>>352557'old ones, had to be rebuilt. we were locked in teleportarium datacores for two decades until transfer. records will be delivered after our reports are filed'
'There are two facts still troubling me, not including Olympa's presence there. May I?'
'sure? i mean, go ahead'
'Twin Hill city and the Overlook portion was home to 80,000 ponies. 30% of the population were descendants of Guardians, <400 nobles lived there, >20% were active Night and Day Guard of post-War reformation units. Why would a well protected, highly established, tax free neutral location in Central Equestria be abandoned, especially one that a Solar Herald inhabited?'
'....shit. none of that makes sense without context, witch. do we have direct access to local Solars outside of sending Chisan around? i dont like the thought of exposing his connections without absolute necessity'
'Excluding the Day, Royal, and Honor Guard here? They were part of an elite unit that only answers to Princess Celestia. Their records do not exist officially or unofficially. The one pony with close faction knowledge was Marquis du Spiral. His disappearance has caused a great deal of unease and damage.'
'cant believe this. witch are you dead positive theres not a single pony here with ties to the Solars?'
'None that are willing to speak with us outside of explicit authorization. The majority are Lunars, independents, Moorites, and Ferron. We would need to enact precisely what Aguina stated we should not, unless a critical threat is presented.'
'that royally screws us, pun intended. Enginseer we have a background data problem. Twin Hill/Overlook should not have been in the state it was. initiate a deep chroniton scan directly at the Bulletin Board'
'Agreed. Mallia, in the sole interest of security do not reveal the results of a scan. If questioned only state that you are investigating anomalous signatures in the Fortress and that the demi-sentient is unable to perform the duties it was designed for. We may have been compromised without knowing whom allowed that incident, why, when, and how.'
>Visibly shutting down emotion to an appropriate engrammatic level, Chisan makes an affirmative motion."That is correct, Enginseer. The Inquisitor stated each Black Candle is able to transfer at most eight standard tons of weight. The possibility of retrieving a fully intact datacore or STC processing unit is a technical unknown, but it is the best option we have. Do not apologize for what you do not know, Mallia."
>Shaking his head a polite 'no' motion, the Scion clasps hands behind his back, rocking on his heels and gazing past you into the Courtyard."Five minutes if you would, Enginseer. After my first meeting with Flash I learned of the numerous consequences being in this omniverse holds. Humans are at a perilous tipping point; we have few solid allies amongst the hundreds of factions on Tallus. The vast majority of humans have technology that is pre-Age of Strike, that is to say from the pre-Orbital Era. There are only three of us beyond the Nanite Age which is where the distinctions between magic and technology do not exist. It is our shared duty to, as she stated, 'uplift our ancestral analogues in slow, carefully planned measures so as not to disrupt or destroy their technological innocence'. Furthermore we are to never show them the volatile differences or changes from our own political, social, cultural, technological, religious, and spiritual conflicts as doing so would cause extensive damage to their gestalt. Flash is our gestalt. There are four other gestalts, one of which was according to her destroyed in a highly classified incident."
>Eyes flicking left and right in a struggle to find the right words, the Scion scowls downwards."Were she conscious Flash would have much more to speak on this topic, I am a wholly inadequate substitute for her wisdom and knowledge. As for the STC's themselves, including the unit below the Workshop, they must be copied entirely from local materials to prevent triggering the Era Lock. I was told that before Marquis du Spiral Disclosure left, he and Flash were prototyping wargear that would allow for gradual technological progressions"
>Suppressing his own irritation, Chisan exhales heavily through his nostrils, pointing a carapace finger towards the Fortress' center, then back into the Workshop."Ones which would not cause factions to seek conflict against the humans of this world, ourselves included. Golden and Dark Age of Technology eras of wargear that would not fail, cross-compatible alloys and composites that can be easily repaired, reliable weapons, scanning systems, even food preservation methods that would allow Razorback to be partially self-sufficient. Spiral's disappearance thoroughly destroyed the plans Flash had visions of. The foundations of our technological base were barely set, and we are ill suited to take up their duties. As our Inquisitor is severely injured and will not easily recover we are given free reign, pun not intended, to pursue duties that solely improve the standing of Razorback."
>Giving a briefly desolate expression, both gloved hands lift to rub his temples, speaking in a low, guarded tone."Including the forced 'interrogation' of an extremely critical allied Very Important Pony. Were Flash awake she would do so without hesitation, but my orders are to both protect the sanctity of locals and to assist said locals when requested.. Knight Raindrop included."
'In other words, you cannot overcome Storm Trooper anti-xenos engrams without experiencing severe distress?'
"That is correct Admiral."
'We do not have access to removal until Inquisitor Aguina is awake and aware. There is no recourse: interrogate the Rune Knight enough maintain her cover. Enginseer, I advise you to remove Flash's wargear and place it in the shared locker. We have a considerable amount of data to examine, cross-reference, file, and catalogue. Also, prioritize your date, it would be poor sport to keep a Knight waiting!'