"WHERE IS IT!? WHERE ARE YOU HIDING IT YOU LITTLE WORM?" The creature snapped and snarled in his face; the desire to latch onto its face and rip its eyes out with his teeth filled his heart as he was shaken like a ragdoll. Only, he couldn't. He felt weak, naked. Nothing but a mass of worthless muscle and broken bone. When the creature threw him to the ground, the air rushed from his lungs, and didn't return. This is it. He thought. This is how I die. His eyes rolled up, taking in the dark concrete room with its solitary halogen bulb light and icy cold floors. It was the place of his worst nightmares, the place where the slant eyed demon strangled the life from him; bit by bit, piece by piece. He'd known the demon on earth, seen him die in this room. Four rounds of hollow point 6.8 Remington, bursting the bastard from his chest to in between his beady little eyes. The knowledge brought Jack little recourse in his dreams.

He began to feel disconnected from the nightmarish torture. The guts spilling on the concrete floor like steaming bloody ropes weren't his. He felt rage funnel into his veins; pushing out his weak blood, replacing it with napalm and broiling fury. Before him, his demon looked up at him with diseased yellow red eyes and smiled, one long fanged tooth jutting past his drooling jaw. "Don't worry little bug, you'll play your part soon enough. I have not forgotten about you."

Roaring as the gasoline blood pumped through his veins; he pistoned his balled fist forward; his engaged strike plates striking the demon in the throat. Corrupted tissue and tendon crumpled and split under the impact, and the creature wheeled back with a wheezing wet cry of agony. His body rocketed forward; another tool to use to extract his wrathful vengeance. Pouncing on the demon, he scrambled up its amalgamated human body; his armoured hands ripping great furrows of flesh away as he climbed. The demon howled in anguish, before crumpling to the floor with a dull thud. Standing over the demon; his chest heaving from the exertion; Jack's ears pricked at the sound of an incredibly familiar voice.

"Kill the bastard. Kill ‘em good Jack." A whip thin, tanned man emerged from the shadows, cradling a stubby black carbine. He smiled at Jack before throwing the carbine to him.

Catching the weapon mid-arc, Jack brought it to bear upon the fallen demon. The stubby barrel of the carbine belched flame as the four round burst of 6.8 Remington stitched his demon up its chest to in between its eyes. When the slant eyed demon fell still, Jack let the butt of the carbine hit the ground as he stared at his long dead friend. "Mark... I... Fuck man..." Jack wiped the back of his hand across his eyes, and approached the other man. Grabbing Mark by the shoulders; Jack patted him several times, just to see if he was really there.

With an amused half-smile, Mark squeezed Jack's shoulder and embraced him. "It's been too long Jack. How come you never visit anymore? Now, how 'bout we get out of here, go get some beers. That sound good?" Something heavy slammed into the steel door, causing the center to buckle inwards. "Come on Jackie boy, the bad guys are comin’."

Staring at Mark, Jack shook his head and winced at the heavy beating the door was taking. "How... How is this possible? How are you here? Where is here? I... Shit Mark..." Jack clamped his left hand to his side as he stared at the sucking bullet wound just to the left of Marks sternum. "i killed you mark..." The words left his lips as quiet and feeble things; betraying the wretched emotions within Jack's chest.

"You did Jack. You shot me right in the chest. But it's alright, I forgive you." Mark smiled openly, his one canine slightly longer than the other. He leaned forward as the steel door began to buckle. '"I need you to listen to me Jack. These ponies; you can't trust them. If those royals ever get ahold of you... What happened here will be a pleasant memory. Do not let them get Delta King. Do you understand?"

As the door banged open wide, Jack nodded to Mark. The lithe form of his dead best friend smiled in kind, and backed up into the shadows. A monolithic figure strode through the door, just as Mark vanished from sight. The monolithic figure with its flowing galaxy of hair halted before him, and stared about with deadly intent. She's trying to stop Mark... She's messing with my head.... Get out of my head.

The figure looked down towards him, her features cast in the shadows of the old prisons riot gear. He knew the armour well; had been beaten into the concrete by its owners baton and heavy treaded leather boots. Hatred took seed in his mind; as the towering figure opened her mouth to speak, Jack levelled his weapon and bellowed- "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!" -his carbine let out a long ripping roar that failed to drown out Jack's bellow of fury. The figure screamed in pain and raised a mighty hand to protect her face from the hail of hollow point bullets lodging themselves and flowering within.

The dream fell to pieces when Jack bolted upright in his cot; the revolver that rested under his pillow now clutched in his sweaty palms. He scanned the cave frantically with the pistol barrel; cold sweat coating his body liberally. A pair of scared eyes stared at him from over the cover of the log; his revolver held them for a moment, before he decocked the weapon and let his arm fall to his side.

