//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - The Rescue // Story: Cold War: The Global Threat // by GeneralSniperplayer //------------------------------// August 17, 50 | 10:00 am | sunny but still cold. The meeting was postponed, most of the targets that Pinkie had killed the day before were actually not informants, but ordinary people, the Ministers and the President went to have a meeting between them. As for me, I had a meeting with the Intelligence officers, Velvet, Lock and Loot Croft, an ex-Marine who joined the Intelligence, although he did not have Equestrian nationality, he was still one of ours, grew up and studied here at He had our trust all his life, he also says he doesn't know his country of origin, but we didn't talk much about it, we sent the agents available to review old files, threats, unsolvable cases, cold cases, everything, Rainbow Dash said we would have it wasn't until the 20th to hold the meeting to form the investigation group, the officers and I were discovering links between the previous day's incident and the Stalliongrad frigate case in 1948, according to the people who analyzed the bodies of the "common criminals" who tried to kill the Ministers, 3 of them had tattoos of a bow with a scratch of a bear's claw, the same symbol that had on the frigates of 1948, at the time the coast guard informed that it seemed only to be watching us, but that same day some civilians who were passing by on the beach where the frigates were seen, some men came out of the water, all with tattoos, however, pedestrians did not describe the tattoos for not having looked properly, these tattoos that were on the shoulder or chest, the dead men yesterday, they had arm tattoos, but we had no proof that these guys were the same as 48, it was a lot of information to absorb: "We can't jump to conclusions, but what's weird, is." Velvet said. "We should launch a missile at them at once!" Lock gave the idea. "Good idea, then things would really get worse!" I replied. "Let's analyze it well, in 48, men got out of the water and had tattoos, this on the same day that the frigates were on the beach!" Loot Croft pointed. Loot Croft, dark blue skin, light blue eyes, beige hair, 1.79 tall, overall a good man, didn't drink, didn't smoke, always got to the Pentagon early, I don't remember anyone complaining about him before, something What impresses me about him is the fact that he can easily connect the dots, especially when it comes to Stalliongrad: "Is he saying they could have come here in diving suits but taken off in the middle of the water?" Lock asked. "If that had been the case, we would have seen diving suits." I pointed. "I don't remember the coast guard saying there were diving suits in the water." Velvet said. "But they had to take 3 people who were on the frigates to the hospital." Loot pointed it. "After that, those 3 people never showed a sign of life again…" I pointed in the same line. "They didn't because the hospital said they had died, but then 3 medic resigned." Loot said. "Dismissal? When?" Lock asked. "1 week later, and after 2 weeks since the dismissal, the frigates left." Loot replied. "So…"  I said. "The frigates were a fucking distraction…" Velvet concluded. "Exactly!" Loot replied. "Ah...SHIT!" Lock threw what was on the table to the floor, some papers with notes, pens, documents. "Honey, calm down…" Velvet said to Lock. "What if this escalates to a point where we no longer have control over the situation?" Lock questioned. "If a war happens, things get ugly, but that's a clear sign of threat!" Loot pointed. "Why don't we hit right now?" Lock gave the idea. "Great idea, we hit back, they attack hard and it turns into a military conflict, we can't just do that." I disagreed. "What do you suggest?" Lock asked. "We could sabotage them with the Stalliongrad criminals!" Loor answered. "Not such a bad idea…" Velvet replied. "Bad idea!" I disagreed. "The Mafia supported us in the War." Velvet pointed. "Still not a good idea!" I said. "What could go wrong?" Lock questioned. "…" I had no answer to that. It had really worked during the Second War, they were behind enemy lines and they gave us an advantage at the time, and that time the generals were different and the Ministry of Defense too, but I still had my doubts : "So?" Velvet said. "Let's leave that to the War Council…"  I replied. "It's the best thing to do…" Loot spoke. "Let's increase security and internal spying!" I supposed. "What do you mean?" Velvet asked. "At least 1 agent in every street, establishment, residential area...everything!" I detailed. "Yeah, good idea!" Lock agreed. "Not such