Back in Ponyville, the day had progressed in a much more enjoyable way, with markedly less violence and gunfire. Flitter smiled as Field joked, the two of them refreshing his field supplies for another two weeks out in the frigid forest observing the tribe. The list was a long one, as it included some food for Jack as well. By the time they finished the trip, it was almost dark out. Pulling her hood up over her ears to protect them from the chilly wind, Flitter glanced down toward the path that led away from town. “We should hurry up, it's a pain to get through the forest in the dark.”

Field casually looked over at the mare and smirked in good humour. “I don't mind at all.” His eyes held a very faint glow; being perfectly suited to see in the dark.

“Oh, right. Batpony.” Flitter rolled her eyes as the stallion laughed. Feeling a tinge of embarrassment, she stuck her tongue out at him. “Well if you're so good, why don't you lead?”

Waggling his eyebrows at her in the growing dark; Field took the head and hooked Flitter's feathery wing with his own leathery one. The mare huffed indignantly as she was led by the wing through the ever darkening forest. By the time they grew near Jack's cave, Flitter could barely make out the batpony butt that was less than a few feet in front of her.

Sighing quietly, Flitter stopped and stretched her limbs. “I hope he's not still angry at me…” Worry etched itself into her dark features as Field turned.

“I'm sure he's forgiven you Flitter, he doesn't seem the type to hold a grudge-” At Flitter's coughing laugh, Field cocked his head and perked a brow. “What?”

Shaking her head as she smiled weakly up at him, Flitter sighed in defeat. “You really have no idea the kind of grudge that man can hold.” Fixing her hood, Flitter took a steadying breath and moved for where she knew the entrance to be. “Come on, let's get out of the cold.”

Entering the cave first, Flitter shook herself free of snow at the door and squinted to see in the dark cave. Maybe he's asleep. “Jack? Are you in?” The rustling tarp behind her signaled that Field had joined her.

“I don't see anybody. Perhaps he has gone for a walk?” Field set down some of the food that they’d bought for Jack near the rocks, before turning back to Flitter. “Perhaps start the fire. I'll drop off my supplies and check the tribe's camp.”

Smiling at the stallion through the dark, Flitter began gathering kindling and logs from Jack's stash. “I'll put some food on too, he can put food away like you wouldn't believe.”

Field chuckled lightly as he secured his winter gear and saddlebags before exiting the cave. Having been left to her own devices, Flitter tried to figure out how she was going to light the fire without matches. Feeling around in the dark for Jack's lighter, Flitter's hooves passed over the steel casing of his rifle. A confused frown crossed over her features as she pulled the weapon over. That's weird… he never goes anywhere without a weapon. Fumbling with the rifle, Flitter braced it against her shoulder and aimed the muzzle at the kindling as she held it up with her hind hooves. Come ooon… With her wing wrapped around the weapon, she tried to yank the trigger like she had seen Jack do a dozen times. The weapon flashed in the dark, causing the mare to yelp in surprise as it bucked against her shoulder and consumed her vision with brilliant light. Dropping the rifle, Flitter covered her eyes and loudly groaned as the vibrant line remained burned into her retinas. Over her own groaning, she could hear the crackling of a stoked fire. Flopping onto her side and covering her eyes, Flitter lamented her own stupidity. “OooOh…. That hurt like crazy… owowow…..ow...dangit…” Slowly, the line began to fade from its seared slot behind her eyelids; the cave was lit by the cozy fire now.

Slowly sitting up and blinking hard to try and expel the laser's ghost from her vision, Flitter looked slowly around the cave. Jack's armour remained vigilant over the small camp, and his exo skeleton was discarded haphazardly over his bed. Flitter furrowed her brow as she spotted the hat that she'd bought Jack sitting next to his pillow. “Why would he leave all of this-”

Mid-sentence, Field burst into the cave panting; his parka steaming from the heat his little body was putting out. Panting, he fought to speak as Flitter hopped up and approached with a worried expression. “T-the camp-!” He sat down on the cold stones and coughed, before continuing. “-gone. They're gone!”

“What do you mean they're gone?” Worry wormed its way into Flitter's mind. What did you do Jack…

Field seemed to be falling into a panic. “T-they’re all gone! Every last human!” He shuddered. “They… were taken.”