Creeping out from behind her cover, Flitter watched with worry as Jack dropped the weapon onto his pillow and flopped back down onto the bed with a groan. A small bottle of hard liquor replaced the weapon in his hand; He swirled its contents around, before draining it all in one go.

"Jack? Are you alright?" She drew forward and rested her muzzle on his leg as she stared up at him. He glanced down momentarily before nodding once and grabbing for his last bottle of alcohol. Flitter's frown deepened even further as she pulled away and returned to her place by the fire. "Are you going to be drinking all day?" Her own frown soon matched his as he stared hard down at the bottle, as if it held all the answers at its bottom. Sighing softly, Flitter prodded the fire with a small stick; she began preening herself soon after as she waited for Jack to get up from bed.

When he set the bottle down and hunched over to cradle his head in his hands, Flitter knew something was wrong. Before she could move, he sat up straight and shot her a short, strange look. The fleeting hint of suspicion flicked across his eyes, before vanishing completely. His PDA came up, but his fingers were laggardly in putting his words down. "Morning Sparky. Hope I didn't wake you up."

Her frown deepened as she looked up from her half preened wing. "You did." She said quietly, before adding with trepidation- "you were screaming, and I was afraid to wake you up."

"Sorry." Jack rocked up to his feet and stood tall; stretching out his limbs and yawning as he did. He winced in pain as he tried to work feeling back into his achy, abused limbs. He pulled back in surprise as her furry muzzle nuzzled his exposed side lightly.

Starring up at him with worry; Flitter rested her muzzle on his thigh. "Are you alright Jack?" As he nodded she couldn't help but feel that he wasn't being truthful. "You know you can talk to me, right? I'll listen." Flitter smiled comfortingly up at him, and watched as his features fell under the weight of guilt.

"I don't want you to worry about me. I'll survive, regardless of what's going on up here." He tapped his temple twice, before smiling tiredly and scratching her behind the ears with weather worn fingers.

A blissful smile passed over Flitter's features as she leaned into his fingers. Hopping up onto the cot, she leaned against Jack for support. To her surprise, he draped a tattooed arm over her shoulder and rested his head on top of hers. He breathed slowly and deeply; the steady thumping thrum of his heart sounded in Flitter's ear as she rested against his chest.

As he rested his head on top of her mane, Jack slowly breathed in. Smells like campfire and... Lavender. I always liked lavender... Jack closed his eyes as his mind began to wander to places it didn't belong. Elissa smelled like vanilla and strawberries... Always thought she used too much perfume... God... What I wouldn't give just to take it all back... He squeezed his eyes shut and held the mare at his side close; as if she could ward off his thoughts simply by being there.

"Jack?" Flitter flicked her ears as his breath disturbed them. He grunted in response, to note that he was listening. "You need a bath." He grunted once more, demoting that she should shut up. Smiling to herself, Flitter nuzzled him once again before pulling back. "There's a 'do it yourself' pet washing place near the edge of town. Want to head into town and check it out?"

"No."

"No?" Flitter furrowed her brow lightly as she looked up at him. "No offence, but you're really smelly today Jack." She watched with worry as he pushed himself up off the bed and away from her; he began to slowly pace the cave, swinging his arms back and forth lazily. "Jack? Is everything alright?"

He finally stopped his pacing to scratch deeply at his scraggly beard; his fingertips floated over the surface of his PDA as he seemingly tried to collect his thoughts long enough to put them down. "I need some time to think. I think I'll just go take a walk today. Besides, you should head home before someone sends out a search party." He smiled offly; the look sending a niggling thought of worry through Flitter's mind. "And happy actual birthday."

With a soft sigh of acceptance, Flitter pulled on her hoodie and affixed her mane tie. "Are we still gonna do morning PT?"

To her intense relief, Jack finally cracked an honest smile and nodded. "Course. Birthday girls get birthday beats." His smile split wide open, and Flitter felt her relief drain away to be replaced by strong regret.

"You're gonna chase me around with a stick again, aren't you?" At his nod and stretch; Flitter sighed quietly as she finished her little slice of cake and got up. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you enjoy this way too much."

