"We're definitely in an era where the government wants to keep more secrets and it wants to come after anyone who's exposing those secrets and in many cases exposing government illegality. They're coming after the journalists and they're coming after the whistleblowers. It's not a good sign if the government is expending much energy trying to find out who journalists are talking to." or "One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion."
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Glowing Lions, or Radions, were no joke to sneeze at. Not that I sneeze in the face of these things up close, given they are like glow-in-the-dark skeletons with their fur and manes still attached for the most part. Not to mention they each were 12 foot tall, which is weird since normally the males sleep all day and the females hunt.
Cunning, vicious, agile, and combine that with the multi-shelled armor with remote-controlled missile/machine-gun turrets on their torso, I honestly didn't know if it'd be possible to take down one of them, let alone a dozen.
Of course, that is because we didn't have the natural enemy of a lion back then: fire. I mean, sure, those things shrug off plasma mines, enclave laser rifles, balefire grenades, but when they get set on actual fire, their baggy, lifeless husk of a furry body burns away to dust. Only issue of using such a weapon?
The flamethrowers we have are not made, but are based off a two-for-one package of innate magic, wielded by a Oryx who absorbs and creates a heat field around itself an a Addax who can channel the heat into a burst of high-intensity flame. Both of which are not good at dodging or jumping to avoid getting shredded by the 4 foot long retractable bone claws, and the reach of it was up to 10 foot at max, so it was up to me to organize a scramble escort to keep the Radions off the Firetroops until the flames consumed each and every one of them.
Of course, by now, one would expect me to be charging into the fray, blasting wildly into their rancid maws and then beheaded in a distant swipe. But no, I was overseeing the battle high above the ground in a sky chariot, my hooves moving along a variety of holographic computer panels to relay orders in real time.
To me, staying silent when giving the orders is due mostly to the custom earplugs that we were using, even as they strafed around the Radions to pierce tethered harpoons into their greenish hide and another into the ground to keep the beasts at bay.
Well, not really beasts. I'm sure they were pleasant folk back then, acting on instinct to hunt for their pride, but now that their bodies turned feral ghoulish, they're just plain savage. Having a small army of a few hundred bombard about ten of them from both the sky and ground may seem like overkill, but even if one of the Radions break past, they would raze Neo Oasis just like so many others with their abyssal roar. And claws. And balefire breath, of course.
Regardless, it was up to me to keep the various groups on the defensive to get those creatures anchored down with the diamond-threaded ropes and avoid unnecessary casualties. Then once their movement is slowed to a crawl, the firetroops would be brought in to melt the Radions front to back with concentrated bursts of flame.
Not a pleasant sight nor smell, given burning flesh would attract predators, but we'll have to deal with those later. And already a few ponies and one zebra were evacuated, badly maimed/battered by the radion's swatting paws but clinging onto life nonetheless as a bunch of medics lead by began to prep them for surgery. Tch. Ended up sending some Hartebeests with SWAT-level reflective shields to protect the harpoon specialists, informing them to keep a fair distance of 15 feet so they would avoid possible pouncing.
Such a pain, one of the antelopes tripped and got bit by a Radlion....though the distraction did end up with it staying in one place for me to coordinate harpoons to drive into it's ribcage. Minor note, but it's not a good thing to mess with the manes, as they're useful for creating rad-proof gear and uniforms, not to mention fireproof.
We tend to harvest manes on principle if we come across Radlions, but leave non-affected lions alone so they can breed normally amongst their prides. I made sure to have suppressive fire on that one until the fire squad arrived, since those things can't shake off heavy impact rounds easily.
And of course, I sent that dik-dik...what was her name again...with her own team to patch up the antelope via my comms. She wasn't too happy about going on the front lines right off the bat, but I didn't care. If those generals are so adamant on me having a bunch of loose cannons to guard me, then I'll order them to do as I see fit.
Same for the sword user and the grenade nutcase....since conventional weapons aren't what I need, they were sent to guard the main gate of the shantytown if the Radlions breach our position.
Huh...GPS screen on my left is a bit smudged. I'll have to inform maintenance to get this sky chariot looked over once we successfully purge these creatures back to Tartarus.
<How is that, by the way?> My annoyingly frustrating bookworm asked, reminding me not to say certain things out loud sometimes.
"Tartarus? How the heck should I know? I've been out here for quite a number of years and haven't heard squat about Tartarus." I grumbled, though I was also a bit curious. After all, that dimension was sealed by Celestia long ago, but there were rumors that special black magic can break the seal, such as the balefire bombs. If those beasts of mayhem got out....I shudder to think of the implications.
He was then silent for the rest of the operation, which was fine by me as I needed full concentration on flanking the Radlions one by one with my troops. Ah, good, the fire squad got started on one of the fallen Radlions...even up here, the smell of irradiated burning flesh is disgusting if not for my mask to filter it.
It bellowed in outrage as the flames slowly consumed it, the phosphorous doing it's job well to leave not a single fur untouched save it's mane. Naturally, the other Radlions, feral as they are, tried to save their comrade, but I commanded for harpoons to launch into their flanks once they were off guard turning, their legs and mouths binded by the heavy ropes.