Furrowing her brow hard, Flitter rubbed her cheek and tried to make sense of it. “Okay, let's…” She sighed softly and sat back down on Jack's bed. “Let's eat some food and stay here for the night. Maybe Jack will come back during the night. If not…” Flitter trailed off. What if he doesn't come back? Shooing the thought away as best she could, Flitter swallowed thickly. “We’ll take a look at the camp in the morning. We’ll figure it out from there.”

Looking as if he were about to protest, Field slowly slumped as the situation hit him. “Y-yes… that's a good plan.” The stallion plopped down on the smooth log and cradled his muzzle in his hooves.

With a quiet, thankful breath, Flitter got up and sat next to the batpony. Setting a wing over his back, Flitter smiled confidently. “We'll find them Field.”
______________________________________________________________________

Jack awoke in the pitch black dark with his shoulder engulfed in dull throbbing pain; the terrified mewlings and chirping of equestrian humans filled his ears as his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. He wasn’t moving, and he could hear voices. A familiar voice, one that filled his mind with knife edged anger, and another that seemed a little too cold and indifferent.

“Miss Netting, you've outdone yourself with this shipment. Three alpha types, and plenty of capable breeders. They’ll make excellent test subjects. “

“Yea, and what about the Freak? And the stuff he had?” Miss Netting, now he had a name to the mare he was going to kill. Jack furrowed his brow and listened intently.

“A bonus will be added to your pay. We have big plans for the human.” With his eyes growing accustomed to the dark fairly fast, Jack looked around swiftly for anything he could use. Finding himself stuffed in what appeared to be a locked, dark room that contained both himself and the tribe, Jack cursed inside his head. His eyes strained against the dark; it looked as if there were catwalks high above. Maybe if I-

“And the stuff?”

“We’re beginning our studies immediately. As I said, Miss Netting, you will be receiving a large bonus for your fine work.”

There was a subdued sigh from Netting. “Alright Maltenics. Just give us a message if you're in need.”

“That's Doctor, Maltenics.”

“Right, right.”

Jack scowled as he listened to his kidnapper trot away, probably with a big fat paycheque. Stupid! Stupidstupid fuck! Jack rolled his shoulder, and found all thought speared straight from his mind by a massive lance of boiling pain. Gritting his teeth tightly as he clutched his branded shoulder, he hardly noticed the large forward door being unlocked. The brand had pressed in deep, he could feel the valleys molded into his once inked flesh from the red hot iron. Light suddenly flooded the room, blinding him and the other humans. On the catwalks high above in the impenetrable dark, unicorns trotted along, using cattle prods to coerce the humans out of the holding pen. Stumbling off the concrete and onto soft grass, Jack blinked hard and shook his head to try and make sense of where he was.

This ain't good… maybe I can use this. They think I'm some ape... Pain and annoyance coursed through him as he looked around at the enclosure. There were around thirty humans milling about, and it was furnished like a monkey's cage at the zoo. Immediately looking for an exit, all Jack found were reinforced doors like the one closing behind him, and tall concrete walls that went up fifteen feet before terminating into a round observation unit that surrounded the enclosure. He could see around two dozen scientists viewing them; taking notes and chatting idly.

The tribe stuck around him like his personal flock, each equally terrified and bewildered. Same boat… just don't show it, they need you. Jack shook his scraggly mop of hair from his eyes and groaned as he kneeled down next to what appeared to be an artificial stream that ran through the enclosure. Use the water where it comes out, who knows what these guys do in here. Splashing water onto his face to clean away the sweat that had etched lines into his dirty mug, Jack ignored the scant moment his reflection was present in the crystal clear water.

Slowly, the tribe began to disperse about the enclosure, sniffing about and chirping up storms with the other humans. Falling to rest on his haunches, Jack's eyes began to wander. He began picking out the different subtypes in the enclosure tribe. There were quite a few larger males, and some of what he could only agree to call breeders. No children. His eyes eventually fell to rest on a much, much larger man. He was wearing a pair of torn adidas track pants as a kilt. The other man was staring back at him, with wide, soft eyes filled with surprise.

Jack slowly perked a brow, before slowly pointing at the large man, then to his own head. The large man smiled. Oooooh shit! Terran human! Jack sprang up to his feet, and began treading over to meet the equally excited adidas wearing man. Letting out a strained laugh, Jack shook his head and on instinct tried to speak to him. All he succeeded in doing was doubling himself over with a wet coughing fit; the larger man patted his back roughly and adopted a concerned expression that sat naturally on his soft babyface. Giving a thumbs up, Jack straightened himself and looked up to regard the new man. He found himself looking up further, as he swiftly realized that Babyface held at least six inches of height on him. And a few pounds, Jesus, how much does this guy weigh? 300? Jack smiled and shook his head in disbelief. Field's gonna lose his shit.