a bad idea…" Velvet replied to me. "What about the records? Because everything must be sent straight here!" Loot pointed. "We would need a lot of computers…" Velvet said. "Not to mention that there may be spies in some Star Powder Industries unit." Loot pointed. "They sure do, otherwise how would they have access to the data they stole?" Lock supposed. "We have to be careful with the computers, those being manufactured can be sabotaged by spies!" Loot said. "That's up to AppleJack…" I said. "Or else they'll come stapled together…" Velvet pointed. "So... what do we do?" Lock asked. "We'd better discuss this with the Minister." I said. "True." Loot agreed. "So that's it...we're just going to chicken out and pretend everything's cool and nothing's going to happen?" Lock asked. "It's not like that…" I replied. "So what are we going to do? Just increase vigilance?" Lock questioned. "Increase security and internal espionage!" I replied. "It's not much, go find out how they act." Lock said. "Let's end the meeting here, we already have an idea of what to do now." Velvet stated. "Let's see what was decided...internal surveillance and espionage...talk to Flash Scout...schedule a meeting with the War Council...report to the other Generals...right!" I said. "We can go back to our rooms now!" Loot said. "Right…" Lock said. "Lock, I need to talk to you in my office!" Velvet spoke in a more serious tone of voice She usually spoke in a more relaxed tone, similar to Minister Fluttershy but a little rougher, all Intelligence agents were always a different person outside of working hours, Lock not so much, but Velvet, for example, was, and outside the work environment she was a kinder person, especially with Lock, but after we became officers at the Pentagon, we ended up moving away, but as far as I remember I never heard her speak in that tone voice with Lock: "Okay…" Lock lowered his head. "Good luck, friend." Loot said. "Thank you…" Lock replied. Me and Loot left the meeting room and went to our respective offices, I turned on my computer and sent a message to AppleJack, I didn't know when she was going to respond, but I sent the message anyway: "Good morning ma'am, I've come to place an order for terminal computers to be used throughout Equestria to increase surveillance and internal espionage, we'll send field agents to report any suspicious activity, but we're afraid the computers will come with some malware from Stalliongrad to spy on us too" I typed in the mailbox. I left my office and went to Velvet's office, I didn't go in, but I stayed at the door to try to listen to the conversation, I didn't catch the conversation from the beginning, but I was curious: "Honey, I just don't know...I honestly don't know." Lock said, holding back tears. "Calm down, it's going to be okay." Velvet tried to comfort him. "How? We are on the verge of a direct conflict with our enemies, innocents have been killed by us, and for a change, StarShine is in the hospital!" he replied. Starshine was their daughter, she was born in 1946, I hadn't seen her in 2 years, but I was confused to find out she was in the hospital, I really stayed away from my old friends after we became officers in Intelligence, I was more in my bubble, as if it were my world, I didn't know what was going on outside of the work environment anymore, I ended up becoming a slave to my own job, I let my responsibilities take over me, and I didn't know how to get out of it, so I went back to my office, more later I got a radio message, it was Jack, he was panting, it looked like he was tortured or something: "Sniper...I'm under arrest…" Jack said. "How so?" I was confused. "Remember when I helped you guys?" he asked. "I remember." I replied. "They sabotaged and arrested me!" he replied back. "What the…do you know where you are now?" I asked to him. "I can't say, it must be the same place where we were operating." he replied. "I thought you came back with us. I am on my way!" I turn off the radio. I left my room and called a few more agents to come with me, Lyra, Drops, Black Wire and Stone, the same group that helped us invade the compound, but this time with Wire instead of Crow, but what I still find strange it's just, I remember Jack coming back with us, I remember he was with us on the plane when we got back to Equestria and during the meeting with the Ministers and the President, if he was in jail the whole time, then we give a free pass to a guerrilla or a Claw to enter Equestria, listen to the meeting and report to their superiors, we screwed up. August 18, 50 | 5 pm | cold and dry. Arriving in Ponrea, we saw the military putting