Jack stood tall as he began pulling on his winter clothes and brightly coloured knit hat. He shot her an amused smirk as he sent out one last message before stowing his PDA. "You're right. I enjoy this way too much."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The morning proved to be an interesting one for Field Note. As he warmed his field rations over a small magical stove within his treetop camp; he found himself witness to something very strange indeed. Flitter came bolting through the snow laden forest with Jack hot on her hooves; he wore a queer hat that trailed yellow and orange tassels behind him as he dogged the mare. Occasionally he would close the distance between them, and strike her across her flanks with a bit of supple wood. When he did, Flitter would yelp in pain, and follow with a shrieking bellow of "Sixteen!" Field watched the pair for some time; he soon realized that he was reveling at how the human held his balance so easily and swiftly. He began to take notes on how Jack's body twisted and turned; how every muscle pumped and pistoned. No matter how Flitter ducked and weaved, Jack was on her tail; using his hands to whip around trees and vaulting over snow covered obstacles with ease. When Flitter's body could take no more, she fell to the snow covered ground and mewled out a weak- "twenty two..." -as Jack swatted her side with his ad hoc discipline rod. "I turned twenty two..." Flitter groaned quietly as she tried to push herself up.

Before she could, Jack rolled her over onto her back with the toe of his boot. Sitting down on her stomach; Flitter stared up at him with visible surprise, and then horror as he grabbed a handful of snow and gave her face a good freezing wash. The mare thrashed and squirmed and squealed, all to no avail. Jack cackled and guffawed as he pushed the last bit of snow down her hoodie before standing and brushing off his pants.

Shivering heavily as she pushed herself to her hooves; Flitter glared up at Jack halfheartedly. "You, sir... are a jerk." He grinned happily and messed her mane, before rubbing one of her ears. Flitter sighed quietly as she nuzzled his thigh. "I'll come by later, okay?" He nodded for his response and waved lightly, before turning on his heels to tread towards his home. Flitter stood there for a long moment, watching his form disappear into the trees. The sudden lack of companionship left her feeling cold and painfully alone; though after a minute she only felt the cold seeping through her fired up muscles. Shaking her head to dispel the rancid feeling in her chest; Flitter turned towards the trail and began her lonely trot back to Ponyville.

As Flitter neared town, weather began to take a turn for the worse. Winds picked up heavily, and snow began to whip about. Tucking her wings into the voluptuous hoodie, Flitter picked up her pace to try and keep warm. The weather crews were obviously working overtime to get the storm cell into position; the howling winds battered the now deserted village. Finally, after what felt like ages of trudging through the snow with her burning, sore legs, Flitter finally caught sight of her cloud home. Pumping her shivering and aching wings for lift; Flitter barely made it through the door before she was assaulted.

"WHERE THE BUCK HAVE YOU BEEN!?" Cloud Chaser practically bowled Flitter over as she stormed over; her whole lithe frame shaking with anger as she glared daggers at Flitter. "I've been looking everywhere for you! I thought something terrible had happened. You didn't come home for something, like three days! And you didn't go to work yesterday! What the buck is wrong with you!?" Flitters mouth worked soundlessly as she struggled for traction.

"S-shouldn't you be with the weather crews?" The question was a lame one, but it seemed to abate Cloud Chaser's anger, at least temporarily.

Flitter's sister sighed and ran a hoof through her shock of mane. "I took the day off. You know, to spend with you? On your birthday?" Cloudy began to smirk curiously as she finally let Flitter in. "So, where the heck have you been? Got a stallion on the side or something?" When Flitter paled and shook her head, Cloudy simply laughed and shook her head. "Riiiight."

Taking in a deep breath and counting down slowly; Flitter smiled weakly at her older sister and sat down heavily on the couch. "I was out visiting with a friend. He lives kind out far out from town, so it didn't make sense for me to make the trip a whole bunch."

With a sly grin, Cloudy settled down next to Flitter on the couch. She relaxed against the hoofrest and chuckled to herself as she stared knowingly at Flitter. "So it is a stallion. Does Goldie know?" Her sly grin only grew; and only served to grate Flitters nerves.

Does Goldie know? I doubt it. Not that it matters. What, Cloudy? You wanna know if you can finally stop sneaking around behind my back and start fucking him openly? Fuck you. Flitter clenched her jaw to keep her aggressive thoughts inside her head; the gesture set a surprised grimace through her sister's features.

Distracting herself from Flitters surprisingly aggressive facial expression; Cloud Chaser busied herself with her mane as she spoke. "I um... Take it you guys are on a bit of a rough patch... You feeling alright?" Edging forward with legitimate concern, Cloudy gently nuzzled Flitter’s neck, before making a face at the harsh cordite and recent sweat smell of Flitter’s fur.

After a moment, Flitter smiled lightly and nodded. "Yeah. My friend is helping me a lot." Sinking into the soft couch; Flitter felt content. Then, to ruin the moment, her stomach growled quietly.