Pointing to Jack's chest, Babyface made a small nod to try and draw Jack's attention. Glancing down, Jack found his dogtag to have thankfully remained around his neck. Oh, he wants to know my name. Easy enough. Offering the single tag to the larger man, Jack smiled in tandem as it was taken and read over. That smile faltered when Babyface’s eyes bugged out and he choked on his own tongue. He looked up sharply into Jack's own surprised eyes, and gave him a tiny, three fingered shove, as if to see if he were real. Jack slowly perked a brow in confusion as Babyface took a respectful step back and bowed his head in reverence.

Oooh...kaaay…

Up in the observation deck, an older unicorn stared down at the interaction. “Fascinating. Truly fascinating.”

The hippogriff that stood next to her with a bored expression eyed the new group critically. Pointing at the two humans known as Algeron and Blunda in particular, he spoke. “Those two. The sub-alpha and the child. They will do for now.”

Dr. Maltenics glanced over at the other scientist and fought to cover the unprofessional levels of dislike she held in regards to him. “I'll have them separated from the group. Do you have something to show for your work yet?” She knew he didn't, but wanted to hear for herself.

“No.” Without skipping a beat, the hippogriff smiled slyly. “But that sub-alpha will make an excellent frame for my work. Expect results within the week. Doctor.” At that, he turned on his paws and treaded out silently, leaving Dr. Maltenics with no answers and ample frustration.

Sitting down at her oaken desk, the mare pulled off her safety goggles and let out a long sigh as she rubbed her eyes. Setting her hooves down on her desk, she spent a moment just sitting, allowing herself that singular moment of relaxation. The moment passed, and her horn lit up; the strange snub nosed device floated up in front of her. Looking it over with great scrutiny, she began to take notes. Tiny words were engraved into its side with the precision few craftsmen could match. From Silver Netting’s report, and the remains of her face, the device was undoubtedly a weapon. Maltenics mind immediately went to the flintlock muskets that the griffon empire was so proud of. “It's too small…” The mare’s eyes opened a bit as she pulled the hammer back and the cylinder rotated in sync. “Such precision… fascinating…” Decocking the hammer, she set the weapon back down onto her desk.

To Dr. Maltenics’ annoyance, somepony pounded frantically on the door to her office. Sighing in frustrated acceptance, her horn lit up and opened the door a bit. “Yes? What is it?”

Poppy Gallipoli burst in, deepening Maltenics’ annoyance. “Dr. Maltenics!” She proclaimed, before taking a moment to breath and compose herself; the mare was smiling broadly. “The device the human had, the cylindrical one? It's a power source- we’ve… we've done detection tests on it, and the power it could put out is-is massive!”

All annoyance toward the Head Research Assistant disappeared in a flash as Dr. Maltenics sat up in her chair and beckoned the mare forward with her sheath of papers. Taking the papers in her magic once Poppy was close enough, Maltenics began pouring over the notes and statistics. She blinked hard, and stared down at the papers, as if they would explain exactly what she was looking at.

“The device seems to be wired to a protected button that’s attached to the vest as well. We haven't had any luck getting to it, or finding a way to turn the source on.” The research assistant sat down in the chair opposite of the doctor and ran a hoof through her soft pink mane.

Shaking her head, Dr. Maltenics set the papers down and fixed her glasses. “Cease all attempts to activate it for now. Under no circumstance is anybody under clearance level seven to see this device from now on. I want every note, every scrap of paper filed securely. We need to be very, very careful with this. We don't know what it's capable of, let alone why this human had it…”

Poppy swallowed nervously and nodded her agreement to the plan. “What… What about… You know who? Should we um…”

“No.” Maltenics looked up at the larger mare and made it clear that there was to be no argument or deviation on her orders. “We’re keeping these anomalies, and the device. Hide them if you have to. I'm not losing a chance like this to some hairbrained, half-baked, cockheaded scheme by some stallion who thinks his flatulence smells like roses.” Maltenics tapped the papers, and then pointed at the humans down in the pen. “This is our chance to really change the world. Do you understand that? Whatever that old fool is working towards, its nothing compared to what we could do with this, with him.” The mare's eyes drifted down to the strange tattooed human as he stood with her original anomaly. Poppy nodded rapidly, and excused herself to enact the plans set before her. Once her door clicked shut, the older scientist brushed a length of her ruddy mane from her eyes. “Yes… We're going to change the world, you and I….” She smiled down at the human, before turning her attentions back to her desk. “I'll send Grace your regards, human.”

