//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: A New Hope // by computerneek //------------------------------// Organized mayhem suddenly explodes throughout the base.  A single yell is all it had taken- and now, all the Guards are dumping what they were doing and rushing to the East Wall with weapons and armor.  They’re under attack- and this isn’t a drill. Fort Dash has an amazing track record against their enemies.  It has survived long sieges, and enjoys a tradition of exacting an enormously lopsided death toll on their enemies.  Besides, nothing has ever managed to penetrate the walls. To their credit, despite these historical advantages, each and every Guard reacts as if the enemy were just about to penetrate the wall anyways.  As such, the battlements are occupied and armed before their enemy gets close to the wall- and they open fire on any that dare approach too close. Fluttershy and Applejack also run to the top of the wall, selecting a spot between two turrets as their vantage point, wearing Royal Guard armor.  A quick glance to the north shows that their savior has not returned; it left some hours after they arrived at the base, close to a week ago. They look out at their enemy.  An enormous army of Minotaurs and Centaurs.  The kind of army that could easily get up against the wall. The kind of army that is still smaller than some of the forces Fort Dash fended off- or slaughtered- in the past. But it’s not coming at the wall.  The main body isn’t, at least; only the leading party is getting in range of the defense; the rest is simply gathering on that hill.  Like they want the Guards’ attention. “Keep the other walls prepared,” a Guard passing behind them orders his underlings.  “This could be a decoy.” As it turns out, the ‘Taurs- this appears to be a combined army- seem to have acquired some strange, new weapon.  One that works from far enough away the archers can’t reach it- and neither can the ballistas. A team of Pegasi take to the air, rising well above the highest an enemy archer could hope to shoot, to fly overtop the thing and drop rocks on it.  Fluttershy lets out a faint cry of protest, staring wide-eyed at the weapon. Unfortunately, while they’re still flying overtop, an echoing boom sounds from the odd, pipe-like weapon- and the pegasi are knocked out of the air by a spray of fragmented rock.  As near as Applejack can tell, they were dead even before they hit the ground. The next boom throws a very solid lump of rock- at least, she thinks it’s rock- up against the wall.  The wall shudders as a small crater crumbles away. A Guard pushes Fluttershy and Applejack towards the stairs.  “Take cover,” he orders them. “The Vault. Now!” They nod, and comply.  They aren’t trained for this kind of situation, and will only slow the Guards down. I did not spend those three days simply recharging, no.  I also manufactured some equipment. I have restored one of my ion bolt repeaters.  A much smaller energy weapon than a Hellbore, these will be suitable for use in a situation like that first fort, should it arise again. I have also assembled myself a single tech spider.  These head-sized general-purpose manipulator robots can come in very handy- for example, when taking aboard supplies.  Two days ago, I discovered a defeated base, and looted the remains for any food. I was able to find enough to feed my two necklace-bearers for almost a month before I moved on. Now, I’m parked outside another base.  It’s a midsize fort- and, judging by the damages to the walls, the smoke still rising from some of the buildings, and the few ponies still navigating the base in search of survivors, I can only assume it just experienced a pyrrhic victory.  I scan the base with my onboard sensors; both of my drones are occupied with watching the base my necklace-bearers are at. At this distance, I must use one as a relay to reach the other; as such, I’m bringing them both in to recharge at once before relaunching, for an estimated 73% surveillance uptime on the base.  This is unsatisfactory, but I have no better option at this time. I have lowered my boarding ramp near the crumbled walls.  My tech spider has progressed down it- and, to my luck, they understand anything I say- well, one of them does.  She seems to have difficulty speaking any of the languages I know, but she understands it clearly enough. Perhaps this is an effect of their magic?  Regardless, my spider is currently helping them search the base for survivors; thermal imaging, both from my hull and my spider, is helping accelerate the process.  Even my spider’s auditory sensors are a great help, being far more sensitive than their ears. Unfortunately, we have so far scanned over 97% of the base, finding no survivors. My drones reach position over my necklace-bearers’ base once again.  It’s under attack. I detect Necklace’s chemical plant inside a heavily armored structure in the middle- probably a vault of some sort.  The east wall is collapsing, thanks to the enemy’s use of what looks like a cannon. The Guards are reacting very quickly- and seem to be vacating the collapsing sections at the very last moment, yet still in a coordinated manner- like they planned it.  This is good; this kind of impromptu coordinated action is normally only seen in Bolos. They’re also already gathering around the collapse site on the inside, even as it still collapses, and throwing up a barricade to arrest their enemy’s progress- and give themselves a chance to fend off the attack.  I launch my only remaining missile, targeting the enemy’s cannon section; once this is eliminated, the enemy will be forced to close the range to fight, right into the Guards’ range. Estimated time to arrival, three point four minutes.  I run simulations on the fight; I expect this battle may last for days. It will take me approximately twenty-four hours to reach the fort.  If I head directly there, I will be powerless. If I head first to my microbase, not only can I order it to switch to a pony-sustenance-first focus, sacrificing quick-repair and recharge functions for myself, but I can recharge enough to make the one-hour trip to the fort in half that time…  and unleash at least four Hellbore rounds upon arrival, if necessary. I move my hull so as to scan the last portion of the base I am at directly- no survivors.  