//------------------------------// // 26) Readying the Assault // Story: Fireteam Odium // by EchoTheFloof //------------------------------// - - -One week later- - - Rain quickly dodged to the right, narrowly avoiding a round from her opponent. They had been fighting for nearly twenty minutes and neither of them had gained any ground. As her enemy reloaded, she returned fire with an arrow consisting of Void light. It soared over the small area they were fighting in and drove into the ground beside her target. The effect was instant, as a tendril of purple energy shot out and latched to the being, disorienting them. With them unable to fight, she raced forward, landing a punch on the armoured being’s face, its helmet flying back. “Heh, nice shot.” Kervis said, standing up and retrieving his helmet. Rain was panting a little, but stood tall, “Thanks, Kervis.” The Titan began inspecting the discarded piece of armour, “Keep that up, and we’ll make a true Nightstalker out of you yet.” “I look forward to it.” Exodus and Lemon were watching from the sidelines. They had been talking a lot more over the last few days, and had become a little closer because of it. The Warlock still wanted to push for her and Kervis to move on together, but he felt it was necessary to at least get to know the mare a little more before making any decisions. “He’s much better at teaching than I expected.” Lemon commented, watching the duo converse. “Well, he has had a lot of experience. He was forced to learn how to use Warlock and Hunter light in order to help us learn quickly.” Exodus explained. “What? But if he’s a Titan, how could he learn that stuff?” The Exo shook his head, “He can’t use it, but he knows the mechanics behind it. Since he knows that, he can tutor a Guardian on the use of any form of light much faster than regular training would provide.” “Sounds useful.” “It is. He taught both me and Kalis, and will likely show many of the ponies how to use it as well.” As they spoke, Rain and Kervis had started coming over, both wearing smiles. “We’re taking a break if you both want to join us.” Kervis said when they had come close enough. “Sure. Bar or mess hall?” Exodus responded, standing up with Lemon. “Eh, mess hall. Less of a journey.” The other three agreed, prompting them to return to the bunker. They had been training a little ways from it, in a small ring set up by Exodus and Elana. It had undergone heavy use as Kervis had been training Chrome, Flame and Rain on how to better make use of their light. It had been going well, and the three of them had almost completely mastered the use of their given subclass. As they walked through the corridors of the underground facility, various ponies passed them by, going about their business. Celestia had ordered a large number of civilians to move into the bunker, in the hopes of keeping them safe. With the increase in population, food and water had quickly became a problem. The bunker had once been fitted with water pipes, but they had corroded over the centuries, making them completely unusable. This left the new inhabitants of it to gather their own food and water, mostly coming from nearby towns that were more than happy to donate some of their supplies to aid the efforts. Entering the mess hall revealed very few ponies actually eating. It was around four in the afternoon, so most of the ponies were out working, and those that weren’t were catching up on their missed lunch. Exodus took a seat while the other three went up to the chef, coming back with plates of food. They were silent as they sat, Kervis taking his helmet off. “Any word from Thovog?” The Warlock asked. “Yeah, he should be done teaching the ponies by tonight.” Kervis replied, picking up the small sandwich he had gotten. He technically didn’t need to eat, but he felt more comfortable eating with others. “Great, and the Primus?” At this, Rain spoke up, “According to the scouts the Princesses sent, the damaged ship has been undergoing repairs. It still isn’t battle worthy, but if we don’t move soon, it will definitely cause issues.” Exodus nodded, “With the ponies trained, all we need is the army Celestia and Luna have been building. We should be ready to go in a day.” Lemon poked at her salad, “So this is it? After this, it’s over?” “That’s right. With the Cabal threat eliminated, our work here will be done.” Kervis said. “And after that? What will you do then?” The human looked down at the table, “I’m not sure right now. Let’s get the major issue out of the way first before worrying about that.” Lemon gave a slight nod, taking a bit of salad. Their meal continued in silence for a short while, Exodus simply sitting back and fiddling with his bond. “It’s weird to think we have only been here for about three weeks now.” Kervis commented, looking his helmet over. “Yeah, a lot can happen in a few weeks.” Exodus said. “A lot is an understatement. I mean, look at how much we have done so far. We’ve fought to defend four cities, saved countless lives, discovered a Warmind… I would go as far as to say we have done more in this month than we have this year.” “Possibly,” Exodus started, putting his bond back on, “But it’s what we do. You should know that by now.” “Trust me, I do. Just the work to get rid of Oryx was enough to send me into retirement. If