________________________________________________________________

Morning came upon Flitter and Field rudely; Flitter's internal clock waking her for her usual morning physical training. Of course, there wouldn't be any training until she found Jack. Sitting up from the canvas bed, the mare yawned tiredly and looked around the cave. Field was still flopped over on his side by the smoldering embers of the fire; his leathery wings rustling as he twitched in his sleep. Sighing to herself in resignation, Flitter rolled off the cot and pulled on her hoodie. The cave felt cold without her human friend there.

Prodding Field impatiently, Flitter looked around as she tried to rouse the comatose stallion. “Field, Field wake up.”

“Nosm… minutes…” Field rolled over onto his side and covered his face with a wing. When the prodding increased, he flailed weakly at the offending hooves. “Eeeeeeeeee…..” Snorting in annoyance, Flitter clamped her teeth down on his tail and gave it a quick yank. Field yelped in pain as his wings spread wide. Scrambling to his hooves, he blinked away sleep and morning grog. “Mmup! I’mmm...up.”

Spitting out the now thrashing tail, Flitter fought to suppress a smirk. “You sure? I can give it another tug if you want.” Her smirk split open into a grin as the stallion flushed hotly and stammered. Shaking her head, Flitter motioned toward the door. “Come on, let's go find our humans.”

With Field Note nodding his agreement, the pair headed back out into the serene forest in hopes of finding any kind of clue regarding where a dozen humans could have disappeared to overnight. They found the crude camp in disarray, the snow heavily disturbed by frantic feet. The final piece fell into place when Flitter found something Field had missed in the dark. There were hoof prints in the snow, as well as drag marks.

Field slowly became more and more solemnly sorrowful; panic having come and gone. “Slavers… how did they find them? I… I don't understand... ” He plopped down into the snow and cradled his head in his hooves. “this isn't fair…”

Staring at the marks in the snow, Flitter felt something begin to build inside her. Something that boiled and brewed like a magma pipe, deep below the surface. Somebody had taken the tribe; had caught Jack by surprise. Someone had taken him from her.

Somebody was going to pay.

________________________________________________________________

Trotting through the observation area, Dr. Maltenics held her eyes on the glass before her. A team of professional wranglers waited on standby for her orders. Staring down into the enclosure, the mare parted her slowly graying burgundy mane and tied it behind her ears. “Alright, team one, proceed with removal for processing.” The lead pegasus nodded, and trotted off to alert his team. Soon enough, the sub-alpha was separated from the primary group, and scooped up in magic. He struggled for a moment, before becoming enamoured with the glamour charm the lead pegasus wore. Things seemed to be going well. The team moved on to take the younger human, and managed to scoop him up before what Maltenics could only guess to be the child's mother squawked in alarm and let out a screech. Having finally noticed the removal, the rest of the humans began to hoot and screech in panic; the bulk of the group scattering for the perceived cover the faux trees promised them. The child struggled in the magic field, and the caster furrowed his brow in concentration.

Rapid movement in Maltenics peripheral vision drew her attention, but all too late to give warning. Her original anomaly, tagged 3901, had reached the child, but couldn't reach. He'd turned away from the child, and taken a knee while cupping his hands down by his crotch. The movement was the new anomaly, running full bore at 3901. Maltenics nearly bounced her head off the glass as she jerked forward in shock as 3901 gave the new human a boost, vaulting him high into the air. The now airborne human impacted the pegasi wrangler and grabbed on tight. The wrangler panicked, resulting in a crash outside of containment that Maltenics couldn't see. Soon after, the child was dragged in, and the normally unreachable extraction door rolled shut. The doctor broke into a gallop, hoping to keep the wranglers from injuring the new human too badly before she could conduct tests.

________________________________________________________________

Jack's boot pistoned forward, catching the unicorn under his chin. The effort was rewarded when the pony’s head snapped backwards and he fell to the floor. Spinning on his heels, Jack struck outwards and found purchase on more soft flesh. His eyes darted around as the eight pony wrangling team did their best to pin him down; he needed an exit, fast. Wrapping an arm around one of the smaller ponies throats, he hefted the pony up and used them as a shield as he began breaking away from the group. The earth pony thrashed and gasped for air desperately, only to have the whipcord muscled arm tighten down like a vice. The team followed him cautiously as he made wordless threats to the struggling mare’s health. Exitexitexit! Come ooon! Jack let out a loud grunt of pain and anger as a burgundy aura ripped the struggling mare from his grasp and pinned him hard against the floor. Jack thrashed and fought in vain to escape, but to no avail.