I report this result through the spider- and also mention the larger base further away, under attack by a larger force- and my estimation of the result:  Total loss, at the defeat of only half the enemy army. I inform them that I can prevent that- but I do not want to abandon them. They are aware that I cannot understand their words- so they use every other form of expression they can think of to deliver the message.  Shortly, I guide them up to Passenger Fourteen- and set off for my generator base, leaving this demolished base far behind. My estimates were inaccurate.  The Enemy has used a similar acceleration technique as was seen at the first base.  Not only that but the Guards quickly lost hope- and combat performance went down from there.  There is now a party fleeing the abandoned base, running north, away from the advancing army. There are a few unicorns in the fleeing party; these are able to cancel the speed advantage, it seems, but they are wearing out.  They’re having difficulty keeping up with the rest of their party; I expect the last of them will fall to the Enemy’s continued archery assault before I am able to meet them head-on; I am launching from my base now. I will only be able to save a small number.  I should have the food available, from foraging that defeated base, to feed all of my new rescuees until after my base can begin producing the food necessary. That, in part, because the new pony-sustenance-first focus will begin producing food at acceptable rates within four days’ time.  I will camp the area as long as necessary for my new base to have its own solid, technologically advanced defense. With a live link to myself, wherever I go, to allow me to ensure a successful, casualty-free defense every time.  I am unable to extrapolate a meaningful timeframe for this, as production rates will vary by the demand placed upon the system by the ponies inhabiting first my passenger compartment and, eventually, the base. I push myself forwards, arming both my Hellbore and my ion bolt repeater for rapid duty.  I have no ammo for my Howitzer; I have ten rounds for my ring penetrators. My priority was, after all, the energy weapon. I warn my two passengers to hold on tight, and burn additional power to rise above my previous efficiency-oriented leisurely pace.  A good, strong earthquake will precede me. I watch as more and more ponies fall to the attacking army.  They are falling short of my expectations; I may not be able to save any of them. Fortunately, my base discovered a deeper, far hotter source of geothermal energy while I was out- so I have far more power than I have ammo to burn it with.  I pour energy into my tracks, rising above normal road speed to an all-out sprint. My passengers have strapped themselves into the seats- they figured that part out on their own, without needing my assistance- so the bumpy ride does not bother them.  As I approach my target, I energize my surviving counter-grav coils; I have enough power to operate them at capacity for almost three full minutes, and enough operable coils to pull almost two gravities of acceleration- more than enough to control a jump. They gallop forwards.  Another arrow strikes off the badly dented steel plate armor protecting Fluttershy’s flank; much more, and even with the indirect blows it’s been taking, it’ll fail- and she’ll take a hit. Another Guard collapses behind them.  Tears stream down Fluttershy’s face. There’s only three guards left. One collapses to the ground, an arrow sticking out the back of his helmeted head.  She pushes on. The second takes an arrow to her leg, collapsing to the ground. She glances forwards, towards the distant hill.  They’ll never make it. She stops, placing herself between the collapsed pegasus- who already has an injured wing- and the approaching army. The other Guard realizes what she’s doing and calls out against it. She sees the arrow destined for her new friend’s head.  She positions herself in its path. The other pegasus, a Sergeant, she’s pretty sure, won’t have time to reach her.  She braces herself- And feels the impact, right to her chest.  She feels the arrow pierce her skin- and, funny, she doesn’t feel it penetrate her insides.  She holds her ground. “What-!?” She hears the Sergeant ask, before he takes an arrow to the midshoulder, crippling him instantly. She barely has time to spot the arrow flying at her before it strikes her, right in the middle of her forehead. Applejack, also turning back for Fluttershy, lets out a gasp when the arrow hits the pegasus’ forehead.  She ignores the trembling ground as she races to the collapsing pegasus- and the puzzling sight. She’d seen more than one guard take a hit to the forehead- and the arrows always punched straight through.  This one, however, must have been a weak arrow- the shaft shattered on impact, much like the one to her friend’s chest. She rushes forwards to grab her friend- and in her last second, she glances upwards. There’s an arrow, headed directly for her head- and she won’t be able to react in time to dodge it. Then, with a sharp snapping noise, the arrow explodes mid-flight- away from her, opposite its original trajectory. Then fast-paced bolts of light blaze over her head with accompanying shots of thunder, wiping out her pursuers with vicious efficiency.  A much louder, brighter blast erases most of the remaining army, all at once. Then the flashes and thunder stop just long enough for her to hear a Minotaur let out a scream before a shadow passes over her head and lands on top of the remainder of the enemy soldiers.  It positively races away from her before twisting around to approach alongside, bumping visibly over the crater that used to be the approach to Fort Dash. She blinks repeatedly.  It’s the same thing that had saved her and Fluttershy earlier. “What just happened?” Lightning Dust, the pegasus Fluttershy was protecting, asks.