//------------------------------//
// The Defector 
// Story: Do you believe in Ghosts? 
// by Material Defender 
//------------------------------//

	"Alright, which one of you assholes replaced my combat knife with a butter knife?" Mendoza asked, walking into the bunkroom as he rubbed his stubble. "We have the big event coming up tonight, and I want to look my best, and you can't do that when your shaving utensil is duller than guard duty. So, come on, 'fess up, who did it?"

Talbot, who was sitting at the only table in the room, pulled out a combat knife and stabbed it into the tabletop. Raymond smirked as he continued cleaning his rifle, while Pastor merely looked away and took another sip out of his wooden cup.

Mendoza stood unflinching. "Right. I knew that. Left it at the mess hall, didn't I, boss?"

"This is United States government property, Fuse," Talbot said humorously. "You should know better than to lose Uncle Sam's oh-so-valued Army combat knives."

"Yeah, yeah," Mendoza said, swiping the knife off the table. "Tax money and all that."

Mendoza stepped around an entering griffon as he ventured off to the bathrooms to shave. "I assume you must be the Equestrian task group sent to eliminate Whisper?" he said, making no effort to hide the scar on the right side of his face.

"That depends," Talbot said. "Who might you be?"

"I'm Sergeant Bloodfury, of the Empire's Imperial Guard. I was told by Doctor Harvey and Shining Armor, with permission from General Scarclaw, to speak with Captain Talbot."

"That is I," Talbot said. "What's your business? Are you with the security detail that Scarclaw is deploying alongside us?"

"You are, in fact, correct, Captain," Bloodfury said. "I am in charge of the small Imperial Guard unit that has been tasked with escorting the defector safely to this location. The general said you'd be performing observation duties for the mission?"

"Sort of. While you take the information on Gale Whisper's identity and the defector, we'll be on the watch for any agents that Whisper might have deployed on his tail. Our hope is that we can eliminate all but one and attempt to gain further information from him. To facilitate that, Lieutenant Pastor," Talbot said, nodding towards his second-in-command at the back of the room, "will be performing the interrogation. Our intention is to learn the exact location that Whisper is hiding at: if we can take the direct route straight to him and take him out, then it'll be all the more easier for us."

"A good plan. And in the chance he might try to escape? Or if the identity is incorrect?"

"He won't escape, not with all this going on right now. Scarclaw has his own watching the gates for anything suspicious, especially all the wagons and carriages coming and going. Unless Whisper has the ability to split his body into tiny pieces, stuff them into bags, and then reassemble himself afterwards, he isn't going anywhere. And if we're wrong... our considered last resort is to simply destroy the whole compound with explosives to ensure complete destruction, but Scarclaw has already decided against that. If we're wrong, then the most we can do is just shoot every single griffon inside... and I'd rather try to avoid that."

"Then we shall deal with the situation as it arises, then," Bloodfury said. "Your attire seems to indicate that you belong to a group."

"Yeah. We're the Ghosts."

"Ghosts... quite befitting from what Doctor Harvey has told me. You work by maintaining superiority on the battlefield."

Talbot nodded. "Yep. 'Swift, silent, invisible' is our motto... 'Only the dead fight fair' is our unofficial one."

"Ah, you fight from the shadows, then? Such things are frowned upon in the Empire, but even we can see the use in such tactics. I read up on the plan when I arrived earlier, though I had a general idea from what I learned back in Equestria."

"You were in Equestria?" Pastor asked. "And you spoke with the good doctor before coming here? How's he doing, by the way? We haven't seen him for a while."

"He's fine. He was working with the Equestrians on their intelligence reports before I departed. I don't ever recall seeing you humans here before. Have you always been around here?"

Pastor put his cup on the table, the contents of the vessel devoid of liquids. "Uh, actually, we're not from around here. I guess you can say that we're kind of... stuck... here, for now."

"Hmm. Well, I guess that was too much to expect. So you're shades, huh? We don't get a lot of those sorts of fighters around here. Griffon fighting's mostly all combat on the open field, direct and brutal. But we can't deny the effectiveness of having soldiers like you around... especially since it's how that damn Strongbeak got the jump on us."

"It's a necessary evil, especially where we're from, sergeant," Talbot said. "Aside from that, I expect we'll be moving out soon?"

Bloodfury nodded. "Indeed. We just have to wait for the signal from the commander to our scouts, and then we can--"

"Sir!" A griffon scout scrambled through the narrow hallways and stopped just outside the doorway. "The signal! He's given the signal!"

