Harbinger: The Rookie 1

Harbinger: The Rookie
> You are a young college dropout.
> After a family tragedy your parents are unable to support your education.
> Blandia is, like the rest of the country, in recession.
> You live in a shitty apartment, in a shitty town, with no work.
> Even shitty work would be preferable.
> You should’ve kept your big mouth shut.
> Somehow you found yourself working as a fluffy exterminators’ assistant.
> Pay is decent but you have some reservations about killing the things.
> With the populations breaking record highs every year exterminators are in high demand.
> You would rather not kill any living thing.
> But, living in a box isn’t an alternative you’re willing to accept.
> So, you perform your duties without complaint.
> Driving, running errands, assisting with clean up.
> You don’t do much in the way of extermination.
> Then your trainee period is over.
> For the last year you culled herds and collected usable fluffies for adoption centers and breeders.
> Your mentor commends you for your efficiency and recently you’ve been recommended to ENFF.
> You’ve heard horror stories about these guys, but the pay raise is more than triple.
> You’re given the job in the unit 7 exterminators “Fire Drakes”.
> It’s nearby in Blandia and your job hasn’t changed much.
> Really you work less than in the state office.
> Not much is worthy of scrambling the 7th exterminators unit.
> But, your first big sortie is heart wrenching.
> Over 3,000 fluffies are one by one destroyed.
> Your team of three is at least decent.
> One former marine with an eye injury he refuses to talk about, and another local exterminator in similar circumstances.
> They don’t torture or toy with the poor things.
> Worked for hours quietly completing our grim task.
> In the final assault the screams and stench overwhelmed you.
> Drake snapped you out of it but the event still haunts you.
> What’s worse Jayce, the notorious abuser in unit 7, taunts you about it.
> “What’s wrong green? Feelin’ green? Gahahaha”
> What an asshole.
> Your latest assignment gives your worried mind no breaks.
> Becoming jaded seems likely in your future.
> A large herd of 150 has been spotted.
> Stalions, mares, dams, and foals all marked for death.
> A feast for the Fire Drakes.
> You read the dossier before you head out.
> Farm country is being eaten by the bushel full.
> Fluffies attempted an attack on the farmer who called the state.
> ENFF-A7 confirms they are violent, stubborn, and eating crops.
> 1, 2, 3 strikes you’re out.
> With a herd this size only one agent is required.
> You arrive early morning before most fluffies awaken.
> It doesn’t take long to locate the herd.
> Between the road and the farm is a cluster of trees.
> They are hiding, but unfortunately for the fluffies they chose an obvious hiding place.
> You return to the van and gather your gear.
> A roll of several hundred feet of bright orange plastic fence.
> Quietly you secure one end of the fence to a tree and make your way around the fluff pile.
> Only 20 feet away the fluffies are lost in sleep, and are completely oblivious to your presence.
> You’re half way done when you hear a voice to your left, away from the herd.
> A single orange pegasus fluffy with a purple mane is talking (see. babbling) in its sleep.
> If you move it the fluffy could wake up and alert the herd, but you don’t know if there are others away from the pile.
> Your curiosity gets the better of you.
> You gently place the spool of plastic fencing down and quietly creep over to the pegasus.
> From the babbling you gather that she is a… well she.
> And a sister to a mummah fluffy.
> “Sissy sowwy make bad poopies, nuu wan sweepies in cowd, wan huggies, wan wawm.”
> Etc.
> She must be reliving the event that has her sleeping in the cold.
> Your curiosity satisfied you return to the roll of fence.
> You’re running out of time and have to complete the wall before the fluffies wake up.
> You step on a branch creating a gentle *snap* and your blood runs cold.
> Standing in the eerie silence of morning twilight you wait.
> Aside from some snoring from the fluff pile it sounds like no one woke up.
> Breathing a deep sight you return to your task and notice the little orange pegasus standing beside you.
> You freeze mid step and look her dead in the face.
> She smiles and her wings flutter as looks at you.
> After what feels like a minute you make the first move.
> “Fluffy, you have to be quiet. Don’t wake up the other fluffies.  Only bad fluffies wake up fluffies.”
> You know your words struck home when she covers her mouth with her hooves.
> “Now, be a good fluffy and wait quietly for the other fluffies to wake up. Okay?”
> In what could only be described as a quiet shout she replies, “Ootay mistah!”
> Thankfully no fluffies are awoken and you continue your work.
> After a few more minutes the fence is up and is tied together.
> Driving some U shaped metal stakes into the fence to secure it to the ground.
> First you talk to your new pegasus friend.
> She is still sitting looking at you the whole while but keeping her hooves over her mouth.
> “Okay fluffy you can talk now, but be quiet.  What’s your name?”
> “I’s Sskootawoo mistah!”
> Scootaloo, how original.
> “Do you have a daddy scoot?”
> “I haf daddeh bu nuu fwiend take Sskoot an’ sissy way! I miss daddeh, but wuv hewd! Wuv sissy!”
> “Do you have other friends Scoot, friends who lived with you and daddy?”
> “Yes wotsa fwiends!”
> She doesn’t quite get it, but you can get her to help you with the next task.
> You begin to work.