Ignoring the aggressive noises Flitter's stomach was making; Cloudy slid a bit closer. "Does this friend of yours have a name? Is he cute?" Cloudy grinned; hungry for the tiniest tidbit Flitter could give her.

Feeling a hot flush begin to spread across her cheeks, Flitter shrugged weakly. "His name is Jack, and um... He's not really cute, more of a rugged handsome, you know?"

When Cloudy's features lit up, Flitter realized how massive her mistake was. Throwing her hooves around Flitter's shoulder; Cloudy shook her dramatically. "Come oooon! Tell me more about your mystery stallion!"

With a sense of dreading trepidation, FLitter smiled weakly and settled into the couch as the elements raged against the cloud home. “W-well… he`s like nobody I've ever met before. He’s a farm b- colt, but he’s really smart. Well, smartish, I suppose. He can be stubborn as all get out, when it comes to getting help with anything.” Flitter shook her head as she recalled some of Jack’s bullheaded antics. “He’s a wonderful friend, and he’s helping me a lot, I just hope I can return the fav-”

Cloudy scrunched up her face with confusion as she prodded Flitter. “Helping you with what? What’s going on Flits?” The look of genuine worry paced behind the expression of disapproval that Cloud Chaser held readily.

“W-well… with being such a push-over. He’s teaching me how to really stand up for myself. Building my self-confidence, helping with just… everything. He’s the one who convinced me to start working out so much.” Flitter rubbed at the back of her neck and failed to meet Cloudy’s shocked look.

Prodding Flitters newly muscled leg; Cloudy whistled quietly. “Wow, no kidding Flits… I’m.. wow!” Cloud Chaser smiled openly at Flitter. “I’m really proud of you for doing something like this! This is like, huge. Now that you’re in this kind of shape, I could get you a spot on the weather team without any issues at all. RD is always bi- complaining about how we’re understaffed, so she’ll totally okay this.” Cloudy hugged Flitter and squeed “I’m so proud!”

Snorting to hide her embarrassment, Flitter shook her head. “Well maybe if your weather captain wasn’t such a lazy twit and actually did fuck all for once, you guys wouldn’t be understaffed! I mean, shitfire Cloudy, RD touts she’s the fastest flier in all of Equestria, yet it takes her a day and a full team just to get a rainstorm out.” When Flitter looked back over to Cloud Chaser to emphasize, she found herself staring at a wide eyed, shocked Cloudy. Wincing at her own choice of words, Flitter rubbed the back of her own neck again. “Sorry for cursing, but it’s the truth.”

To her surprise, Cloud Chaser shock melted away to a sudden burst of enthused laughter. “Fuckin’ preach it! Hah!” Cloudy shook her head and grinned ear from ear. “My little sister, all grown up! Cursing like a sailor and calling lazy dorks out for their bull. Is this because of your new guy?” At Flitters nod, Cloudy sighed whimsically. “You gotta introduce us some time, I owe him for letting me swear in front of you.”

“Hey, you didn’t have to begin with! I learned all of the swears when Mom and Dad fought! I just didn’t like using them ‘cause Mom got pissy when we did.” With a deflating sigh, Flitter shook her head to dispel her thoughts. “But yeah. Jack’s the one that got me to start. It’s really cathartic, not having to hold it all in.”

“Jack? That’s his name? That’s a weird name.” Cloudy rolled her eyes and giggled naughtily. “What’s his cutie mark? Please tell me it’s what I think it is, cuz it’s hilarious if it is!”

Smacking her sister's shoulder lightly, Flitter scoffed. “Get your mind out of the gutter Cloudy. It’s…” Flitter wracked her mind; her thoughts falling upon his numerous and intricate tattoos. “It’s hard to explain what it looks like, I… grab me some paper and a pencil? Please?” Nodding to the request, Cloud Chaser stood, and scrounged up some supplies; her curiosity proving to be larger than her desire to remain on the couch. Flitter began work immediately; and a true to life rough sketch began to take form. After a couple minutes of work, she turned the page to Cloud Chaser. The artwork depicted a large bomb facing downwards with a star upon its face; overtop of dual lightning bolts. The image was wreathed in laurels, and interposed the words ACFMC, and EOD.

As expected, Cloud Chaser sat staring at the image; as if she thought that if she stared long enough, the image’s secrets would unravel themselves and give themselves unto her. “I… have no idea what that is even remotely supposed to be. What does this Jack do? This isn’t a farming cutie mark, that’s for sure.” Cloud Chaser glanced up from the artwork for a moment, before returning her gaze to it; the hope that it’s secrets would open up to her at any moment still alive in her mind. Thankfully, this meant she didn’t see Flitter fidget nervously.