Bloodfury looked at the Ghosts. "Looks like it's time to move."




"We'll split here," Bloodfury said, hopping out of the wagon as he and his two cohorts prepared to meet the defector. "Good luck." He shut the wagon's doors, and the Ghosts were whisked away to their entry point.

"Comms up, check," Pastor said, double-checking all the Ghosts' live local feeds for their information systems. "D-kit reads a number of targets approaching from the palace. He must have tried to get out unnoticed, but failed."

"Total number?" Talbot asked.

"Five, including the defector. I fully expect them to be the agents that were spoken of in the report. Location seems to indicate that this area is beyond guard jurisdiction, as well as frequency of civilian visits. I'd say we wouldn't have to worry about collateral damage, but let's try to keep that down to a minimum."

"Right. Anvil, take to the roofs and maintain your positions. Engage at will if anything appears out of place. We can't risk losing the defector or any of the loyalists."

"Yes, sir," the other three responded in unison.

The four split off into various directions, breaking down into a quick crouch as their active camouflage systems began to kick in. Using the enhanced power from their exoskeletons, they quickly hopped on top of the roofs, taking up positions at the highest vantage points they could find, their tech-silhouetted shapes of their forms appearing on the others' crosscoms.

Pastor sat on top of a small window protrusion, looking over into the courtyard where the meeting was to take place, taking special care to be alert for any of the telltale signs of possible ambushes like he'd learned from his time outside the Ghosts: tails, suspicious activities, even the fact that the defector might not even be a defector, but bait for a trap. Activating his magnetic goggles, however, seemed to dispel the worries, as he quickly made out four cloth-robed griffon forms hopping on to the roof tiling below the Ghosts.

"Look at that," Mendoza said. "All those throwing knives on them... lights 'em up brighter than a Christmas tree."

"Mark targets and prepare to fire," Talbot said. Three light-blue lines appeared on the crosscom feed as they lined up their sights on the heads of the agents... all except for Pastor. "Shell, you on to something?"

"I definitely am, sir..." Pastor said, staring down at the back of the griffon agent underneath him. "Clear for fire. This one's mine."

"Affirmative. Clear for fire." The imperceptible wisp of sound could be heard as three of the griffon agents were taken out, leaving the only one alive to Pastor for interrogation.

Shouldering his MR8, Pastor drew his combat knife, determined to make the agent sweat. Given from what he'd learned of this world, counter-espionage agents were almost unheard of. He was wondering how well griffon military training accounted for the 'enhanced' interrogation techniques coined by Third Echelon's best field operative. Hesitating no further, he let his exoskeleton do the work, leaping high into the air with a small thump, aiming his trajectory for the hapless griffon.

The black-masked agent heard the thump of the boots, and turned around to look above him, his eyes widening as he witnessed what appeared to be a visage of death, wreathed in fading mirror magic and clothed in black, flying towards him. He was barely able to take a single breath before the Ghost slammed down on top of him, forcing his body to slam into the rooftop with a crack due to the extreme weight and force.

Pastor gave him no reprieve. He quickly locked his griffon target in a chokehold, pulling his throat up and back hard to prevent his limbs from being given the leeway to move. The knife he drew slowly found its way to the griffon's throat, as he kept his right knee into the back of the griffon's back.

"Gnh--gah--help, there--!" The griffon barely choked out the words before Pastor tightened his hold, turning the griffon's face away from him to avoid showing himself any longer than he had to. The winged agent flapped his limbs and wings futilely, the full weight of the Ghost's kit weighing down upon him along with the pressure directed at his body. It was fortunate that the exoskeleton negated most of the equipment's encumbrance from the Ghosts, making it that much easier for them to operate.

"Shut up. I've got questions, and you've got answers. Play nice, and you might live to see tomorrow." Pastor pushed the knife tight against his throat for emphasis, earning an alarmed squeal from the agent. "Do I make myself clear?"

"You'll regret this! Strongbeak will--AGHHH!" Pastor slammed the sole of his unoccupied heavy boot into the span of the griffon's left wing, resulting in a sickening crunch as the bones within fractured and muscles were torn.

"I'm the one giving the threats here, so start talking. I want to know where Whisper's location is within that nice little palace he's got there. Or even better: why don't you just straight up tell me who he is?"