Guardians could retire, I mean.” The Exo chuckled, “Don’t worry, I know what you mean.” They spend the next few minutes waiting for their pony companions to finish eating. As they waited, Exodus looked around the room at the ponies sitting at the tables. Most were decked out with armour, some made by the pony blacksmiths, others made by the Ghosts. The ponies in Guardian armour were those that had been trained by Thovog, and would be boarding the carriers with the assault teams. “We had any word on the Frames?” He asked after a while. “Elizabeth has said she will send as many as she can spare. We should have plenty ready for the big day.” Kervis said. “Then all we are waiting for is Thovog, right?” The Titan nodded, “Churchill is ready, our assault teams are almost ready, and are only waiting on the ponies that will be working the consoles.” Exodus chuckled, “Still trying to get my head around the fact we are actually planning on attacking a Cabal fleet. If this was back on Earth, I wouldn’t even care about the loot. The ability to say I accomplished something of this scale would be enough for me.” Kervis laughed, “Wish all the other Guardians could say the same.” “To each their own. If they only do this to grow stronger, we can’t exactly judge them for it. I remember the missions we did on the moon, each one specifically to get me stronger.” The robed Guardian said. His friend simply shook his head, smiling, “I guess you’re right. I’m gonna go see if I can find Elana. I know she wanted a few more lessons on her Nightstalker before the battle.” “Ah, have fun.” The Titan grunted as he stood, “I’ll try.” - - - Thovog looked over the reports he had received from each of the ponies in his class. He had been forced to give them a crash course on the Cabal language in order to get anywhere with the lessons, as none of them could figure out which symbols to tap in order to make the console do what they wanted. The reports had been written in Cabal, and each one was at least serviceable. “They learn fast.” The Centurion commented, looking over one of the reports. “That they do. I think they’ll do just fine up there. We just have to hope the pressure doesn’t make them choke.” The Val replied, looking over at his companion. “I wouldn’t bet on all of them managing the job perfectly. Guess it’s a good thing we are sending two to each carrier, huh?” Thovog nodded, “Yes. Have you told the Guardians of the Cabal that are joining us?” “Not yet, I wanted to save that for when the meeting comes around. Then we can have everyone hear it at the same time.” “Good idea.” The towering Cabal turned back to the paper, “Just one more battle and we are done. We can return home, and be with our families once more.” “Don’t be thinking like that just yet.” The Centurion said, “You and I both know that the chance of us both surviving this are slim at best.” “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance. I am willing to believe that we can get through this, it gives me the strength I need to keep pushing forward.” The smaller Cabal smiled below his helmet, “Whatever keeps your mind straight, Thovog.” The Val turned back to the paper. The pony who had written this one had made a couple of mistakes, but nothing that would affect him when he was trying to get into the carrier’s systems. “Do you think the Guardians will return home?” The Centurion questioned. Thovog looked up, towards the bunker they were living near to, “Probably not all of them. A couple of them, possibly, but those two Guardians, the green Titan and the Warlock, they are clearly inseparable. If one chooses a path, the other will follow.” He heard a chuckle from his companion, “Like us then?” Thovog gave his own smile, “You could say that.” - - - “Elizabeth?” Churchill called out from his position in orbit. “I am here.” Came the reply. “Are we ready to begin?” “We are waiting upon the Guardians and their ponies. When both are ready, we shall begin.” The Warmind went silent for a while, splitting his vision between feeds of the bunker and the city the Cabal had taken. Exodus had been in contact with them both quite a bit over the week, and had explained what was going on with a high level of detail, as well as things like their names. Churchill didn’t really need to know about it, as Elizabeth had already explained the most important parts, but he found talking with Exodus to be interesting. The Warlock had quite a bit of knowledge, and was able to describe what had happened after the Collapse. While he was saddened by the eventual fate of Rasputin, he understood why the Russian Warmind fell into the behaviour that he did. In turn, Churchill had explained how and why he was there. The humans during the Golden Age had stumbled across an old Vex ruin deep within Venus. The ruin was empty, and so they had set up equipment and temporary housing to learn more about it. After only a few days, they had found the same portal Odium had found, and had passed into it. The discovery of a new planet, far outside their solar system, was groundbreaking. It meant humanity had a place to flee to, a place they could start again if need be, but it was kept secret. The governments saw no reason to relay the discovery to the general public, as they feared it would make them think something was wrong. A Warmind