“Well… he was a soldier, and that cutie mark means he’s a hero.” Cloud Chaser’s attention turned upwards immediately, a curious, yet worried expression breaking out across her pretty face. “He’s not from Equestria, he’s from somewhere that violence is a lot more prevalent. His cutie mark means he saves lives. Or, he used to. Now all he does is drink and cause trouble.”

The spark of realization glimmered behind Cloud Chasers eyes as she spoke. “You’re dating a Saddle Arabian Desert Rat! Flitter, that’s hardcore!” The mare practically vibrated in place as she gripped Flitter’s toned shoulders and shook her. “You gotta tell me more! What kinda gear does he have!? I’ve read all about the Desert Rat’s in magazines, they're on the cutting edge of small squad tactics and military gear, even above the griffons!” The foalish excitement emanating from Cloudy was palpable; and infectious.

Grinning in return, Flitter sat back as pride began to seep into her chest and mind. “He’s got this armour, it’s the heaviest stuff I’ve ever seen; makes the royal guard’s look like a foals Nightmare Night get-up. And, he’s got this, this lance that’s erm… enchanted, to shoot fire.”

“It shoots fire!?” Cloud Chaser made a near inaudible squee as she bounced in place. “What does it look like?”

The mare’s smile diminished ever so slightly when Flitter shot her a flat look of slight disapproval. “You already know what it looks like, since you went through my lockbox.” Cloud Chasers smile vanished, be be replaced nearly immediately with swiftly diminishing and burning shame. That’s right Cloudy, I know. I’m not stupid. “What were you even looking for?”

The pain on Cloud Chaser’s features became terribly apparent as she averted her gaze to the floor. “I… I’m really sorry Flitter… I was just… looking for bits. I know, I know, I didn't want to, but I owe a lot of money to some rough ponies, and I’m honestly kind of scared…” She sucked in a ragged breath, and failed to lift her gaze. “i’m so sorry….”

Seeing her sister’s shame laid so bare, Flitter couldn’t keep her anger alive. The heat flushed away as she pulled Cloudy into a squeezing hug of support. “It’s alright… I forgive you Cloudy… but… why do you even owe money? Talk to me sis…” Flitter nuzzled Cloud Chasers neck as she spoke.

“I… Mom fucked us over.” Cloud Chaser’s words hit like a train, forcing Flitter to sit up slowly and stare at her sister with intense worry and trepidation. “she stopped paying the mortgage on the house, and… put the deed in my name… I… I don’t make enough money to afford a house like this Flitter, not in a million years, a-and the bank wouldn’t let me take out a loan, because I don’t have any credit, because we always went through Mom, and- oh Celestia…” Cloud Chaser sniffled and shook her head in an attempt to compose herself. “S-so I took out a loan with some fucking jackass named ‘Dark Flare’ and his gang… fucking pricks… And he’s jacked up our rates… Fuck… I fucked up so bad Flitter… I’m scared…”

Hugging Cloud Chaser close; She could only stroke her sister’s mane as Cloudy cried onto her shoulder weakly. Flitter’s earlier, angrier thoughts felt sour, rancid in her mind. She closed her eyes and nuzzled Cloud Chaser as she cried. It makes sense now… getting so bent out of shape over my work, forcing me to work at Founders when she knows I hate it there… breaking into my strongbox… Figures Mom would do this… probably said ‘You need to grow up and learn to fend for yourself for once. I’m not going to be around to take care of you anymore.’ Bitch. Probably hooked up with some stallion she can suck dry of bits. Flitter tensed her muscles as she sneered hotly at the air. Her thoughts swiftly returned to the present; mainly her older sister, who was falling to pieces in her hooves. Giving Cloudy’s mane a soft pet of reassurance, Flitter nuzzled her once again and spoke. “It’s alright Cloudy. I understand… we’ll get through this, together. Just… next time, tell me? Please?”

Nodding as she smiled feebly at Flitter; Cloud Chaser nuzzled her back lovingly. “O-okay Flitter… H-heh… I’m sorry… this is supposed to be your day. I even got a coupon for a massage down at the spa for you, and I was gonna take you to Sugar Cube Corner for breakfast, but it all got fucked up…”

Flitter’s large bag of bits made a loud thumping clatter as it hit the table, causing Cloud Chaser to jump in surprise. Before her sister had a chance to speak, Flitter smiled confidently to her. “I’ll cover for today, and I’ll help pay off the remainder of whatever we owe. And if you’re really worried about these assholes, I’ll have a chat with Jack. I’m sure he could help keep you safe from those jerks.”

Wiping her eyes, Cloudy forced to pull her wide eyes away from the pile of bits. “Y-you would do that? And… Flitter… I saw those pictures, that’s not a ponies armour, and you’ve got lots of bits of some weird human, and Jack’s a Desert Rat, like you said.”

