And now that I've gone back over the chapters I already read, I can proceed with chapter 4!
Though seriously, I'm not quite sure I'm on-board with the author's decision to put the title and stuff aligned left. Generally they're centered… Well, at least the text isn't full-justified.
The chapter starts with Blackjack listening to the Overmare's logs that she brought out of the stable. The logs confirm that she's a paranoid nutter. P-21 also confirms this. Lots of paranoid rants about how she thinks the other mares are out to get her, but we also get valuable information about what led up to the events of the first chapter. She had Duct Tape unseal the stable so she could get some help from Stable-Tec in retaking it. She sent out U-21 to find and make contact with them, and then had Duct Tape bumped off. There's mention of Sanguine, who's apparently with Stable-Tec and wants the mysterious EC-1101 file that was mentioned earlier in the story and is kinda driving the plot apparently but I didn't re-read chapter 1 and neglected to mention this stuff. It's a file from the computers that is now in Blackjack's PipBuck and that's why she's running away. And why she's dreaming about Deus cutting it off with a chainsaw penis. Seriously, I can't tell if that line was amazing or terrible. Or amazingly terrible. Terribly amazing?
P-21 does not enjoy listening to the recordings and is visibly distressed.
We get a little more touching on P-21 and Duct Tape's relationship. Not much. Basically Duct Tape really liked him and was nice to him but he didn't return her feelings. Also, his advice to not trust the Overmare may have gotten her killed. Oh, drama. If this were actually in the story and not the backstory I'd be worried I was reading a soap opera.
So Blackjack goes "well, that was pointless" and P-21 counters that it actually told them a great deal of useful information. So they decide that they're main goal is to find out who Sanguine is and what EC-1101 does.
Then there's a fight scene with roboponies. Ah yes, this is around where I stopped reading. It was either this or the next action scene. I forget which. Blah blah blah, fight robot, loot get. Or at least crappy electronic components get. That Blackjack misses and P-21 gets. I'm really hoping that Blackjack actually gets the chance to do something soon. I dunno.
Blah blah blah, they get a magic energy weapon, Blackjack doesn't like it 'cause she put her skill points into Guns which is a completely different thing. Actually that's pretty nice, it shows Blackjack being knowledgeable about firearms and the difference between them and the laser thing and P-21 is confused. So good work, Somber, you rectified something I was about to complain about.
Then another action scene with more robots. Sigh. Well, on the bright side at least when it's robots there isn't likely to be angst and gore. It's actually Blackjack using the beam gun to varying levels of effect. I almost missed that detail because I didn't want to read another action scene.
Fuck, this is making me want to play Hard Reset. Fun indie shooter. Lots of shit blowing up. Also a plot that nobody can figure out what it is.
Something something pegasus corpses here. Blackjack goes through area and, no red bars in sight, helps herself to some Big Mac 'n' Cheese she gets from a vending machine.
This is really shaping up to be one of those chapters that's big on character smalltalk and building an environment and atmosphere, but not a lot of actual plot.
Blah blah blah, more proceeding, more shooting at robots, more pegasus corpses, Blackjack puzzles over a grenade, vaporizes a robot with a critical hit, then Blackjack finds a pegasus mare and the mare shoots her in the face.
Thankfully the mare is polite enough to just sit there while Blackjack chugs a healing potion and a Sparkle~Cola, notices that her eyes are glowing. She goes off with P-21 and we get more backstory recordings. Stuff about Balefires. Places getting named. Thunderhead is probably going to be important. Lots of f-bombs. Blackjack realizes that the dude in the recording was dying along with a bunch of kids.
And then the mare comes back. Alright, everyone, I'd like you to meet Morning Glory. She's the new party member. She's the second party member, and also a mare, just like Velvet Remedy. She becomes the object of Blackjack's affections, just like Velvet Remedy. She's the wide-eyed idealist of the group, just like Velvet Remedy. She's completely gay, just like… wait. No, that is a difference. Okay, never mind. She will also represent the point of view of monogamy much like how Velvet Remedy represented pacifism.
Anyway, Glory's with a volunteer group that came down to the surface for reasons, but it seems everyone in her group but her got murdered by raiders. Blackjack asks why she doesn't just fly back on up to the surface.
Okay. Psychological trauma and distrust. I knew exactly what this called for.
