The Transporter: Second Gear

by Unit_ZER0

Part 15: Fuse

Earth Mover’s sleep was surprisingly calm. She had been given a burlap sack filled with straw to sleep on, and an apologetic look from Goss that told her the proto-queen was becoming more of a not-quite-but-maybe friend. Still, it was far better than sleeping on the bare floor of her cell, at least.

She had just drifted off, with her head cradled on her forelegs, having returned to her regular form to conserve energy, even though holding a specific form didn’t use much - less if she had a reliable intake of food, or magic – she had a suspicion that she would need every erg when the time came to escape.

It had felt almost strange, reverting to four legs, after spending so many hours on only two, but when her “prisoner” had returned to her native form to sleep, Gossamer had reverted as well. Now the foreign princess was sleeping, and Goss felt her own eyelids growing heavy. There would be no relief, only a guard on rounds who would check in occasionally, and he wasn’t due by for another few hours at least. Over the past few days, it had become an almost-game to make sure they both were back in their native forms when a guard did come by. The action had drawn the two of them closer as maybe-friends, but it had also increased Goss’ sense of isolation more. She hadn’t fitted in very well even before the whole invasion mess, and this new role, and the stress of pretending to be an ordinary drone around the others hadn’t helped. And now, with the almost certainty that ponies would be coming to break Earth Mover out, one part of her had wanted to just report the possibility to her superiors, and let things happen as they would. Another, more insistent part, had insisted she just wait, not act in either direction, and follow Earth Mover out when she escaped/was rescued…

---

“Can you hear me?”

Earth Mover felt herself awaken with a start, looking around however, let her know she wasn’t truly awake… She was laying on a flat, featureless expanse, with little to differentiate it from the starry sky overhead.

Looking to one side, she saw the shadowy form of a tall Pegasus mare, except – wait, was that a horn? Yes, it was. Now she knew for sure what was going on.

“Greetings, your highness.” she greeted, rising to her legs, and dipping her head.

“Greetings to you, princess Earth Mover,” the diarch returned. “I would ask more details of how you fare, but time is short. I trust you are in good health?”

“As well as can be expected, I suppose. I had injuries to one hoof, but they are mostly recovered, nothing that could slow me down in a pinch.”

“This is good news. I trust you know the reason for my contacting you, so I will be succinct. There will be an attempt to rescue both yourself, and the ark in the next day. I will be teaching you a locator spell, as well as some basic offensive magic.”

“Thank you, your highness, but I am versed in some basic offensive spells. I am grateful for the locator spell, though.”

“I am gratified to hear that, is there anything you can tell me about the place you are being held in, and any details which can be used to aid your rescuers?”

“Yes, I am currently being held in a cell below ground level, towards the outer walls of this hive. It is constructed as a series of nested rings, but the ring I am in is two or three rings in. I have one dedicated… well, I’m not really sure what to call her. She’s not friendly, but not hostile either. If I make a break for it, she may either help or hinder, depending on how I play it. There is a guard rotation, but it is hourly, and the guard on rotation usually consults with my minder. The cell construction is metal bars embedded into the wall structure, so I can break it if I try. The main objective here is the ark. Recovering it should be the main priority.”

“It makes me proud to hear you say that, Earth Mover. However, you are a valued companion to your classmates, and an honored guest of Equestria. Taking you has resulted in a diplomatic incident for the Equestrian Diplomatic Corps, and the Crown. We are not pleased.”

Here, the Princess of the Night’s frown spoke more than mere words could convey, and Earth Mover felt almost sorry for those who had caused this whole mess. Almost.

“Now,” the princess continued, “let us begin with the locator spell. I trust you can modify it to locate the Ark as well?”

---

HOURS LATER

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The ride out to Dodge Junction had been a noisy, and uncomfortable repeat of the start to the previous ill-fated mission. But this time, there was an almost grim sense of purpose. Cole, Sergeant Stormcloud, and Trixie were all prepared for the upcoming excitement, with Cole decked out in full tactical gear, consisting of tactical pants, shirt, vest, gloves, and holsters for an airsoft MP7, and ATP, with a reserve pistol across his ribs, all spell enhanced for nonlethal impact. The gear he wore was also sporting reinforced elbows and knees, and he had opted for a tactical helmet and shooting glasses.

The Sergeant was similarly equipped, with knee and elbow protection, reinforced horseshoes, and a tactical vest/pannier assembly, plus a helmet similar to Cole’s own.

Trixie had opted for just a vest and helmet, while keeping a set of saddlebags for smoke bombs, and other tricks.

Their helmets had radios equipped, and Cole also carried a spare helmet and vest for their intended rescue, as their vests had protective magics added to them, including anti-stun, and impact absorption enchantments.

The train pulled into the station with a squeal of brakes, and hissing steam, which worked well to cover up the purring growl of the Optima’s engine starting. With a brief nod from Cole, Trixie’s horn flared, and hidden bolts on the side of the crate they were concealed in unscrewed, and the entire wall facing away from the station swung down. Cole then eased the larger vehicle down the concealed ramp, and onto the desert floor. Once they had idled away from the station, and away from prying eyes, Cole took the machine up to a moderate pace, and turned towards the intended staging point.