was constructed within it when the humans had found their way out, the supplies being sent through the portal and collected from where they had arrived at. However, just as they were finishing the preparations, the Collapse came around. With the loss of most life within the solar system, the knowledge of the new planet was also lost. The scientists and engineers still in the bunker finished their work, thinking the Collapse was simply a communications failure, but died as their food and supplies ran out. “Do you think this will work?” Elizabeth asked. “Probably. I am aware that us not being in the equation changes things, but we must trust in the plan the Guardians have made. Should it fail, we will step in.” The Warmind said in response. “I only hope that you are correct. I don’t know what we would end up doing should this planet fall as well.” Churchill had to agree. With the loss of the solar system they had come from, all they had left was the planet they were tasked with defending. But the orbiting machine knew he would rather die than allow the planet to fall into the possession of hostiles. “The planet will remain ours. It’s our job to keep it that way, and I know we can uphold that.” He said, looking down at the Cabal ships above Manehattan, “We just need to trust in our allies.” - - -An hour later- - - The Guardians and the pony leaders all stood around a large table. It seemed to Kervis that they had spent a lot more time standing around tables than they probably should have, but he moved that thought to the back of his mind. There was a meeting to focus on. “So, are the ponies ready?” Exodus began. “They are. I have pulled every soldier and guard I have back to Solacium, and they are ready to fight.” Celestia said. The War Mage leader wasn’t present at the meeting. She had eventually been found dead outside of the Crystal Empire, multiple bullet wounds in her side. She was given a memorial in Solacium, and the few War Mages that were left chose to stay and defend their home town. “Alright. Thovog has finished teaching the fifty ponies how to use the Cabal consoles, and the Frames are ready as well. All we need to do now is prepare a plan of attack.” The Warlock said. “First thing is how we get the ponies and Frames on board.” Kervis said, “Without the Mages, we will have to rely on unicorn soldiers to teleport them up. Do any of your ponies have the strength to do that?” “I am still willing to do that.” Celestia said, a confused look on her face. “We know, but having a leader like you in the line of fire is simply too risky. Plus, we need to available to help us clear the city. For that reason, we will need fifty unicorns capable of teleporting large amounts of beings a long distance,” The Titan explained. Celestia sighed, “I understand. I will have the strongest unicorns I have report to you.” “Now that that’s sorted, we can work on a plan for the initial attack,” Exodus said. “We should have the boarding force hang back,” Procor said, “That was we can have an attacking force clear the way into the city.” “Good idea, but I’m not sure how many soldiers we will have. We have us four, as well as the couple of ponies we have given Light to. How many soldier will you be sending, Celestia?” The Warlock said. “Nearly two thousand. The rest are either going with the boarding teams or are defending the bunker and Solacium.” Celestia responded. “It’s going to have to do. We’ll split up into four armies, five hundred ponies, one Guardian, one Light infused pony. We can attack each side of the city with them.” Luna tilted her head, “But one side of it is touching nothing but water.” Kervis smiled, “That’s where our Cabal friends come in. Thovog just told me that there is a large amount of Cabal troops that don’t agree with what the Primus is doing, and have decided to side with us.” “They will steal as many dropships as they can from the carriers and fly us in on that side. Any Cabal allies that are on the ground will keep their air defences from attacking us,” Exodus said. The Solar Princess blinked, “They are fighting with us? Why don’t they bring the carriers down themselves then?” “They can’t without risking the plan falling apart.” The Exo said, “And even if they did, that doesn’t remove the fact that they still hold the city below. We need to take both of them at the same time, or we may lose the fight.” Celestia nodded slightly, “And how will we know the friendly Cabal from the hostile?” “The allied Cabal will have a single red stripe over the front and back of their armour. Easy to spot, so your ponies shouldn’t have any problems figuring out who is hostile and who isn’t.” “That should work. Lastly, what of the ponies on board each carrier?” “We shouldn’t have to worry about them. With the on-board defences working with us, instead of against us, it will be far easier to get the prisoners out of there.” Exodus said. After a short silence, Kervis spoke up, “So. Does everyone understand what is going on?” “I think so. We just have to work out a plan surrounding the initial attack. Simply raiding each side will not do enough to break through their defences,” Luna said. “Right, right,” The human grunted, not used to all this planning and scheming. “Well, the first thing would be to destroy any placements they have. Turrets, watchtowers, that