to shreds!"
"Then try not to jerk it so much!" Ebon's eyes crossed and he shook his muzzle. "What I mean is—Nnnnngh! Wanna switch places, Zaid?"
"What would that accomplish?"
"I dunno." Ebon leaned against a lever, sighing. "Maybe both of us just need a rest or something."
"You fancy yourself a regular NEIGHSCAR driver?"
"...the buck?! No! What does that even mean?!"
"I think it means you need to stick to salad tossing and I need to be the stallion who sticks to displaying inexplicably competent piloting skills."
"Unnnnnngh..." Ebon slumped against the lever, moving it a little. "I give up."
"Whoah dayum! What'd you just do?!"
"What?! What?!" Ebon tilted back, shivering. "Did I blow us up?! Pl-please say I didn't just blow us up!"
"No no! That's good! Whatever you just did, do it some more!"
"You mean panic wildly?!"
"No, the other thing!"
Ebon grunted, shoving the one lever all the way. "You m-mean... th-this...?"
A groaning noise issued throughout the pipes and conduits of the Noble Jury. In the pilot's seat, Zaid gripped the controls, grinning to himself as he found the turbulence lessening. The console around him rattled a bit less, then fell to a relaxing calm.
"Therrrrrrrrrre she crowns. Such a pretty rabbit in its hole."
"Huh?!"
"Ahem. Sorry. Had a Bluish Carrol flashback."
"Zaid, it isn't nice to lose me while you're in the process of losing me."
"Whatever you did, it's made this ride nineteen percent cooler."
"Wow... that's... uhm... an odd number."
"Yeah, well, I farted out the remaining one percent an hour ago when I had to fly us through a gaping hole in a shattered temple."
"You did WHAT?!"
"D'uhmmm... f-forget I said anything! Just have yourself a little squat down there and take a breather! Oh, and check on ragdollette when you get a chance. Make sure she isn't flooding the observation room with drool." Zaid slapped the intercom, switching it off. His eyes instantly darted back to the stormy field ahead. "Phweeeeee... Paging Mr. Floyd with a collect call. Now would be a good time to wake back up, you big fuzzy wuzzy." He glanced aside at the large round structure that the Noble Jury was orbiting at a distance. "I could totally use someone with landing experience... and phallic antlers."
"It's..." Pilate's muzzle quivered as he hobbled alongside Roarke. A long granite plain stretched before them, flanked by marble columns shattered by impacts with other temples. "It's all so cluttered." He tilted his head about while rain pelted on his helm, his body, and the structures all around him. "And yet it's like I can see forever. Every single rain drop and cracked surface..."
"Try to focus on specific details in front of you," Roarke said. "The Ocular Array was originally built by Searonese bounty hunters to detect movement of their prey in the dark. I'm guessing that the Lounge stumbled upon technology abandoned by my long lost sisters who took their hunting expeditions east. It's the kind of thing that would serve the naga well in these dense, cloudy wastes."
"And just what was it that convinced you to try hooking this thing up to my skull?"
"Stop leaning against me!" Roarke hissed, stepping to the left.
Pilate stumbled, wincing. "But! B-but I need to—"
"No, you don't," Roarke grunted. "You need to see on your own. There is much to do here in this mess. I can't be in two places at once, but with you on my side, we can make a difference."
"With what?" Pilate actually bothered to glance at the bundle in his grip. The red lines of his "vision" pierced the fabric, outlining the smooth shard of skystone that he was carrying. "Won't the Lounge have your pelt once they discover that 'Vaughan' had stolen this from their engine?"
"I hope to be through with them long before that happens," Roarke said. "Living among the reptiles isn't exactly conducive to relaxation." Her muzzle tightened while her eye-lenses retracted. "I watched first-hoof as Razzar stripped one of his colleagues, wounded him in the neck, and then threw him to the claws and teeth of the rest of the crew... who promptly devoured him." She sighed out her nostrils. "Believe me, breeder, it's difficult to dig one's muzzle deep into the quivering intestines of a dying lizard and fake cannibalism."
"Why in Spark's name would Razzar do that to one of h-his own kind?!"
"Because he was 'weak,'" Roarke grunted. "It's a sentiment I've understood all too well in my days among the Searonese. Only, this time..." Her voice trailed off.
"'This time' what?"
She grimaced, then frowned. "It doesn't matter. The point is, the Lounge are dangerous and unpredictable. Admittedly, they possess many strong attributes, but they've been working under the dominating fear and pressure of Razzar for so long that all they can do is lead travellers of the Wastes to ruin. And now that they're here—in this city—I fear that they could cause as much damage if more so than the changelings."