A sense of dread flooded through Flitters mind, and she scrambled for a viable excuse. “That’s um… because fighting on two legs is better, or so Jack says; so he has armour that lets him.” Flitter cringed internally over how shoddy her excuse was, and followed it up with another equally weak lie. “And he’s got a pet human, his name is-” Flitter racked her brain for a good-sounding human name. “Mark.”

With her muzzle scrunched up in disbelief, Flitter’s sister let it go without much argument. “Fine, If you think your coltfriend can save my flank, I’ll take it. I don’t care how weird he is.” A sly grin slid across her features as she looked back up at Flitter. “So, what’s it like with darker meat?”

“Oh my Celestia, Cloudy, I will kick your flank!”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The fire crackled away merrily as Jack sat cross legged on the ground above a laid out polyester mat. His rifle was in various pieces upon the mat; each awaiting its turn to be cleaned. He worked slowly and methodically; each piece was given nearly intimate attention to it’s cleaning and maintenance. As Jack reached out to grasp the focus lense array; a sharp pain snapped through his shoulder, arcing from plug to plug. He clenched his jaw and grunted in pain, before grabbing the array shakily. When he dabbed the precision lenses with a cotton cloth, somebody knocked on the wooden door of his cave.

“Erm… Mister Kessle? It’s Researcher Field Note. Are you in?”

The stallion’s nervous voice made Jack pause for a moment, before gently setting the array down on the mat. He grabbed his PDA and tapped out his message. “Yeah, I’m here. Get in and close the door.” Field made a surprised horse noise, before ducking in through the door; he closed it swiftly, but even as he did, a drift of snow bellowed inwards, causing the strong fire to flicker. Jack lifted a brow of mere interest, before turning his attentions back to his disassembled weapon. “Nasty weather I take it.”

Nodding in affirmation, Field took a seat at the fire and shivered as he pulled off his thick winter boots. The stallion was dressed for the weather to be certain; a heavy hooded parka wrapped around his frame, and his legs and head were equally well protected. An old-school pair of goggles sat just under his horn. Field smiled thankfully to Jack, before holding his chilly hooves up to the blazing flames. “Many thanks Mister Jack. I had hoped to ask you more questions earlier, but a snowstorm blew in and caught me off guard.” He cocked his head at what Jack was doing, before gasping quietly and scooting closer. “My word, so many intricate pieces… How does it work?”

Field’s child-like enthusiasm set the faintest of smiles upon Jack’s lips as he responded. “I’ll show you when I’m done cleaning. Is the tribe alright?” He finished cleaning and aligning the focuses, before looking up at the small slit-eyed stallion.

Despite himself, Field began to smile at Jack’s worry for the tribe. “Yes, with the hide of the manticore and the fire you created for them, they are much more likely to survive the winter. They would be better off with more furs of course, and both Tanja and Gover are still ill… Thankfully, Algeron has ceased in his brutish ways, mostly due to the beating I assume you gave him.” Jack grunted in confirmation, before smirking lightly and flexing his scabbed knuckles for emphasis. Field took the motion in stride and continued. “You do know that trumping the Alpha makes you the tribes Alpha, correct?” Again, Jack nodded, and began typing; Field interrupted him before he could finish. “And you do realize that doing so makes you the most desirable mate within the tribe?”

Coughing lightly, Jack cast a mixed look at Field, before adding on a tad bit more to his selection of words. “I had figured it’d make me some kind of leader figure to them, that’s just the way it works. If they need fur and meat, I’ll hunt another cat or steal from that farm. If they’re sick, I’ll try and figure out why and put my first aid to work. I’m not gonna bang any of them. Might want to on occasion, but Neanderthal lady isn’t really my scene.” Jack nodded to himself, and started assembling his laser rifle.

Seeing his chance, Field held up a hoof. “Could you show me how your weapon works? I assume it is a weapon… is it?” He smiled winningly, before remembering his fangs. A sense of worry streaked through his mind, but nothing came of it as Jack let out a huffing sound that could have been approval or amusement.

“I will if you teach me the tribe’s names. Make shit easier for the both of us.” He glanced back up at Field, who nodded rapidly in agreement to the proposed trade.

“Of course! I would be honoured to have your help in studying them as well. You can get much closer than I could ever hope to.” Field broke out his satchel full of papers and quills, and began setting up rapidly to take notes on everything Jack told him.