"Let's not get cocky....there's still 3 more and they could still use their rad breath! Flamethrower teams concentrate your streams on them one by one, awhile others start retrieving the fallen!" I called out, watching closely as I began to send troops to lock the harpoon ropes in place, one of the Radlions always starting to melt away into a pile of irradiated flesh and bone. Good thing is that Oryx's rarely run out of juice when working with a Addax, but they are few in number due to the forementioned lack of grass to graze on.
And that's when things started to spiral downwards, as all heck broke loose when a freaking Talzelwyrm of all things burst out of the ground with a sharp screech, consuming the 3 untangled Radlions from below with it's open tri-jaw. Okay...at least I know WHY the Radlions were coming here of all places, fleeing their natural predator in a ghoulish panicm though something about this seemed a little off to me somehow.
Though technically, just because it ate a heavy meal doesn't mean it was finished as it opened it's maw to spew a heavy, toxic stream at the various equines firing ineffective projectiles at it. And another Radlion melted during that time, which apparently angered the massive wyrm as it charged my fire squadron head-on.
"Tch...we need some heavy artillery over here! Flamers don't do much against those things!" I shouted, redirecting some of our resources to have a bombardier chariot to strafe the backside of the beast, blowing up large gashes in it's sides. The Radions, now aware of the major threat that seeked to consume them, fled the scene upon destroying their tether restraints with steel-shredding claws.
<Well, at least there's only one enemy to deal with instead of a large pride.> Ananzi observed, causing me to sigh.
"If only it were so easy." I muttered, seeing that the tatzlwyrm had already mutated into a legendary form by sealing off it's wounds and growing multiple spikes, spiraling throughout the battlefield and taking out multiple rows of soldiers despite the heavy firepower striking upon it. Even tore apart a airtank that ejected it's occupants seconds upon approach, which was always a pain with paperwork replacements. "The megaspells mutated a vast array of the local wildlife, they can change form or grow new limbs by adapting to the attack power if they survive it. And we don't have nearly enough explosives to do a full-on air strike."
Ignoring the mass panic and screaming in my headset, I coordinated those with plasma grenades to throw said grenades into his maw after it's drill run, but it seemed to just swat them away with it's tail. I winced as a few gnarled baobab trees went up in flames...we really should have sprung for the type of grenade that blows up on contact.
Budget issues are a pain in a Fallout economy, even though we're doing our best to rebuilding weapon factories. Either way, those legendary types are a pain to deal with since they get smarter and tougher after their transformation.
Bombing runs were out as well...it was learning quickly how fast our chariots can move about so it can take careful aim with boulders and armor-melting vomit, which led me to spread them out and get higher up for the time being. I wasn't taking any more chances with possible deaths or injuries, even though that dik-dik was doing a bang-up job patching up those who got slammed by the vicious drill plow of teeth. Perhaps out of all them, I'll keep her around for safety reasons...awhile the others can manage the main fort.
<Say, what's that cloud over there?> Anansi inquired, causing me to check over in the corner of my wide vision to spot a charging stream of dust heading in our direction. All the other soldiers, oddly enough, paused to stare at the incoming cloud of dust as a oddly shaped golden spear poked out of it, surrounded by three hollow rings that chimed in unison. Then, the cloud of dust burst like a dam as it came close to the rampaging Talzelwyrm (who was busy chomping a screeching Radion half-torso) revealing a muscular zebra with golden stripes.
And yes, it was a male one, I can tell the difference even with all those gold earrings, rings around his legs and tail and the gold caps on his fillings. Anyways....from what I can tell, that zebra leapt up, impaled the beast, then spun the spear to tear a gaping stallion-sized hole from side to side as he sprung out without a drop of blood on him.
Befuddled and confused, the legendary Tatzelwyrm died as it was since the warrior essentially shredded it's three hearts in the process of tunneling through, a towering pillar of toxic flesh. Well. Until the Thunderbirds eat it, I suppose, but at least it's dead. Killed by the Golden Prince no less. the infamous Makonnen (though most call him Mako), who basically has claim to this part of the Savanna.
Landing safely on all fours, the noble prince flicked the toxin blood off his spearhead before chatting and mingling with his loyal subjects who quickly rejoiced and crowded around him in celebration. Awhile others began clean-up and dissection duties, dividing up meat and nuclear materials from the corpses (or reclaiming the armor of the fallen and personal belongings to deliver to next-of-kin).
<Okay, that's a new one. Who is the albino zebra that just stole your spotlight and insta-killed that Tatzelwyrm with one blow?>
"Not sure about Albino, but Mako's basically the head honcho of the Allied Zebrican Community or AZC, everypony looks up to him for guidance or support, so he takes jobs all over the country, righting wrongs and slaying wicked warlords. He's also one of the few zebras I can't use Intimidation on to get truth out of his snout. He's a very suspicious fellow who just appeared one day, and I don't like unknown factors." I muttered, just as I lowered my chariot downwards, setting up specific commands to pursue the remaining Radions from a distance in case they decided to U-Turn back.