"Are you sure you're not just making a subjective argument after having blended with them for so long?"
"Trust me. Although it's likely the goal of Rainbow and the others to escape this place, there is no way on Searo's green earth that we can leave it floating here for the Lounge to acquire."
"Acquire? You m-mean they want to do something with this abominable city?!"
"They don't chase changelings just for sport, breeder. The Lounge torture these creatures, mutilate them, feed them pieces of their own insides—anything to get them to betray information that's only supposed to belong to the brood's hive mind. As of now, Razzar's gathered enough knowledge to realize that this place can be piloted."
"Piloted? You mean like a vessel?"
"Precisely. At first, I thought that by infiltrating the Lounge—I would learn all about the potential hazards of the Wastes. Turns out they're just as dangerous as the changelings themselves. But... there's something more."
"More?"
"A third party. Something potentially more dangerous."
"Even more dangerous than the Lounge and the changelings?!" Pilate almost tripped in mid-speech. "Roarke, you're going to murder my h-heart at this rate. What kind of a third party?"
"Only the changelings know, but Razzar was capable of extracting a vague idea from the shape-shifters he interrogated. Whatever this danger is, it lies deep in the heart of this city."
"And what's the Lounge's goal? To unleash this evil?"
"No." Roarke shook her head. "But whatever they seek is somewhere beyond it. The Lounge is willing to risk anything to achieve their goal, even if it means the ruination of all the survivors clinging to the platforms of this mess."
"That's... quite horrible."
"Yes." Roarke nodded. "In my short life, I've endeavored to be vicious and I've even attempted virtue, but nothing sickens me more than innate ambivalence."
"Then that's what we're here to do, huh?" Pilate tilted his helm towards her. "We're going to use this skystone to prevent the Lounge from unleashing some sort of evil just to pilot the city?"
"No. We're going to pilot the city ourselves."
Pilate nearly collapsed. "What?! But... but I-I thought you just said—"
Roarke glanced towards him. "I didn't suggest we were going to pilot it somewhere safe."
Pilate gaped at her. "You wish to destroy Stratopolis."
"Precisely."
Silence.
"How swiftly c-can I be of service to this mission?" Pilate asked.
"Trot faster."
"Yes, ma'am." And the two galloped straight ahead.
Along with being evil slave traders the Lounge is also quite insane. Good to know.
That would be a start, Pilate, that would be a start.
I wonder what this third evil thing is.
Looks like destroying Stratopolis is in the cards. I was actually expecting them to pilot the city to the dark side of the world, or at least continue to use it in their travels east.
The one thing that bugs me is that Hurricane was pretty much stuck with Stratopolis and never left. Maybe Rainbow's lashed to Stratopolis' fate somehow?
I wonder if Kera will ever recover...
I would say that it isn't at 20% because Dash isn't on-board, but that would be incorrectly assuming that Dash is only one percent cool.
Congrats, Pilate. You have been unofficially drafted into Roarke's one-pony-army.
4318708
Perhaps someone with more berets.
I've missed Roarke so much.
But that bit about faking cannibalism... Ewwww.
This is Australia...
"...there is no way on Searo's green earth that we can leave it floating here for the Lounge to acquire."
Yeees.
Vaughn, as in Robert Vaughn, the retired smuggler who comes back into action in his hyper ship in Battle Beyond The Stars?
Piloting a flying city so it crashes in te frozen wastes? Ive read that in a published series somewhere, but I also seem to remember that it isnt exactly a PG series.
Run faster. Looks like the Docs around.
Astute observation. It's also prime.
Why don't they just steal it for their own? Think of all the punchy punchy you could do.
Roarke's come a long, long way since we first met her. If this keeps up, Celestia will need to give her wings and a horn.
OK, so: once and for all, the Lounge are not okay creatures. Got it.
This is surprisingly deep, coming from Roarke. I like it.
4318742 I'm now imagining Stratopolis' core being a living, sentient pile of hats.
4318879
I have a feeling that there will be a double-cross and it won't be from the Changelings or Nagas. Those are already guaranteed. What would that make it? Triple-cross? Quadruple-cross?
I could be wrong.
Hm, Roarke seems... nicer. Cool.
Well, glad to hear from Zaid & Ebon again.
So, there's something in the depths of the city, eh? Something big? My bet's on another dragon, or something close.
Too bad that Stratopolis has to go. Still so much left undiscovered. Kinda figured it was doomed from the beginning, though...
If this mysterious "third evil" is locked away inside Stratopolis, then it must be ollllllld. Didn't it say, at one point, that there used to be many, many draconequi? Or perhaps it's that mysterious dark force that the dragons were talking about a while ago.