some vehicles on the planes, while others were being taken to the ships, the medics, in turn, were going to the planes, not all, but some, as they still had soldiers who were on mission, and they would probably need medical support, we took a truck and headed towards the compound, there were more soldiers than last time, but this time there were more Claws than Poreans: "Perfect, how do we get there?" Wire asked. Captain Black Wire, green hair, beige eyes, slightly dark water green skin, 1.86 tall, he was part of the Phoenix Special Force, specialized in air infiltration, search and rescue, he was married, had a 7 year old son and he showed a good separation between personal life and work life, like everyone else, in the work environment everyone always maintained the same seriousness and language, except for Lock, who is usually short-tempered: "It's getting dark, right?" I said. "Yeah, it's 5:39 pm now." he replied. "Let's use this to our advantage!" I explained. "Shall we do that go in the shadows thing?" Lyra asked. "What do you think?" I replied. "…" she stayed quiet. "Want me to support you?" Stoke asked. "This time we're all going together, just in case!" I replied. "Copied!" Stone replied back. "We'll be real Ghosts now." I put on my skull balaclava, to complete my Ghost uniform, a dark blue uniform, as well as the pants, but in place of the dark gray helmet, it was a black beret. "Cool Mask." Drops said. "It's part of the Ghosts." I replied. "I've seen flyers about it, but I never got around to asking anyone about who the leader was, the sector and the function." Stone said. "I am the leader, the Ghosts are part of both the military and the air force, and our function is direct action, sabotage, immediate attack, interrogation and espionage." I replied to him. "But doesn't Intelligence already do that?" Lyra asked. "Yes, but not everything you know, my dear, the Ghosts don't have identification, our masks give a preview of what will happen, we scare even the devil." I replied. "Cool…" Lyra replied back. "Now, let's focus on the mission!" I said. "I still don't understand very well, Jack was kidnapped, but... who came with us?" Drops asked. "Probably a double, maybe they captured him, and since there was a soldier who looked like him, they must have sent him to spy on us." I supposed. "Wait...we gave a spy a free pass into Equestria?" Drops connected the points. "That's what it looks like." I stated. "Perfect…" Wire said. We advanced through the woods, heading towards the compound where the bars were located, they fixed where we had opened them, this time we would need a new strategy, we stayed in the woods for a while, until Stone Bullet had an idea, wait for a convoy to arrive or truck to stay under and hold until we reach the outpost, so we approach the road and stay hidden. August 18, 50 | 7:21 pm | cold and dry. After waiting a long time, some trucks arrived, they were old Stalliongrad trucks that were used during the Second War, but they had covers, we were lying on the side of the road in the middle of the bushes, for each one we had a truck, we were under them so we wouldn't be seen at the guardhouse, I stayed in the first truck, arriving at the guardhouse, the truck stopped, and I heard the conversation between the truck driver and the guard, I tried to translate at the time, but the sound of the engine was disturbing, but I still managed: "Came to pick up the cargo?"  the guard asked. "Sure, is everything ready?" the truck driver replied. "Not everything, they started to organize everything now." the guard said him. "Just missing this one…" the truck driver complained. "Cargo"? What load exactly? Someone had to stay on the sidelines to find out more about what we're dealing with, the truck started moving again and stopped in the garage, together with the others, we waited for the truck drivers to leave to get out under the paths, after they left, we crawled to the part of the front of the truck, the garage was basically a hangar, we gathered behind some boxes to organize the plan: "Here's the thing, Stone and Lyra, stay here to find out what's going to be transported, Black and Sweetie Drops, stay on my tail!" I ordered. "Yes sir!" Stone and Lyra agreed. "Showtime." Wire said. "Let's go!" Drops spoke. Start advancing, together with Drops and Wire, we were checking the buildings to try to discover a prison or underground, we had to be fast, because the trucks would not leave at our command, it had to be a quick game, as it was night, it would be easier to move around without anyone noticing, it wasn't going to be an easy task, we arrived at the green