"Gnh... go screw yourself," the griffon coughed. He screamed again when Pastor brought his boot down harder on the broken wing, twisting it with even more crunches.

"Go ahead. Scream all you want. The riots are going on. There are no guards here. It's just you and me, all alone in this little spot in the city with all this dissent and chaos around us. I'd say it sounds romantic, but you're not my type. Besides... I think your right wing would look good with a little bit of tar."

"Aw... crap...! No, I like my... agh, wings! Please, stop! I'll--I'll tell you anything you want!" The griffon's voice was wrought with panic and fright... Pastor figured that they must not have a lot of experience on how to deal with enemy counter-espionage agents, and the position he had the griffon in made it impossible to escape, doubly so now that his wing was crippled.

"Now that's more like it," he said, removing his ironclad grasp on his wing, but retaining his knife and chokehold. "Now, tell me who Whisper is. Which one of those bastards running around the palace grounds is he?"

"I... don't know! His orders to us... are always... through letters! He never shows himself! I swear that I don't know!"

"Then what else do you know about him?"

"He... it's been said that he operates on... doubles. Any griffon on the inside could be him, even one of us! But... we all know the truth... he'd never put himself in danger... he likes to be in a position where he has all the cards..."

"So that rules out the possibility of any of the lower soldiers, then," Pastor said. "Helpful." Giving a cursory glance to his crosscom, the meeting still hadn't started, and the area was still devoid of all other targets. Talbot must have told Bloodfury to hold off on giving the all-clear until his interrogation was complete to avoid showing themselves to the defector. "What about his location?"

"He... well... he spends a lot of time in the war room below the palace... but that place is full of guards... I think he retires to his own quarters in the back..."

"You don't say? Well, that's certainly helpful."

"Gah... what the tar are you?"

"Your worst nightmare."

"Pff... laugh all you want... the insurrectionists won't win..."

"And any nation dealing with infighting never lasted long enough to win wars," Pastor said, sheathing his knife. "Got any other interesting tidbits you'd like to point out?"

"That's... all I know, I swear... seriously, what the tar are you, anyway?"

"A spectre of death itself, a creature that fights its war in a manner more fearsome than anything in this world... I'm a human," Pastor responded, pulling out his sidearm. "Thank you for your cooperation." The griffon attempted to say something, but was cut abruptly short as Pastor fired his suppressed handgun directly into the back of his unprotected head. "No witnesses, sorry." He dragged the body out of sight behind the window protrusion. "Shell to Talon, I have the information. Clear for go, over."

"Affirmative, clear for go. Giving the security detail the green light for signal," Talbot said. There was the sound of metal clanging, roughly similar to the sound of pans and pots. Bloodfury entered the small courtyard, his bodyguard detail observing from the buildings nearby.

An armored griffon wearing a blood red cloak appeared on the other side, looking up at the rooftops as he entered. He approached Bloodfury and exchanged a nod.

"Are you the security detail I was promised?" he asked.

"Yes, I am, Commander..."

"...Fellwyre. I was the original commander of the garrison here before the General came in and took over."

"Fellwyre? I thought you were a loyalist."

"I am, but my rank put me in a position where I wasn't able to contact the movement for months, being stuck inside that damn compound of his. Only lower ranks are allowed outside, and anyone else holding some sort of importance is kept inside with Strongbeak's elites watching over us at all times. Anyway, there's no doubt Whisper must be sending his soldiers after me now."

"We took the liberty of dealing with them before you arrived," Bloodfury said, looking around the seemingly empty rooftops. "There were several, but we managed to get them all."

"Is that so...? Well, let's not waste any more time here. First, I'm sure you'll want this..." He produced a small scroll from underneath his armor and handed it over to Bloodfury. "The visual identity of Whisper is in there. Keep it safe. Now, I believe I was promised escape?"

"Indeed, sir. We'll be escorting you back to our base, where you can speak with our leader in private."

"Excellent, let's not tarry."




"Tracking across rooftops now. Maintain minimal contact." Talbot hopped across a gap and landed softly. Anvil Squad was trailing the loyalist group from the rooftops, and they had taken to moving into alleyways and underneath passage to avoid the gaze of the guards.

"D-kit registers all clear on activity," Pastor said, his voice lined with an undertone of concern.

"Got something on your mind, Shell?" Talbot asked.

"Yeah, just one: it was too easy. Whisper's identity is something really important to him. Why send just four agents after him? He either expects the loyalists to not believe him, or he's got something else up his sleeve."

