//------------------------------// // Winter // Story: Four Seasons // by Extradimensional Alien //------------------------------// Four Seasons: Winter "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Lieutenant First Class Flash Sentry cursed as he hid behind the wall again. The building he was inside was surrounded by terrorists, and it appeared that they brought a couple of gun trucks and even a heavy APC armed with a 100mm cannon against him. And me without any anti-tank weapons! he thought. I could in theory do something about the gun trucks, provided they don't see me first and don't pump me full of fifty-cal, but there's jack shit I can do against that heavy APC. Flash was deployed behind enemy lines on a mission to provide coordinates against enemy convoys that attempted to resupply Griffonstone. The weeks of constant bombardment and ground attacks took their toll on the terrorists, and they were about to lose Griffonstone. If they did, the king would be able to move back into the capital, and this would be a huge morale boost for his army, which is why terrorists tried to reinforce their people inside the city. Flash managed to flag four convoys in five days, and the aviation made short work of the terrorists' forces, which were badly equipped against frontline bombers. But Lady Luck flipped him off when some smarter-than-usual terrorists sent a decoy convoy which he flagged as well, and thanks to the signal intelligence equipment they had stolen, they came at his position like vultures. He was able to retreat into a building he had scouted, but the enemy commander was no slouch and surrounded it quickly; before Flash was able to thin down enemy forces enough to make an escape attempt, the terrorists brought reinforcements, putting him in an unenviable position. The best he could do now was to take potshots, conserve ammo and try amd prevent terrorists from entering the building. Will be for naught if they bring a suicide driver with a pickup truck full of TNT, he thought. "Sabaton-three, this is Base-one, report! Sabaton-three, this is Base-one, report!" his radio cracked with his callsign. "Sabaton-three here," he replied. "What's the situation?" "Tartarus in a handbasket!" he fired several bullets from his assault rifle, dropping a terrorist who was too stupid to stay in cover. "They brought gun trucks and a heavy APC, and I am surrounded!" "We have sent an extraction team after you; proceed to the extraction point Kilo-seven and they will pick you up." "Negative, Base-one! I cannot get out of the building, I will get cut the second I step out of it!" "You have to be at the extraction point in eight minutes or we won't be able to pick you up, Sabaton-three!" "I repeat, I can't get out of this building!" "Proceed to the extraction point, Sabaton-three!" his commander at the other end was getting nervous too, Flash could hear it. Instead of responding, he took a chance to fire at the terrorists and was forced to hide again almost immediately as a literal lead storm rained at him. It's a miracle I have not been hit by ricochets. A sharp exhalation later, he tried to assess the situation. All exits from the building were covered by terrorists, and there was no convenient underground passage or good cover for him to use on the way to the extraction point. And sooner or later, the terrorists would storm the building he was in, either when he ran out of ammo or when their patience finally snapped, whichever came first. Then it would turn to close quarters combat, and either he would die or they would capture and execute him later, and release the video of his execution on the Internet, as they had done before. He remembered Sunset, who was waiting for him, bearing their child under her heart... ...I cannot let them do this. To dishonour my corpse and my uniform, or let them stream as they execute me. There is no way the rescue force will get to me in time, even if they know where the terrorists will take me. His heart sank. I'm so sorry, Sunset. I hoped that I would be able to return, to see our child be born and grow up, to see your face, your smile again... but that is not happening. But if I am to die, then by the Creator I will not go quietly. "Base-one, this is Sabaton-three. Requesting permission for an airstrike," he was surprised at how flat his voice sounded as he said the words. "Sabaton-three, this is Base-one, permission denied! Proceed to the extraction point!" "There is no way! I am not getting out of that one, base. Either they kill me now and dishonour my corpse or they will execute me while streaming on the Internet. I don't want my wife to see this! If I am to die, I will do this on my own damn terms!" "You are too close to the enemy and we do not have anything available for a precise strike, Sabaton-three!" "I know that, Base-one! So be it!" Flash turned, and fired at the terrorist who tried to enter the building; apparently they had had enough and decided to take him on in close quarters combat. "Please, commander, carry out my last will!" Three seconds, three long seconds grated among the noise of battle. "...Sabaton-three, permission for airstrike granted." "Thank you, Base-one. Tell my family... I love them, I love them and I am so sorry I was not able to return. Tell the guys to retake Griffonstone, and avenge me. Farewell, commander, it was an honour!" Switching to a different frequency, Flash shouted into the radio: "Bolt-six, this is Sabaton-three, requesting an airstrike! Coordinates: thirty-seven, twenty-nine, forty-six, forty-two!" "Sabaton-three, this is Bolt-six," he heard the familiar voice of Spitfire. "Coordinates received, and understood. Airstrike coming in T-minus thirty seconds!" Well, this is it, Flash thought. Now if I can hold on for just thirty seconds... Spitfire approached the coordinates given to her by Flash Sentry, looking at the bombing sight projected on her HUD. "Damn, that's quite a force," she whistled, as she saw the force of terrorists standing near a sturdy concrete building. It appeared that some of them were actually entering the building - most likely, to use it as a stronghold. Yeah, no, not happening. As the bombing sight aligned with her targets, she pressed the bomb drop button, releasing the death from above. For several moments, nothing happened, but then the big explosions, one after another, became visible to Spitfire as she circled around the designated coordinates. The building that terrorists occupied was blown to smithereens along with their gun trucks and the heavy APC in a spectacular explosion. "Nice," Spitfire laughed, "bet they never saw it coming. I love my job." Turning on the microphone on her radio, she said: "Sabaton-three, this is Bolt-six, awaiting confirmation