Blackjack gets the idea that maybe they can go find the raiders that attacked her group and murder them right back. It'll be fun, she says. Of course, Glory is disinclined 'cause she appears to be a pacifOh, no, fuck, this is Velvet Remedy all over again. BAIL!
Despite being disinclined, Glory agrees to come with Blackjack because she doesn't want to be alone. She explains stuff about the Volunteer Corps. Basically, there were a bunch of student protesters who wanted to do stuff with going down to the surface. So, Blackjack realizes, the Enclave establishes a Volunteer Corps, sends a bunch of ponies down with shitty equipment, and lets the raiders murder them.
So Blackjack takes the remains of the pony who they heard on the recording and buries them outside, like she did with Hoss two chapters ago. It's an odd character quirk, but sure, I'll roll with it.
They go along walking and they ask Morning Glory about the Enclave's activities.
“Well. We’re trying to assist by providing food and clothing to the locals around the skyport. There’s been diplomatic missions as well.” Like her mission to get friendly with a bunch of raiders? What genius thought that up? “We also offer free medical assistance.”
That got my attention as I glanced back at P-21’s limp. “Really? That’s generous,” I said. He was in such pain that he just grunted his agreement.
“Unfortunately there’s many factions that appear to be quite hostile to Enclave activities. The Steel Rangers in particular have attacked us at the skyport. There’s a lot of distrust I simply can’t understand. Why won’t ponies let us help?”
So they find the raider's hideout. It's a donut shop from before Pony Joe's name was changed to Donut Joe. This being the FO 3/FOE raiders, they've decorated accordingly 'cause they shit where they eat.
I should point out that this chapter is titled "Innocence." Apparently this refers to Wide-Eyed Idealist Morning Glory.
So a raider walks out the door and heads over to a ditch to take a dump. Okay, apparently they don't literally shit where they eat. Blackjack's ready to take him out, but Glory argues against it. BJ decides she has a point and there's the slightest suspicion that she shouldn't be killing people based solely on their bar color.
Oh, let me guess. Morning Glory is gonna kill someone and then angst about it. Calling it now.
So she walks up, says hi, raider grins like a psycho and raises shovel, BJ offs him, Glory is horrified, BJ is flippant, P-21 rolls his eyes, there's a fight scene, blah blah blah fighting and gore, there's a bit where there's a raider with dual backpack-mounted laser rifles.
Glory shoots the backpack, disabling the lasers. She screams for the raider to just run off, but he runs for the shovel, BJ tries to shoot him down and doesn't have enough ammo, so Glory…
Me too. The Wasteland made murderers of everypony.
So P-21 is saying that Glory is unstable and a liability and that she probably shouldn't be armed. She did shoot Blackjack in the face, after all. Blackjack decides against that, as she can't be the only one in the group who's armed. So Blackjack has Glory join the party, and you can tell this is gonna be one weird family that does not get along well with each other.
That's actually rather interesting. The party in the original fic got along more or less just fabulously, save for the very slight and only-touched-upon-once tension between SteelHooves and Xenith. They were a big happy family that had a lot of bonding moments around campfires that were sweet when they weren't obscured by Littlepip's angst. Sometimes they got along a little too well, but you don't really have a lot of options for inter-party conflict when you're trying to tell a story about how everything's only going well because they're such great friends.
This is different. We have individuals who are extremely different and don't really get along very well, making their interactions more tense. It's like the difference between Knights of the Old Republic, where the player's companions were a big happy party, and Knights of the Old Republic II, where the companions were a bunch of headcases who hated each other. I'm not going to say that one is better than the other, 'cause it depends on what you're going for. Like mentioned, the original had a lot of the friendship thing going, and Velvet deciding to not put up with everyone else's bullshit (or alternatively not having everyone else put up with Velvet's bullshit because the fuck does she need dresses for) would have thrown a wrench into that. Still, I do think that the inter-party conflict has potential to be more interesting and drive the character development and stuff. It should be interesting if it isn't annoying.
And then Blackjack tunes into the radio on her PipBuck and oh no it's DJ Pon3. Oh, no, not this twat again.
And now DJ Pon3 is talking about Blackjack. Our hero now has a monicker: The Security Mare. Oh boy, here we go again...
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