"Maybe he's trying to put the loyalists into thinking they have him."

"That's what I'm thinking, sir. In any case, I don't trust that commander. We should steer clear of him when we're back at base."

"Understood, Shell. I know Scarclaw's already got a security detail for our section of the base, but I think I'll have him turn it up a bit during our guest's stay. Truth be told, I don't really trust him either."

"Never trust spooks. Especially ones who double-cross," Raymond added. "This guy just has trouble written all over him. And I don't like him. Permission to establish observation, sir."

"Do it when you have the free time, but not now. We're on security detail. Heads up, we are breaking visual contact with the group." Talbot stopped and looked over the area from his current vantage point: it was a busy city street that arched upwards, and the loyalist group was about to pass into a tunnel underneath it, far from the sight of any guards or civilians. The Ghosts would move to the other side and continue tracking them when they exited. "Maneuver to the other side."

They began to cross over the single shingled bridge that led over the passageway when Mendoza interrupted. "Uh, sir, I got some questionable targets down here. Hanging around in cloaks and hoods and all that near the entrance of the tunnel."

Talbot stopped midway and looked down to see a pair of griffons suspiciously lingering around the tunnel entrance, whispering to each other. "Possible targets. Fuse, you're the closest. Disengage from trailing route and neutralize if necessary."

"Yes, sir." Mendoza quietly descended down into the dank alleyway and positioned himself in a firing spot. "I can hear them, sir. Patching it through now."

"But what if they're waiting for us? What if he tipped them off?"

"Ah, stop your whining. We go in now and jump them, like the orders said to do."

"But--"

"I said stop your whining. Whisper wants those loyalists dealt with, and drawing them into the open like this is one of the best ways."

"They're Imperial Guard."

"So? We have the advantage of surprise. If we go in and jump two of them before they notice, we can capture the third for interrogation. Now shut up and follow me."

"Well, I've heard enough," Mendoza said, scoring a headshot on both of them, his cover maintained from his shadowed firing position and suppressed MR8. "Tangos eliminated, returning to trailing path." His camouflage quickly reactivated, and he silently made his way back up to the rooftops through a series of rungs and outcroppings.

Bloodfury's group and the commander exited soon after, making for one of the many loyalist bases in the city, though for the purposes of this mission, the one at the outskirts of the Market District was their destination. Scarclaw already had misgivings on trusting a known enemy commander, and made the rendezvous in a place that wouldn't compromise the home base.

"Target's in sight. Return to shadowing positions," Talbot ordered. Crossing the bridge, the four Ghosts split up and returned to their spaced-out box formation spread as they moved to keep the informant's group within the center for maximum overwatch.

There was the din of melee battle, as several plumes of smoke rose from the Military District in the distance. Griffon aerial units circled around the skies over the battlezone, swooping in and out as they dealt with the rioters alongside the soldiers on the ground. It was one of many riots that the city experienced, one that would hardly be the last in the days to come.

"Objective in sight. Red-roofed building with forge sign hanging out front," Pastor said, taking up the front right of the formation. "No enemies sighted." They followed the lowering rooftops towards ground level, almost ending up on the same level as the griffon group when an assailant attacked.

"Die, you traitor!" the griffon assassin shouted, coming up behind Talbot and jumping over him and off the roof, flaring his wings as he glided for Fellwyre with a knife in his claws. "Whisper sends his regards - guh!" He was cut short as Bloodfury adeptly produced a throwing dagger and sent it flying straight into his throat. The body twisted out of the air and hit the ground with a thud as one of Bloodfury's griffons stabbed him with a spear to finish the deed.

"He's dead, sir," the griffon stated.

"Good," Bloodfury responded, throwing his cloak over his back. "Let's hope the other assassins have more sense. Now let's get inside. Ruskel, hide the body before the guards show up. Leret, you're with me. Get the VIP inside."




Scarclaw raised his head from the table when Bloodfury entered the room with the informant. "Well, that certainly took you a good while," he said.

"Sorry, sir," Bloodfury said. "We had a run-in with some... problems along the way."

"And I hope you dealt with them in good old-fashioned Imperial Guard style?"

"As always, sir."

"Good. Bring him in."

The door opened and Fellwyre walked in, and saluted Scarclaw, who returned a nod. Bloodfury saluted subsequently and left the room, leaving Fellwyre to Scarclaw and his guards. Rounding two corners and up a flight of stairs in quick succession, he entered the room where the Ghosts sat monitoring the conversation from a secret alcove in the wall, protected by a soundproof magical barrier disguised as a one-way mirror.