building, the same one where Star Powder and Black Plate documents were, we took a peek through the window, there was a guard inside who was sleeping, luckily, that one it was the only window it had, we opened it and went in, I walked slowly up to the guard, covered his mouth and cut his neck, Wire went to the door and left it slightly open, I took a peek: "Clear." I signed. We continued to advance crouching, then we saw a piece of furniture out of place, revealing a trapdoor, I opened it easily, as it was not locked, the place was all made of metal on the walls, on the floor and on the slab, it looked like a bunker: "Let's split up!" I told them. We split up so the searches could go faster, I went looking for Jack, and I went into a room, there was a computer, I went there and started messing around, there were logistic records and conversations in Russian, I didn't get to read the messages, but the sender was called "Rock Broke", the receiver of the message was "Death Scan", Rock must have been the leader of this group in the Compound, I opened the computer in the most subtle way possible to steal the stored memory, so that we could read the messages and know what it is about, so Drops warned on the radio: "Sniper, Black, we can go now, I found Jack!" Drops signed us. "Alright, I'm coming." I said. I ran towards the exit, we needed to get back to Equestria soon, we stole confidential information that could give us an advantage, so I got there: "Discovered conversations between 2 guys on a computer, stole stored memory!" I told. "Which guys exactly?" Wire asked. "Death Scan and Rock."  I replied. I knew Death Scan, he was from Germaneighia, our enemies during the Second War, he was high ranking at the time, but why would he join Stalliongrad? Something was very wrong, and we needed to have a meeting with the Secret Services right away, we were close to a military conflict, and we didn't know what we were going to face, we went up, but I stopped at the exit, the soldiers found the corpse: "Shit…" I exclaimed. "What happened?" Wire asked. "10 enemies…" I replied. "Just missing this one…" Drops complained. "We need to find a way out!" I exclaimed. "Stone, are you listening?" Wire turned on the radio. "I'm listening." Stone replied. "We have problems here…" Wire warned. "Now you…" a guard walked towards us. At the same moment I drew my revolver and shot, with that I accidentally drew attention, and they opened fire, Drops shot in blind fire, the Claw activated the base alarm, causing a riot in the place, it was not possible to see the outside with them shooting, we needed to find a way out of there, we had information that had to be taken to Intelligence. Wire threw a grenade towards our opponents, with them hiding, we gained a few seconds to get out of the trapdoor, when the grenade exploded, 3 enemy soldiers were eliminated, and soon the shooting continued, the building was surrounded, which would make it even more difficult in the escape, Lyra and Stone supported us, but soon, some soldiers opened fire on them too: "No use, we need support!" Drops said. "No, that'll just get more attention." I explained. "Sir, I want to see my son again, not asking for support is a shitty idea!" Wire said to me. "Just let me think then." I said. In a quick analysis, we were inside a Claw military base, which was Stalliongrad's elite force, the building we were in was surrounded, they wear resistant helmets, but since they were not outside the base, they were not wearing bulletproof vests, but we were, however, there was no protection on the arms or legs, with just 1 shot, any of us would be incapacitated, the room we were in had a window, which faced towards the fence, but there it was full of enemies, Black used a grenade, counting on the fact that we each carried 3 grenades, we still had 14 grenades, according to our classes, there was 1 sniper, which was me, but I had my repeater rifle, Lyra and Sweetie Drops, who were Assault and Submachine Gunner, respectively, in Intelligence, a person who is Assault class usually carry Uzi, and Submachine Gunner, Thompson, weapons they were using, Black, who was a Phoenix, was holding an M3, since he was assault, and Stone, even though he was a marksman, was with a standard conventional army BAR, and Jack, was carrying a pistol, since he was captured, so I told them what I had in mind: "Here's the plan, Lyra and Stone, you 2 try to go behind the garage and clear the side we are on, Black, you go out the window first and stay alert, Drops, stay at the door and don't hesitate to shoot, Jack, stay behind Black, then I leave, and right after Drops jumps