of target elimination." Static filled her ears. She waited for several seconds, but could not hear Flash's voice. "Sabaton-three, this is Bolt-six, confirm target elimination!" More static and silence. Spitfire's insides grew cold with dread. "Bolt-six, this is Base-one," another voice cracked in her headphones, "return to base. Over." "Base-one, this is Bolt-six, acknowledged," Spitfire turned the plane back to the direction of the air base. "What about that confirmation?" "There will not be any confirmation, Bolt-six. Return to base." "Acknowledged. Bolt-six out," Spitfire muttered. The realisation hit her like a train full of bricks. She remained numb and silent for the whole way back to the base. Camo Cap, the commanding officer of the late Flash Sentry, always believed it was his duty to inform the families of the loss of their loved ones in person. He hated it, but all of the boys under his command were his responsibility, and he was not the one to run from it. So here he was standing in front of the flat that Flash and Sunset shared together, two of his soldiers and Flash's comrades in arms by his sides, faces set in a grim, impassionate mask. His index finger pressed the doorbell button. Not twenty seconds passed, and Sunset Shimmer-Sentry (the girl decided to take a double surname) opened the door. Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the very visible belly. Great. If she miscarries because of the news, I will never forgive myself. He forced himself to look her in the eyes. "Mrs. Shimmer-Sentry?" "Yes, that is me," the young woman responded, "and you are?" "Captain Camo Cap, the commanding officer of Lieutenant First Class Flash Sentry, and these are his comrades at arms, Silver Lead and Copper Blade." "Has something happened to Flash?" Sunset's eyes widened in fear, and she covered her mouth with her hands. "Unfortunately, yes. Mrs. Shimmer-Sentry, I regret to inform you that your husband, Flash Sentry, was killed in action yesterday while on an airstrike coordination mission." It is usually said that no words can adequately describe the scope of the devastation one feels when informed of the death of their spouse. Later, Sunset would wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. But at that very moment, once the news hit her, she felt herself drained, as if someone just sucked all the life force out of her, and almost fell, but Camo Cap caught her in time. "Call the ambulance, now!" he ordered, and both Silver Lead and Copper Blade took out their cell phones. Camo Cap thanked all the deities that he could think of that the shock of the news did not lead to the miscarriage - he would not have been able to deal with the death of his subordinate's unborn child on his conscience - when the doctor said that both Sunset and the baby would be fine. When the doctor took him for a private chat and chastised him for dropping the bombshell of the news of a spouse's death on a pregnant woman, he said: "Look, I am not proud of what I did there, but there is no way we would have been able to keep the news from her. Even if I were to do as you ask and wait until the child could be saved from premature birth, she would have learned of it long before then somehow. I know it was a huge risk, and I claim full responsibility for it." "Well at least you have the guts to do so," the doctor said. "You would be the first officer who said this to me, actually. Excuse me, I have patients to treat." "Of course." The officer returned to Silver Lead and Copper Blade, who stood by the door to Sunset's room as guards. Although the door was closed, Sunset's tears of anguish were well perceptible. Camo Cap has heard and seen many such cases, and it always cut his insides like a knife. He swore to himself that he would avenge this woman and her dead husband, no matter what, and went up to his subordinates. "Sir, her group of friends from school has arrived and basically stormed the room. They are all in there now," Silver reported. "Good. She needs all their love and support now, more than ever." "Are we going back now?" "No. We stay here for now, and fuck what the REMFs would say - if we can help the wife of our comrade anyhow, we do it." "Yes, sir." The funeral was somber and dignified, as Camo Cap and three of Flash's comrades at arms carried the coffin with his body to the funeral melody played by the military orchestra. Sunset was walking after it, her friends and Flash's friends behind her, Flash's parents by her sides. She was surrounded by many people, yet she felt that a part of her was gone, and that it would never come back. She remembered how she watched at Flash in the coffin, how she thought he was merely sleeping. She could see no sign of wounds; although Timber Spruce, who became Twilight's husband and also participated in the war near Griffonstone, remembered (he did not tell her specifically, but she read his mind with her magic and learned everything from him) that when he and his search and rescue team found Flash's body in the ruins, covered by rubble, it was mangled pretty badly. Ironically, Griffonstone was taken only a week later, giving the terrorists a crushing blow. Many of Flash's comrades dedicated this victory to him. While the gesture did not help with the pain of the loss, she was grateful that his comrades at arms did their best to help her. She shook the thoughts, and concentrated on the path to the cemetery. She did not speak even once. She did not want to and did not need to. No words were necessary. Not when the coffin was lowered to the grave, not when fresh earth was thrown over it, not when the soldiers fired their rifles in a farewell salute. For it was winter, the season of death. And death required no words. Epilogue: several months later Pinkie Pie was in a hurry. She was practically running, dragging Fluttershy behind her. "Come on, come on!" she said. "Everyone else is there already!" "I... can't... breathe... my arm's... gonna... break..." Fluttershy had trouble speaking. "Don't you wanna see him?" "I... do... but..." "Come on, Shy! You can do it!" After several similar exchanges, Pinkie and Fluttershy finally joined their other friends. "There y'all are," Applejack said. "We had our turns, wanna go in?" "Yep-yep!" Both girls entered the room, seeing Sunset Shimmer half-sitting on the bed, pillows supporting her. "Hi, Pinkie, Fluttershy," she spoke softly. "Please be quiet, he's sleeping." In her hands, she held a bundle of diapers. A baby's face was visible, eyes closed. "Awwwwww," both Pinkie and Fluttershy whispered. Sunset smiled, feeling some tinge of happiness at looking at all of her friends come and adore Tornado Sentry. It was spring, the season of birth. The season of birth of her and Flash's son.