Only this time, you've got a conscience, and basic equine decency, you soft-hearted killing machine, you.
You know, with the way this is shaping up, I could see RD acquiring the whole city and the majority of the ponies there as followers.
As far as the outside world is concerned the vast majority of the ponies there are dead, since they were soldiers in the war. The rest, like the uncle, were missing for a long time and probably dead. They have no where to go really, and the majority of the ships are trashed anyways. RD and the rest of the Noble Jury also won't want to strand them there, unless something comes way from left field. We all know Stratopolis can move, and depending on how old those skeletons are, it may be able to move a decent clip.
Basically I want RD to get an awesome mobile city.
Maybe at the end of this, Roarke will respect Pilate enough to refer to him as something other than a sex object.
The third evil is likely either one of the ancient Pegasi or one of the Sentinels I would guess.
Yep Roarke can stand Pilate better than the other males of the Noble Jury. They certainly have a good dynamic going. I don't think I've ever seen them partnered up like this in the last two books.
4318981 Wait, not from the changelings or nagas? You think one of the Jurists is gonna betray everyone? Or maybe from this "third party"?
Personally, I'm guessing this "third party" is something/someone alicorn or pegasine.
4319227
I don't think Pilate saw it either.
...zing!
Commander Hurricane tried to destroy Stratopolis and failed, probably killed by that third party.
Roarke is trying to do the same thing.
The difference? Roarke has a crapton of explosives to help her.
This is gonna be gooooooood
Roarke seems to have changed since she left the Noble Jury. Change for the better, at least.
4319268
I was more thinking a 'Tchern' Changeling group mixed in with the survivors. Or maybe the survivors will revolt once they learn that they might be able to control Stratolopolis from Engineering. :shrug:
IC's pattern is usually to introduce an unexpected element into large fights. The Searonese rebels when they retrieved the Noble Jury; the Changelings with Nevlamas' demise; some others that I may be misremembering.
Ten more months!
4319922 I'm going to restrain judgment until we find out what's going on at the city's core and who/what the "third party" is. I agree that IC likes to twist knives while we're distracted, but this out-of-the-blue Roarke and "third party" stuff seems twisty enough for right now. We don't have enough information yet to hazard any guesses.
Maybe tomorrow, or by the weekend, we will. (Hopefully it'll be soon; I'm getting real tired of having to type "'third party'" and would appreciate if it got a name.)
Unrelatedly, as much as the Lounge are a bunch of cloaca-wads, I'm really hoping our motley raiding party gets some badass action sequences fighting off changelings. My mind keeps picturing Josho and Razzar, back to back, manarifle and shotgun twirling to mow down the encroaching bugs.
Roarke has a new moral compass.
And it's actually pointing in the right direction this time.
4318996 That's because she's not bored anymore.
4318742
Its worse than berets. Its gibuses. Gaze upon it and despair!
High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine
Quick, somepony find the big red self-destruct button!
4318828
So she could raze the continent with god like powers? I'm game.
The real masterpiece here is faking cannibalism without revealing your muzzle.
4318708 That would most likely be the Sentry. See the Bear of fearsome size! All the worlds within his eyes!
4319922
inoveryourhead.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/tumblrkpxypmjqro1qzv9mh.jpg
4321432
My apologies.
It's turning into a really good episode of Star Trek tng
Swiggity swagger
4321432
I swear, Nev, Skirts is trying to make her sound like you.
I bet Pilate didn't SEE that one coming.
Sorry.
the third party is pegasus super soldiers that have somehow stayed alive this long
4322837 Actually yes, I've begrudgingly appreciated that line myself. On the other hand, since her return Roarke has also been acting and talking in ways that have very much served to remind me why I once hated her so much in the first place.
4321646 Oh, I think by now I should actually just be thankful if anyone ever got my name right.
Is it bad that I want them to meet the 3rd group damn the consequences? If only to know who they are? Probably.
4318742 don't fucking jinx this.
What could the third party be? This story keeps getting more complicated.
-Spirit
well then, guess the lounge is officially evil.
4318742 no. just no. fucking
NO!
I would be saddened by the destruction of Stratopolis. I quite liked the city before it became a death trap.
Damn, that's too bad, I was starting to kinda like the Lounge but now...seems like the Changelings are more cuddly than that, lol.
Well, it looks like RD made the right decision back when she could have let the Lounge take Changeling!Prowse. Who knows what those lizard bastards would have tried in order to get their claws on some more skystone and delicious weak pony flesh.