“Stand down extraction team.” The mare’s voice caused him to look up through the hazy red magic field that held him to the floor, giving him a glance of the off-white unicorn that held him down. She wore a labcoat and scrubs underneath; the name tag ‘Dr. Maltenics’ sat proudly on her chest. A smaller brown unicorn mare with a vibrant pink mane looked over the mare's shoulder at him with wide, curious eyes. Jack bared his teeth at them; the last form of defiance he could muster currently. The scientist rolled her eyes and gestured at the team. “Get him strapped to the gurney and prepared for processing.”

“Yes ma'am.”

The mare turned toward what Jack could only guess to be her assistant, the mare with the pink hair. “Poppy, go with them and make sure he's tagged properly please. Send for me immediately if you find anything.”

Poppy nodded as the team strapped Jack down tightly to a rolling gurney, and kept pace next to him as he was wheeled off through well lit corridors. Internally, Jack began to panic. They're gonna cut me open. Just like I thought they would. Gotta escape. Gotta escape, need to get out! The mare smiled sweetly at him as they came to a halt. “It's okay, we're not going to hurt you.” She softly rubbed at his shoulder, the touch lingering far too long for Jack's liking. Fuck off!

He was being loaded onto some kind of archaic machine that whirred loudly as it came to life. The leather straps holding Jack down bit into his flesh hard and rolled his arms forcefully until his wrists pointed upwards. A spindly arm slowly extended down, a short numbered plate in its grasp. Jack's heart jumped when the branding crashed back into his mind like a car wreck. Gritting his teeth in preparation, he closed his eyes and looked away as the metal plate pressed against his upturned forearm. Instead of the terrible boiling pain he expected, a slight tingle spread down his arm, before the machine pulled away and shut down. A panicked glance down showed a series of four letters faintly glowing red and gold on the underside of his forearm.

4859

The glow slowly subsided as Jack stared at it; the ponies unstrapping him from the machine as he sat there in stunned silence. The mare named Poppy smiled at him kindly as he was placed back down on the gurney. “There! That wasn't so bad now was it? Now no matter what happens, we can find you.” She beamed as Jack's features slowly twisted in horrified realization.

The halls all started to run together, the gurney wheels clattering over linoleum and under magically powered lights. Jack had been strapped down again, the battered and bruised team obviously not trusting him one bit to behave nicely. Poppy accompanied him throughout the short journey until they reached the processing room. There she split from his side and entered a small room off to the side. The team hauled Jack off the gurney, and one of them earned a rage fueled boot tread to the face. Cartilage broke and the pony screamed in pain as they bled like a stuck pig. As he was pinned down hard, Jack began cackling at the pony with the broken nose. Poppy entered the room again, her beaming smile replaced by an unhappy frown. “Come on 4859, behave or we’ll take those booties away from you. Daisy, could you strip him down please?” Poppy had a pair of surgeon's scrubs on, and a trolley full of tools rolled next to her as the team gruffly striped Jack down to nothing. The ponies all paused, save for the one still dealing with his broken nose. Their eyes staying below Jack's beltline, and despite his best attempts, Jack's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Poppy let out an excited breath as she approached; setting her hooves down on his hairy thigh and moving them to the edge of his prosthetic. “You… are very special, aren't you?” She looked up at him, and met his glare with exuberance. She idly licked her lips and trotted around his side. “Begin notes.” A feather quill lifted off the trolley and dipped itself in ink; a sheath of papers followed it. “4859 exhibits extreme aggression and unwillingness to cooperate, unlike the others.” She brushed some of his greasy hair away from his face. “Subject has the most remarkable eyes… large surgical scars across the forehead…” she tilted his head with her magic. “And a… hmm… I don't know what this is…” She tapped at his cranial plug, which elicited a suppressed growl of disapproval from Jack. “I don't recognize the metals used, I'll take a shaving.” A quiet metallic rustle met Jack's ears, but was quickly overcome by something that sounded akin to a bonesaw. The sound of metal on metal screeching filled his ears, and the horrifically painful vibrations earned a tortured scream from him that only abated by the slightest when the saw blade broke with a twang.