"Figured you'd all be up here," Bloodfury said.

"Yeah, of course we'd be," Mendoza said. "We got an important VIP, and we're going to want to know what he knows."

"Thoughts on the commander?"

"Would rather shoot him than trust him," Raymond gruffly said.

"Yeah, there's kind of a stigma against two-timers, no offense intended," Pastor said. "Say, where'd you get this barrier? I thought griffons couldn't use magic?"

"You're right, we can't, but we do have a number of enchantments left over from reigns of previous emperors, back when magic was something more of a scholarly art studied through artificial means instead of direct connections to energies like the Equestrians."

"So you guys can use magic, then?"

"More or less. It's a very esoteric field of study, though. We don't know much about magic, and we can't use Equestrian references because our version of magic works differently than theirs do. And let's just say that we haven't advanced very far within the past hundred years or so..."

"Ah." Pastor nodded. "So does every single species in this world have some sort of magical affinity?"

Bloodfury shrugged. "More or less. Griffon society has learned to work without it, though, so that's why we're more practical in terms of our progress. It also means that outside of the Emperor's own court, you probably won't find many well-versed in the study of magical enchantments."

"Right..." Mendoza poked the barrier. "Feels just like a regular old wall to me. Except, well, you can see through it. Oh, look, they're starting." They all moved forward and peered down into the room.

"So..." Scarclaw said. "... any other pertinent information on Whisper you'd like to share?"

"Yes. As you may or may not already be aware of, he has a base hidden within the magistrate's palace. That's where he's working from. He's manipulating the magistrate into enacting his own orders and having Strongbeak's elites keep him under guard to make sure he doesn't do anything out of place."

"Right. We already had a good idea on that. Can you sketch the layout of the compound from memory and mark down where Whisper is located?"

"Of course." Fellwyre was handed a scroll, quill, and inkwell, and began to work. The compound featured numerous rooms, many of which he labeled, and several offices for administrating the affairs of ruling the city. He rested the quill against the inkwell before he continued. "I should let you know that Whisper has full intention of bringing in more soldiers to quell the uprisings here, and Whisper has arranged for immediate transportation out when he does so."

"Yes, we've known that escape may be on his list of plans for a while now. What else do you know?" Scarclaw asked. Snowfeather sat next to Scarclaw taking down the conversation, his proficiency with a quill allowing him to keep up with all the details.

"He intends to report his findings here to Strongbeak, and use this city as a means to establish permanent martial law throughout all of the Empire. As of now, it's only limited to Tesseraka, but he'll crush the riots here to serve as justification for increased military presence in the hometown... and perhaps even a draft to send more soldiers to fight on the front. Cement his power and exile the dissidents in one fell swoop."

"Now that's new..." Scarclaw folded his arms, tilting his head to see what Snowfeather had taken down before giving an approving nod. "So does this mean that Strongbeak isn't aware of the riots?"

Fellwyre shook his head. "No. From the reports I've been able to sneak a glance at, he's assured Strongbeak that the situation within Tesseraka is under control. Since Whisper has complete control over all the information coming in and out of the Empire, it's very possible that Strongbeak isn't even aware that the uprisings are even happening at all, aside from the ones that he quelled when he initiated the coup."

"He places too much faith in Whisper. Then that means it's true: if we can take Whisper out, we can cripple their flow of information... Thank you for the information, Commander Fellwyre. It's going to be of great use to us in the future."

"I assure you, General Scarclaw, the pleasure is all mine. Now, is there a mess hall around here? I'd like to get something to eat..."

"Sure. It's near just outside this room, down the hall to the right."

"Thank you." Fellwyre saluted and exited the room with a wide flourish of his cloak. Scarclaw whispered something to Snowfeather, who nodded, before leaving the room with map in tow and entering the observation area where Bloodfury and the Ghosts were. "So, what do you think?"

"Well, I think he's hiding something," Raymond said. "But what it is, I don't know..."

"Maybe you're just on end. I remember Fellwyre being under my command once, a long time ago. He was a good soldier, and from what I recall, he did help the loyalist movement here in Carseract gain its footing before he went dark for a time, around the same time Whisper moved in and set up shop."

"Right. Well, I'm going to put keep an eye on him, anyway."