Royal Force Reconnaissance teams had ensured the area was free of changelings the night before, and had subtly reinforced the grounds surrounding the initial point, clearing away debris as well all the way to the side of the hidden hive wall. Now, all they had to do was wait for the signal, and begin the mission.

---

As they waited, the atmosphere within the vehicle was… Charged. Cole was doing his usual pre-mission meditations, going through each of the steps of the current plan in his mind, and mentally visualizing how he would execute each movement. He suspected that the Sergeant, seated beside him, was doing the same.

In the backseat, Trixie was going over her part of the plan as well, mentally reinforcing the pathways she’d need to immediately charge up and fire the wall destroying magic missiles, and pulling as much mana into her reserves as possible. Currently, her breathing was deepening, as her heart rate slowed, and the world grew quiet.

On the Optima’s dashboard, one of the displays was silently counting down, the hundredths of seconds falling like water, as the trio prepared for action.

Cole cast his mind back towards the final meeting the rescue team, Balance Wheel, and Ditzy. The others had wanted to come along, but had understood that there would be limited space, and that only those with combat experience, or high magical ability would be going. Princess Luna herself had wanted to come, but in the interests of diplomacy, and to keep at least a semblance of nongovernmental involvement, had necessarily stayed out.

“There are only three of us going in, but hopefully, four of us will be returning.” He had begun. “I’m not good at speeches, so I’ll keep this brief. When I was first asked to teach you all, I realized something: That I was missing the excitement of a challenge. Truly, this has been an experience I would do over again in a heartbeat, and it has been my privilege to teach you.”

“Don’t make it too heavy, Cole,” Sergeant Stormcloud had admonished, “We’re coming back. All of us.”

“Right, sorry.” He had replied, but then Ditzy had reared up, and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

“We get it, Cole, really, we do. I promise there will be muffins for everyone when you get back.” She had then allowed her lazy eye to roll a bit, before winking at him. The human unbent enough to pat her head as she let herself back down to her hooves.

“I promise not to blow myself up trying to figure out the engine you gave us while you’re away, teacher,” Balance Wheel had said, raising a hoof. Cole had crouched don, and bumped it in reply, and the others had also said what they had to before both groups went their separate ways, and Cole’s team had boarded the train.

And now, here they were, outside the enemy castle, scant moments from storming the walls, to bring their classmate home. The countdown reached 00:00:00, and a faint beep sounded. All that remained to be said had been, and now it was time to act.

The team’s eyes all met, and with a faint nod, they all set to work. Cole started toe Optima’s engine with a muted rumble, and Trixie began charging her magic. The Sergeant’s wings began to crackle, and he tightened his harness.

---

Outside the Optima, the morning calm was shattered by the chiming crackle of crystallizing mana, as six ethereal projectiles began to condense. The rumbling human machine began to roll forward, picking up speed steadily, until it was rolling along at a decent clip, the projectiles pacing it at precise intervals.

Inside the cabin, Trixie spoke up: ‘It’s ready. Go.”

The Optima surged forwards, speed climbing as they approached the outer wall 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80KPH, and climbing. The dust kicked up by the wheels of the charging machine whipped into vortices and a turbulent wake. The pacing projectiles glowed steadily brighter, scavenging kinetic energy from their momentum, glowing ever brighter.

Along the top of the mesa the hidden hive resided in, a lone sentry’s ears twitched in response to the roar of the incoming vehicle. Turning, he saw the rising cloud of dust, and the glowing projectile’s at its tip. Turning, he sprinted to the nearest vocal tube, and drew in a breath to loose the chittering alarm of an invasion alarm. As soon as he had begun to exhale, there was an explosion of noise, and he was knocked off his hooves. Immediately following, his position was covered in a choking cloud of dust.

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SECONDS EARLIER:

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The interior of the Optima was now filled with noise, the human vehicle now at 100KPH, with the engine at full bellow, but in Cole’s opinion, it felt like they were moving almost sluggishly. If the flaring of Trixie’s horn was anything to go by, the plan was working so far, as the unicorn siphoned their inertia into the projectiles she was manifesting. All that remained was to loose those projectiles at the precise moment, and shunt their remaining inertia into them, while also bringing the Optima to a safe halt. A dicey proposition, even if they had practiced for it, but there had been no time. Sergeant Stormcloud read out the range as the seemingly impenetrable wall of the mesa rapidly grew bigger in their vision. “500, 400, 300, 200, 100 -”

At the precise moment, Trixie’s horn flared with power, and the pacing projectiles streaked across the remaining distance faster than a blink, splintering into an evenly spaced pattern just wide and tall enough for the Optima. It was then that several things happened at once, with Cole yanking the wheel hard, turning their headlong rush into a slide, as the wall ahead, and now to their left exploded with a thunderous roar.

Comments

[Lord Legion]

This should be interesting