out the window, we clean the yard and go straight to one of the trucks, just use the grenades when cleaning the yard, Lyra and Drops are in the back of the truck in the back, Black, take care of Jack in the bed, and Stone, stay at the window of the truck when we get away!" I told the plan. "Right!" Wire stated. "Understood, Stone, stay behind me!" Lyra said. The plan started to come into practice, one of the guards threw a grenade in our room, when I went to return the grenade it ended up exploding in front of me, so I walked backwards hiding and it fell to the ground, my ear was ringing, I kept my eye closed for a few seconds, when I opened it, Drops was at the door exchanging fire, she was making someone signs to me, pointing to the window, while talking, then the buzzing stopped: "Jump, quick!" Drops said to me. "Right!" I jumped out the window, then she jumped. "There are many!" Wire said. "So let's get this over with!" I replied. We started to clean the yard, we were shooting like there was no tomorrow, we knew that if we didn't leave at that moment, we would never go back to the house, it awakened memories of the Second War, when the leader of my platoon was killed in combat, His name was Glow Ace, I don't remember what he looked like, but he was 1.79, we were on a hill during the winter, the smell of gunpowder and blood in the air mixed with fear and hatred, it was a close battle, between us the nazis, no one was winning and no one was losing their advances, but everyone was losing their mates, a real real nightmare, it seemed to be hell on earth: "EVERYONE, HOLD THE POSITION, WE CANNOT LOSE THIS BATTLE!" Ace Glow ordered. "Sir, tanks are coming our way." Lock warned. "Are the paratroopers coming?" Ace asked. "They said they're on their way." Velvet replied. "Damn it... tell them to hurry up!" Ace said. "Yes sir!" Velvet stated. "Flash, ready the rocket launchers!" [/b Ace ordered. "Yes sir." Flash stated. Flash, dark blue skin, dark yellow hair, yellow eyes, 1.77 tall, he wasn't from Equestria, he was from Ezpassionia, but he fought with us in the War, but after it ended, he went back to his home country and never came back we talked: "Advance with your squadron!" Ace said to me, pointing to the top of the hill. "Yes sir!" I replied. That day we advanced towards the top of the hill, from trench to trench, at each trench we went, 1 died, so there was only me and 1 soldier and 1 corporal left: "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yes sir..." the corporal replied to me. "I need you to…" an enemy tank interrupted me. It appeared out of nowhere, we didn't hesitate to run for our lives, I heard screams at the sound of the machine gun, my 2 subordinates died, but there were still soldiers on the hill, so they hit the tank, so I came back to reality: "Sniperplayer, listening?" Jack said. "Here!"  I replied. "I'm in cover, I'm very weak. Is there no way to ask for a ransom?" he asked. "If we call in reinforcements, things could get worse, and it will be difficult for us to take at least 1 truck to the base." I replied. Lyra threw a grenade, this served as cover, in a way: "GO, GO, GO!" Stone signed. So we finally got to the trucks: "Let's do as planned, Lyra and Drops, you 2 stay in the back and cover, Black, stay with Jack in the back, and Stone, stay on my side at the window!" I ordered. "Right!" Wire replied. "Come on... go ahead…" I said, while everyone was entering the truck. "Erh...whenever you want…" Stone said. I managed to make the hotline, so I drove over everyone, remembering again when I lost my platoon leader in the War, with the air filled with the smell of dead bodies, blood and gunpowder, I was hidden in a trench: “Erh… whenever you want…” I said to Ace. "This is our chance, remember, we're not here to show off, we're here to keep the fire from spreading!" Ace said to everyone. "That's a lot." Velvet pointed. "Quality is more important than quantity, and you are much more than you think, you have character, discipline and cooperation, they only have cooperation, but they don't have what you have!" Ace replied. Everyone felt motivated at that moment, in the midst of fear, despair, anger and sadness, hope emerged, then I heard the sounds of a plane, it was the paratroopers, reinforcement had arrived, everyone got up and advanced to the top of the hill, we were dominating the hill: “Some died with courage, others with fear, both with the same goal, to protect their companions, they will not return to us, but we will honor them, we will give meaning to their sacrifices, for we are the living who will remember them and have seen what they saw