kind of thing. With them out of the way, their ground forces won’t have any protection, and should be easy enough to deal with.” “These buildings will likely have quite a few Cabal surrounding them. Are you sure our forces are up for it?” Celestia queried. “If they aren’t up for that, they won’t last long in the actual fight.” Exodus said bluntly. “Providing they can keep the majority of the Cabal distracted, the Guardian and light-infused pony in each force can easily take each defence down.” “Alright, so when we are through the walls, then what?” Luna said. “We work on retaking the city, while the boarding teams go to their positions. Some will be outside the town, so they will need to be ready for that,” Exodus said. “We should work block by block, keeping each area fortified so they can’t capture those blocks back,” Kervis continued. “Taking the city shouldn’t be all that hard, it’s dealing with the carriers and their reinforcements that will be more challenging.” “With how many there are, our only hope there is that our new allies can keep them busy long enough to get the boarding parties to where they need to be,” Exodus surmised. “Do we know exactly how many have sided with us?” Celestia asked. “According to Thovog, about two hundred thousand, though that’s more of a rough estimate,” Kervis said. “Nowhere near as large as their army, but they should be enough to at least slow them. In the end, all we need is this boarding party plan to work out, their numbers don’t really matter,” The Warlock said. Luna stood as the guardian finished, “Then I believe we are done. We will have our ponies ready to fight by the morning, I hope that will be enough time for you to also be ready.” “That’s more than enough time. We’ll see you both tomorrow,” Kervis replied, also standing. “That we will. Good night, guardian.” “And the same to you.” - - - A lone Legionary walked through one of the many hangars on board his carrier. He kept his eyes moving, looking around him as he carried a crate of items. His brothers had been working for days to prepare for this, and he wasn’t going to let them down. Carefully, he set the crate down amongst others that looked similar to it. Gathering the materials for this wasn’t easy, especially with so many eyes on them, but they had managed it just in time. With his job now done, he walked away from the cluster of crates. He had heard that the Cabal in the other carriers had done the same as them, each vessel now rigged and ready. The Cabal that had sided with the Guardians had been working on a failsafe, in case the original plan didn’t work out. Each cluster of crates had enough explosives in them to level a city, easily enough to wipe the carriers off the face of the planet. This, of course, meant that anyone still on the carriers would die, but if it meant saving the planet, and preventing the deaths of millions of ponies, they were willing to accept it. He eventually walked past a couple of Cabal, giving a short nod to them. They nodded back, splitting up and leaving the hangar from different doors. The plan had been set, all there was left to do was wait on the Guardians. The soldier took a seat on a large crate, looking over the hangar. The various soldiers were preparing their ships and tanks for a new assault the Primus had planned. It wasn’t going to happen unless the remaining attack carrier was battle worthy, but that meant little to him. He knew that one of those ships or tanks would leave the city below them, no matter what. As he looked them over, a lone Psion caught his eye. It was looking at the crates and pallets near the cluster he and his brothers had set up. His blood ran cold as the realisation of how close they were to being caught slammed into him. Should the Psion even peek into one of those crates, it would instantly recognise the armed explosives. After all, they were the ones that made them. Thankfully, however, it seemed only interested in the pile next to theirs, checking through each box before moving on, leaving their cluster alone. The Legionary released a sigh. After all the work he had done to show the Cabal’s strength and power, it was almost thrilling to be working in the shadows. Of course, that was all going to change by the morning, but he was happy to live it through to the end. The change of pace was welcomed by him and those that were now working against the Primus. An hour passed before he noticed a soldier he recognised as one aiding him. They were working in a sort of rota to transport the crates of explosives into the hangar, each watching the crates until the next came to take their spot. He got down from the crate, moving towards the doors leading from the large room. Everything was falling into place now, he only hoped that their allies could pull the attack off. He really didn’t want to have to resort to using their idea, as were his brothers, but they knew that if they let their Primus continue, millions of innocent lives would be lost. He made his way back to the barracks, falling into a bed. It was still odd for him to sleep in his armour, but they had to make do with the new atmosphere. Sleep came quickly to his tired body, something he knew he would be thankful for in the morning. ‘Here we go...’ He thought as his mind slowed, finally falling asleep.