“Attempts to take metal shaving have failed. I'll try something else later.” Poppy set the broken saw aside as Jack panted weakly and shuddered. “4859 is in excellent health, may have been a manual labourer. Skin inkings are very intricate, and-” The mare cocked her head to the side and peered. “Subject seems to have several metallic protrusions matching the one on the back of the skull spread across his body… how strange.” She trotted around him, poking and prodding eagerly. “Legs seem to have been replaced with some sort of complex metal prosthesis, again, I don’t recognize many of the materials used… However, having seen it in action, it seems to be very high quality. I wasn’t aware the human had lost its legs until we stripped him.” Poppy stood, and approached her trolley, pulling out a large blood drawing needle. “I’ll take a few samples for the lab.”

Jack winced as she pushed the needle in deep and drew out as much blood as the vial could take. The following hours went by painfully slowly, with the mare circling him, going on and on with her notes. Occasionally she would stop, take an often painful sample, and go back to what she was doing prior. Her stack of papers had reached a dangerously large proportion, and most of the wrangling team had left. Only Jack, Poppy, and one of the team remained in the processing room. When Poppy stepped away with her trolley full of samples and trimmings, Jack allowed himself a weak sigh of relief. Finally… He closed his eyes and willed his aching body to be quiet for even just a moment. His ears pricked as Poppy hoofed the cart off to another scientist at the door.

“Let’s schedule 4859 for physical tests tomorrow at two, okay? Oh, and please be careful with those shavings, they were very difficult to obtain.” The other scientist nodded, and trotted off with the cart in tow. Turning back, Poppy smiled at Jack and approached. She rubbed at his chest lightly. “You can be very well behaved when you want to be 4859.” She beamed happily down at him as he glared up at her. “Tomorrow is a big day for you too, you get to go for runs! Yes you do!” She ruffled Jack’s greasy hair, before turning to the door. The gurney clattered along behind her as she took Jack back to the enclosure. After saying her worthless goodbyes and placing his folded cammies on his stomach, and unclipped him from the gurney and used her magic to safely move him into a temporary holding pen.

Pulling on his pants with the care and speed of a man spent, Jack leaned against the wall and panted in exhaustion as the primary door rolled open. The human enclosure awaited, and if he didn’t shuffle forward fast enough, the wranglers would taze him in the back again. Falling forward onto the grass, Jack heard the soft thumping of feet approaching in soft grass. Someone with a large paw of a hand gave him a shake, and earned a disapproving grumble in return for the effort.

The other man simply sighed, and plucked Jack off the ground like he was a sack of wheat. Wheezing in surprise, Jack groaned as he was fireman carried across the enclosure to where he could only assume the other man slept. Being carefully set down against a smooth rock, Jack shook his head and rubbed at his eyes. Shooting the big man a thankful thumbs up, and managed a slow glance upwards. His eyes lingered on the other man’s forearm.

3901

Sighing softly to himself, Jack set his head back against the rock and stared up at the observation area. Somewhere up there was his gun, and a two megaton nuclear device. I’m not leaving without either. I don’t care how many bodies I leave on the floor. They wanted this.

One of the enclosure doors began to trundle open, rousing him from his dark ruminations. Another small pack of humans were herded in, all of which seemed exhausted. 3901 got up, and beckoned for Jack to do so as well with eagerness. Grunting in acknowledgement, Jack slowly levered himself up to his feet as the door closed behind the new group. Catching sight of a shock of vibrant red hair, Jack immediately perked up. 3901 treaded across the grass, and beckoned back toward Jack. A lithe red headed woman approached 3901, one of her trimmed eyebrows arched with curiosity. Without pause, 3901 herded her before Jack and made an excited gesture toward him, as if to say ‘Look who I found!’

The pair stared at each other in awkward silence; the woman running a calloused hand through her military cropped ginger hair. She snorted a laugh of disbelief as Jack stood stock still in stunned silence; his eyes wide and filled with swirling emotions. Her fingers and hands moved in a rhythmic pattern, easily recognizable as sign language.

{Hello Jack.}

Shivering as his hair stood on end, Jack slowly returned the sign. {Hello Elissa.}

Author's Notes:

Boom! Surprise seven day chapter update! I figured I would hard charge a finished chapter before Fallout drops and I disappear from the face of the earth.

In Ballad News, we now have a new editor, Jade! Everyone give Jade a huge welcome!
I'm also having a new cover image commissioned, so here's hoping that works out.

Finally, this chapter, and the following two are part of a three part mini-chapter series, canonically know as THE FAN. Enjoy.