Finding amusement in the small stallions rush, Jack chuckled lightly and waited patiently. Once everything was set, Jack began running Field Note through the inner workings and operation of the laser rifle. “This is the Aegis Arms AER-72 Laser Carbine, manufactured in 2021.” He slowly ran a hand over the barrel shroud with deep reverence. “It’s powered through a macro-fission breeder cell-” He tapped the bulky power cell magazine to show what he meant. “-I don’t know the science behind it working, just the end results and what’s in the manual. The cell itself puts out about one thousand kilojoules of energy, and is charged primarily in the field through solar energy.” Jack gestured towards his solar collector, and the four spare magazines currently charging on it. “On a full charge and at low power, the rifle can fire around two hundred times to full effect. On high power, it can handle around one hundred. The battery creates a massive amount of energy, or light, when the trigger is pulled, and it forces all of that energy through the path of least resistance.” He ran a finger along the rifle’s barrel, before pointing out each individual component as he ‘spoke’. “The light passes through an array of focus lenses and mirrors, forcing it into a tight, focused beam that hits the intended target at the speed of light.”

Field Note nodded as he studiously wrote down every single word spoken by Jack’s PDA. “Amazing… Now I truly wish to see such an advanced device in action!” His wish came true as he watched with distinguishable amazement as Jack reassembled the rifle and all of its intricate parts in under a minute before his very eyes. To Field’s surprise, Jack shouldered the rifle towards the fire, and squeezed the trigger once. A beam of brilliant energy lanced from the barrel and struck the fire, which in turn grew as the logs within burst into roaring flames.

Jack’s PDA spoke before he flipped a tiny switch on the side of the weapon. At the flip of the switch, the weapon made a tiny mechanical hum, before going quiet. “That was low intensity.” He squeezed the trigger, and a brighter, hotter beam lanced out. Under the sudden assault, the blazing fire snuffed itself out for a long moment, before beginning again from the glowing coals. Field’s outstretched hooves felt burned from the sheer heat of the weapon. Jack smirked at the stallions amazement as his PDA spoke. “That was high intensity. It burns hot enough to consume the fire’s oxygen for the moment it’s there. Also ashed the log, so yeah.” Jack set the rifle across his lap and smiled at the researcher.

“O-outstanding!… how hot does the beam burn to do that?” Field felt his inner school colt squealing in excitement at witnessing such an stunning feat of engineering, and visibly fought to keep it down and the human’s respect where it was.

“Standard operational temperature is ballpark nineteen hundred degrees celsius.”

“W- I do not know that range of temperature.” Field squirmed with excitement, before his jaw dropped at the answer.

“For reference, water boils at one hundred, and steel melts at about thirteen fifty. We used to go out and plink steel plates with these on our off time. Punches holes right through milled half inch, it’s nasty. Course, when you’re running that kind of heat, the operator needs protective equipment, and you can’t use it as a SAW. Emptying the mag in one go can fuck up the internals and warp the barrel and focus array. Best use it as a DMR, and in a light anti-infantry capacity, as it does dick all against modern heavy armours.”

The stallion sputtered in shock, before his eyes went to Jack’s armour as it loomed over the small camp. “Y-yes… I can understand why… The Royal Guard could do nothing against such a weapon, save for a magical shield by a trained mage. The… the scientific possibilities from the power cell alone could throw us hundreds of years forward! I just… The operations you underwent, your… prosthetics, they alone could revolutionize our medical industry entirely.” Field rubbed his cheek as he shook his head; the excitement within him being barely contained by his sense of professionalism. Unfortunately, Jack seemingly did not share his enthusiasm.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll treat me real nice. I’ve seen this play out before, and trust me, it won’t be pretty. So I’d rather just let you take notes and stay forty thousand klicks away from the nearest ‘medical’ or ‘science’ center.” Jack snorted as he levered himself up onto his steadfast feet. He set his rifle against his cot, and pulled his exoskeleton over. Throwing it on like a jacket, a series of whirrs and clicks set Field’s teeth on edge as the exoskeleton burrowed into the plugs set into Jack’s flesh. The human showed so little reaction to it that it was disturbing; he barely flinched as the titanium probes entered his body. As the exoskeleton finished fastening itself to his frame, Jack stepped up and into his armour.

Field stood from his seat and watched with apprehension as Jack slipped his arms and legs into the open armours brackets, which in turn clamped down and aligned with his exoskeleton. Small armour plates chittered as they snapped closed and the armour buttoned up. The stallion nearly jumped out of his coat when the massive primary plates clanged down and anchored themselves in securely. Jack stepped away from the wall, and now stood an easy seven and a half feet tall; his head poked out from the top of the hulking shoulders of the armour system as if he was the top foal in a stack of foals wearing a trenchcoat to sneak into a movie theater. That was righted when Jack reached over to his bed and hefted the huge helmet. It settled down over his skull and let out a muted hiss as the suit sealed and pressurized itself. Field soon found himself staring at an emotionless mask with a single covered black slit for the eyes, which he could not see. What he could see, was his own marginally terrified mug staring right back at him.