it, now they trust us to finish this mission, no matter how painful it is, after that we will return home with the honor of having fought alongside our deceased brothers, who trust us now! THIS IS THE ANSWER TO THIS CRUEL WORLD, OFFER YOUR HEARTS, FIGHT FOR YOUR BROTHERS, FIGHT FOR YOUR FAMILY, FIGHT FOR YOUR COUNTRY!” Ace motivated us all. It only took those words from our leader, that we put fear even in the devil himself, we were unstoppable, fighting with our hearts, carrying the honor of our brothers who fought for the greater good, who didn't hesitate and stood as firm as possible, since the strongest to the weakest, from the bravest to the most fearful, it was as if we had become invincible, after a long battle, we had many losses, many wounded and some prisoners, Ace called everyone close to one of the trenches, we were near the prisoners: "Today you showed once again that you are great at what you do, we had losses, but that's how war works, and..." Ace said. One of the prisoners got up running to Ace and stabbed him in the back, soon after, the prisoner was killed, Ace fell to the ground, forming a pool of blood, the doctors ran there, everyone went into despair, but already it was late, we lost our platoon leader: “NO…" I shouted. Then, I came back to reality, we were at the base, I was the driver of the truck, driving into an outpost full of Claws, with Lyra, Drops and Stone shooting to defend the vehicle, while Black tended to Jack's wounds, until: "RPG!" Stone pointed. One of the guards fired an RPG, but Stone fired in time for the missile not to hit us, I passed the guardhouse and drove on the dirt road, they were chasing us with motorcycles and jeeps, shooting at the truck, Lyra and Drops were holding them, but there were too many to be neutralized in a short period of time, and if we entered the forest now, it would be difficult to get around, as it was dense forest, and even if it were open forest, it would still be difficult to handle the truck, but it was the best way out even so, we arrived at the compound at Address 3, so we headed towards the dense forest, when we arrived in the open forest, I accelerated, I had to turn the truck sharply several times, it was not the direction of our base, but I was going to try lose them first. We arrived at a point where there were no more trees ahead: "Erh...General, I think we're heading towards a cliff." Stone said. "That's the plan!" I told him. "How so?" he was confused. I turned right, close to the edge of the cliff, the truck lifted a little towards the edge, but not so much, the truck stayed on the ground, this gave us an advantage, because when I looked in the rearview mirror, several jeeps and motorcycles fell from the cliff, but not all: "How many do they have?" I asked. "I can't really tell…" Lyra replied. "Find something lubricating to throw on the floor!" I ordered. "I look!" Wire said. Black started looking, but the worst happened, I started to feel that the wind was strong, I looked to the side and there was a helicopter flying: "There's nothing lubricating here." Wire said. "SHIT!" I shouted. "A helicopter?" Lyra was amazed "Stone and Drops, I'm going to slow down a bit, I want you 2 to hijack a jeep with a machine gun and hit the helicopter!" I ordered. "Are you crazy? This is suicide!" Drops questioned. "So Stone drives in my place!" I ordered. Stone took the wheel while I slipped to the back of the truck, with the truck slowing down, I gained momentum and threw myself on the hood of a jeep, already shooting the soldier with the machine gun and the driver, the jeep lost control, but soon Drops jumped and went in the driver's seat, grabbed the machine gun and started shooting backwards, I couldn't just shoot the helicopter without at least getting rid of our glue: "Hit the helicopter, I'll bring up the rear!" Lyra exclaimed. "Right!" I replied. I started shooting at the helicopter, they were trying to stop the truck, Black went to the rear, and I stayed focused on the helicopter, hitting was difficult, I had to hit at least the snipers, Stone was fighting back too, I managed to hit a sniper, but still they had 3, I started to aim with the machine gun, then, I hit the engine they started to lose control, and they had their nose in the direction of the hijacked jeep: "Stone, we need to jump!" Drops said. Stone slowed down the truck, Sweetie Drops and I jumped in at the last second, before the helicopter hit the jeep, we managed to lose them, I took a deep breath, relieved, it was too hard for one night: "Stone, can you handle the drive to the base?" I asked. "Yes sir!" he stated. To be continued!!!