"Ah, Commander Shady Smog! I saw the explosions and flamers going off and decided to drop in to see what was going on." Mako said, grinning smugly as his large zebra fanbase swooned at his perfect white teeth flash, causing me to wince slightly.
"Oh, it's you. Done already with your quest down south?" I grumbled, not really in the mood to deal with this guy. I was really overdue for a shower at this point.
"Indeed, the Warlord Mozi shall threaten the villages of my kind no more...kind of a shame the battle was so one sided. For all the medals that Hartebeest put on his vest, he easily succumbed to the power of my spear." He chuckled, flicking some of the guts on the grayed soil.
Eh, may as well chuckle at that remark, "Heh, that's a given. Most of the folks that retain power are good for speaking as to command armies, but they make themselves look important to fake being in previous wars by stealing from the dead's valuables to gain rank and status. I was planning on checking up on you once we began to advance our troops by the Skeleton Coast."
"You sure you want to go there first? I heard a bunch of those Nyx scum blew a hole in the Mpala Reservoir by Cape City, the folks down there won't last long without a fresh water supply given the lower part of Zebrica is suffering the dry season." Mak pointed out, which caused my ears to stand on end out of anger.
"That's still happening? Fine, I'll send two platoons of Wonderbolt-rank Pegasi to try to patch up the dam and attempt to refill it with rain water. But in return, you have to come with us." I growled, giving both club and carrot to the savior of the zebra, as I knew offhand I wouldn't be able to do this without a guide who knew the territory like the back of his hoof.
"What? Why?" He seemed taken back by my request, though a tad intrigued.
"Last I checked, the zebra down there are skittish since the Nyx keep firing cannonballs into their villages so they went underground. I figure you can coax some of them to come back up long enough to get the scoop on where those putrid-smelling fart ghosts are docking their ships, since they evade our patrols and ensnare oil shipments by sea all the time." I said bluntly, as I preferred him to actually jump into a Dead Sea Lake, earning a nod from him overall.
"Very well, we have a accord. But only for this instance, there are many, many warlords paid off by the Legate to cause havoc up and down the country and I am poised to keep them at bay." He snorted in distain, as his top aides clapped in applause over the selfless sacrifice of his time in getting the Skeleton Coast de-Nyxified.
<I'm sorry, did you just say Nyx? There shouldn't be any way for them to come down here without Princess Luna's help.>
'Well, they are here. And being a royal nuisance pillaging and destroying our ships. Thus if we take them out, then we can re-supply from the sealine via cargo ships instead of the long way around by air.' I said to Anansi, as Mako took his leave to rally his forces down south.
"Causalities?" I inquired, as I walked off the platform to meet with one of my newly appointed interns, or Lt. Generals, I suppose. Goes by Melty Peak, I believe, but was selected solely because she was one of the few Pegasi who can keep a eye on the battlefield at all times unwavering.
Getting out a clipboard with her left wing, Melty began her report...and yes, it was boring, mindless statistics. 19 dead or missing, 50 wounded or injured, several dozen items of interest including ammunition and slightly melted weaponry from the Tatzlawyrm's corpse, and at least two dozen calls from High Command. I ignored the last one naturally, let those old couts stew for a while knowing that their methods were ineffective in taming this wildnerness. "See to it everyone gets medical treatment, no matter how small, and have the rest begin loading supplies and equipment for instantaneous transport. I expect no further delays, so call the others who apparently want to guard me to the rendezvous point."
I sighed as soon as she left in a huff, burying my head in my wings for a few minutes in deep sorrow. "It never gets easier, you know. I command one of the finest armadas around, yet somehow something goes wrong and I feel it's my burden to bear."
<All you can do is try your best, I guess.> Those words were comforting, I suppose.
"Very well...Time for us to begin our assault on the Skeleton Coast!" I yelled, my voice reaching to all those currently tending to the corpses or the wounded. "Get as many as you can over to me as possible. I need that prototype K.A.M.P. device as well, plus get some of my mechanics to patch up any fallen airtanks and chariots. I want a lot of carpet bombing on their drug fields before we move onto their fleet, to neutralize their means of financial control over the population. You and you, get the other lieutenants and send them over to me as soon as possible. And I want everyone to get as much sunblock applied as possible, since that partly deserted city area is known to be over a hundred degrees."
Checking the charge on my Pipbuck, I could tell that we were in for one heck of a battle in the next few hours. Still....no harm in getting a hour-long shower, right?
"Boss! The E.B.O.N. Fortress just got hit! And all the prisoners have escaped!" Acid Drip suddenly called out over my transceiver, shaking me to my core.....
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"DARN IT ALL TO TARTURUS!!!!!!!!!"
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Level UP! Perk: Chariot Keeper - Your expertise in managing the battlefield has given you a tactical advantage from above, boosting +2 Perception when on a Chariot or Vertibuck. You also get the opportunity to commandeer a Enclave-class vehicle if the need arises. You can't shoot anything though since even with the machine gun, your aim stinks.