Jack quickly scanned over his armours HUD read out and mumbled to himself in his head. Body temp at thirty eight, heart rate at ninety eight, resp’ rate at eighteen, BP resting at one-oh-eight… brain activity normal. yeah right. Green connectivity across the plugs, sensors online, motor controls reading green, all systems responding. A painfully familiar little electronic woman’s voice sounded in his ear, confirming what he already knew. All systems nominal, Vitals sub-nominal, no communications detected, weapon detected, bringing up read-out. The ammunition count and weapon sensors appeared in the bottom right corner of his vision for both his rifle and his sidearm, just above the munition count for his shoulder mounted micro-rocket racks. The woman began reading off his ammunition count, even though it was not needed. Micro-rocket munitions at seventy two percent, AT rockets nearing depletion. Laser carbine fully charged. Sabot pistol, seventeen rounds remaining in magazine of twenty, micro-fusion battery at full charge. Finally, the start-up readouts confirmed green, and disappeared from his HUD. As expected, his Comms remained black on all channels, and his map was severely limited to what he’d scouted with the drone. One quick scan later, and Field Note popped up on his map with a little blue tag; Flitter’s was much further away. A faint blue outline edged around the stallion, marking the small, strange baticorn as a friendly.

Great. Now I get to type with fat fingers. Wait, waitwait, wait. I can just… God, fucking… I’m a dumb ass. shitfire. Jack let out a grumble of anger, causing Field to scoot back with worry as he slid his PDA into a small slot that had opened up in the armour’s forearm at his behest. The woman’s voice returned to Jack’s ear, causing him to twitch. Device detected. Would you like to use one or more features? Jack rolled his eyes and sent a ‘yes’ confirmation. He knew what was coming, and he was less than pleased about it. Selecting the thought to speech option, a little notification popped up stating it would require direct connection to plug one. Selecting ‘yes’ again, Jack braced, and grit his teeth in preparation.

Moving forward cautiously, Field looked over the still form of Jack and his armour. The large man was now monstrous in proportion. How he managed to move the hulking set of armour with such grace and ease was left a mystery to Field, but he made an educated assumption that it was due to Jack’s ‘exoskeleton’. Taking note on how Jack’s left hand would spasmodically twitch and dance at his side; Field Note could only wonder what Jack was doing, standing there without making a sound.

“GOD FUCK MOTHER FUCKING SHITFIREFUCK!” Field screeched in terror and bolted to the cover of the large log as the new, loud voice bellowed in apparent pain. Jack’s armoured arms jerked and pumped as he bounced from boot to boot; a gruffer, fuller sounding electronic voice sounding from his helmet. It was still practically emotionless, but it was paced considerably faster than the voice of his PDA. “GAH! I hate that shit!”

With his eyebrows hiding up inside his fringe, Field took a tentative step forward and swallowed nervously. “M-mister Kessle? Are you…. weeell?” He dragged the word out, unsure if it was truly the most appropriate word to use when regarding Jack.

In return, Jack nodded as he rested one of his massive armoured hands on his faceplate. “Yeah, just engaged thought to speech. We use it for the mutes or guys who get fucked up, but it hurts like a scalded bitch! Fuck, itches after too.” He scratched at the back of his helmet and let out a dissatisfied growl as his itch went by unsated. “Definitely sticking to typing, but I need to use my rifle. Come on, we’re going to visit the tribe and hunt a cat.”

“Y-you’re going to hunt a Manticore? They’re.. they’re almost at the top of the foodchain! Attacking one is very dangerous.” Field declared as he started pulling on his winter gear again. His thick glass goggles settled over his face, protecting his sensitive eyes from any light glaring off the snow.

“Not anymore they’re not. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed this yet, but I get off on the danger.” Field Note could only imagine the sharp toothed grin Jack was shooting him from behind the helmet; he sighed quietly and shook his head as he followed the goliath out of his cave.

“You are a very disturbed human, Mister Kessle.”

“No shit. Call me Jack, my Dad’s Mister Kessle. Now hurry the fuck up, the less time I spend with this damn thing in my head, the better.”

Author's Notes:

And now we've broken the 100k mark! I hope you guys are buckled up, because things are gonna get a little squirrely in the upcoming chapters.

Also, big shout out to my new Editor, Kyriteon . He's taking the weed wacker to my crap and acting as a great soundboard for ideas.