"A bit of paranoia might do us some good in these times," Scarclaw said. "Anyway, we have the map." He unfolded it and handed it to Talbot as they gathered to look it over. A single office near far from the entrance was marked with a red X. "That's where Whisper will be waiting. Expect the place to be heavily guarded and patrolled by Strongbeak's elites."

"Then I don't think stealth will work much in our favor," Talbot said. "What other options do we have?"

"All-out assault," Bloodfury offered. "The riots are having a direct effect on the citizens: uprisings in the Military, Commercial, and Residential Districts have already created a sizeable force to keep the garrison busy."

"Agreed," Scarclaw said. "I don't see any other way without blowing your cover and ours. We already have plans in place to launch uprisings in the remainder of the districts, and plunge the entire city into all-out war. We'll use the chaos in that moment to launch a strike on the palace while they're busy trying to organize against the riots."

"So we'll be going in with griffon support then?" Pastor asked.

"Yes. The rest of the military griffons have done well training new loyalists in combat, and will be leading them into combat. Bloodfury here, however, and the rest of the Imperial Guard soldiers here under my command, will be assisting you with your assault into the magistrate's palace."

"Nice," Mendoza said, nodding. "How many of the Guard are here?"

"Several dozen. They'll be armed with their Guard equipment, and can easily trump any of Strongbeak's elites without much trouble. With the support of the Ghosts, we should be able to make our way inside with good speed and kill Whisper before he even has a chance to get out."

"Blitz tactics," Raymond said. "I like it. Rules of engagement, boss?"

"We're going for speed, not discretion, this time, Scope," Talbot said. "All-out assault with emphasis on capturing and neutralizing the target within a known location; this one's out of the books, so targets are 'engage at will', but watch for friendlies. When do we attack?" Talbot asked, handing off the map to Pastor for further examination.

"In two days' time. I'll make the preparations and send word to the other hideouts. Bloodfury will notify the Imperial Guard and rally at the home base, where we'll launch from. As for Fellwyre... I'll relocate him to the home base to keep a closer eye on him, but keep him out of the important places, like your quarters and my command center. Until then, good luck to you all," Scarclaw said, nodding as he exited.

"There's a little extra thing I'd like to add..." Bloodfury said.

"Well, I certainly hope it doesn't complicate things for us," Talbot said, slightly grimacing.

"That remains to be seen. You see, the magistrate here was forced to enact Whisper's edicts, and Leret, one of my own, is his son. He wants to make sure that his father remains safe and will be entering with you as part of the spearhead force to look for him."

"So his father's the magistrate?" Mendoza said. "Sheesh, talk about a touchy job. I hope we don't end up shooting him, but I guess that's why he's going in with us."

"Yes," Bloodfury said. "I'll maintain command over the primary assault force on the palace grounds and stop any reinforcements from coming in, while Leret will take charge of the entering strike force, numbering ten, eleven including him."

"Then I'll do the same and leave one of my own with you to keep watch in case anything nasty happens," Talbot said. "Scope, you're up for topside guard duty."

"Damn... and here I wanted to personally put a bullet through that asshole's head..." Raymond grumbled.

"Nope. Topside guard duty. With Bloodfury's assistance, you're to set up in one of the guard towers and maintain standing overwatch for all of the palace grounds. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out." Talbot stood up and patted him on the back. "Understood?"

"Sure, boss. But I better be able to put a .50 BMG through the head of at least one of these generals, or I'm going to be one unhappy camper."

"Yeah, and I better be able to use my rockets or I'm going to be one pissed explosives expert!" Mendoza said. "I've already come up with plans on how to kick that battle wagon general's ass. And when I fire those babies, it'll be like the most glorious thing in the entire world for me." He held his hand to his chest and closed his eyes with a dreamy expression. "It'll be amazing. There'll be sparks, and smoke, and fire, and explosions. It ain't a party without some explosions."

"Alright, so we're all on the same page, then," Talbot said, looking to Bloodfury. "We'll return to home base and rest up for the night, and then we'll prepare and rest until they start the attacks. Does that sound good?"

Bloodfury nodded. "It should be fine, and we'll have enough time to prepare. The general wants to launch a night attack to lower our chances of being detected. Works in our favor, and even more for yours, if that equipment you have is anything to go by."

"Excellent," Talbot said, as the Ghosts stood up and gathered near the door with Bloodfury. "Gentlemen... and griffon. Let's return back to the home base for now. We have much to do..."