//------------------------------//
// Rescuing the Squid Sisters' Families 
// Story: The New Era for Equus 
// by Robert Emerald Fountain 
//------------------------------//

As Ryder, Mickey, Minnie, and the three agents were putting on their black suits to blend into the darkness, Octavio and two of his troopers readied a missile to fire at the generators. As they set up the missile on its launcher, one of the troopers, a twintacle octotrooper named Grax, explained that the Draconians would not see this missile on their radar. One reason was that this was a stealth missile, and the other reason was that the Draconians didn’t know all of the technology that existed. Once the target was locked, they started the firing procedure. At the point of firing, Octavio called out to everybody.

“Cover your ears!”, he shouted.

Once everyone had covered their ears, Flurry Heart yelled out that they were ready. Octavio hit the firing switch and the missile took off. Six minutes after Marina started tracking the missile on her laptop, the power plant schematics all changed to show that the power had been knocked out. Just then, Callie realized she and Marie had left something that Mickey and Minnie would need while rescuing Taylor and Lizzie. They rushed back to Callie’s house and then returned ten minutes later with two backpacks. Mickey recognized the backpacks in a flash.

“Let me guess. Taylor and Lizzie are babies.”, he said.

“You got it.”, said Marie.

Upon hearing the confirmation, Minnie realized that this was changing supplies for the kids. She and Mickey took some of the supplies out of the backpacks and put it in their rescue packs’ front pockets for easy access. 

“We don’t know if they will be stinky when you reach them, but better safe than sorry.”, said Callie.

Several hours later, it was time to go. Once Marina checked the security footage on the backup power station and confirmed the hatch was still blocked by wreckage, the rescue crew put on their waist harnesses and began boarding. Chase and Skye were clad in special suits as well. They were wearing high-altitude pressure suits in case of a sudden depressurization. Once the hatch was sealed, and Skye had turned on the headlights, Smolder turned on the lights in her marshalling wands and held both up to tell Skye she was ready to signal them. Yona and Gallus stood ready to pull out the chocks on either side of the craft. The first motion that Smolder made was to tap her ear-protectors to tell Skye to establish communication. All of the headsets were “VOX”, or voice-activated.

“Command, this is Rescue-1, performing a radio check.”, said Skye over headset.

“This is Command. I hear you loud and clear, Skye.”, replied Pearl.

Pearl gave Callie a thumbs-up and Callie radioed Smolder that the radio was working. After that, Smolder waved one of the wands over her head in a twirling motion, telling Skye to start the engines. The engines purred to life and the rotors began to spin. Once they had reached full speed, Smolder called out to Gallus and Yona.

“PULL CHOCKS!”, she shouted over the loud engines.

Gallus and Yona grabbed the ropes on the chocks and pulled backwards until the weighted blocks were clear. They waved to Smolder that the chocks were out and then Smolder performed the next motion. She held the wands above her head with their tips touching and slowly pulled them apart to say that the chocks were removed. After Skye got ready to take off, she watched as Smolder waved the wands backwards and forwards, signaling her to proceed. The rescue craft lifted off and Skye set her course for the Draconian base.

As Callie and Marie watched the rescue craft’s tail lights disappear from view, they said a prayer that nothing would go wrong. 

For Skye, the ocean seemed to go on forever until the base’s tracking beacon appeared on her radar. As she flew closer to the island, she watched to see if the defense cannons would shoot at her. When they didn’t fire, she radioed Pearl.

“No response from perimeter defense. We’re inside Draconian airspace.”, she reported.

“YES!”, cheered Callie and Marie in a loud whisper.

As Skye flew over the island, Ryder joined her and Chase in the cockpit for a few minutes. They couldn’t see much with only the headlights, so it was time to switch viewing modes.

“Switching to night-view.”, said Chase as he flipped a switch.

The headlights shut off and the windshield began to show outlines of all of the buildings on the island. Checking a compass, Ryder confirmed they were flying northeast. A pointer appeared on the left side of the window that identified the holding complex’s domed roof.

“There it is.”, he said.

Skye looked over and spotted the pointer. Then she started to turn left as Ryder turned around to rejoin with his crew-mates.

“Command, this is Skye. We have a visual on the holding complex. Beginning final approach.”, she said over the radio.

“Masks on.”, said Ryder as he rejoined the other crew-mates.

Everyone took off their helmets and started putting on their gas-masks. Once they had tightened the straps and the masks were snug, they put their helmets back on and switched on their headlamps. Skye put the craft on autopilot for a minute so she and Chase could attach oxygen hoses to their masks; and then she took manual control again. Once they were all ready, Mickey pulled a lever to open the hatch as they started getting closer to the dome. As they came over the dome, Skye slowed the craft to a stop and switched on a light under the craft while Ryder called to the base camp after picking up his gas gun.

“Command, this is Ryder. I’m about to deploy the sleep gas. We’ll confirm once we’re inside.”, he said.

He shot three canisters which smashed through the dome and dropped out of sight. Then he started a timer that counted down until the gas had taken effect before swapping out his gas launcher for a laser rifle that was set on stun. At the same time, Mickey unhooked tether lines on winches from the craft’s ceiling. When the timer reached zero, Ryder spoke to the crew.

“Get ready to drop.”, he said as everyone started clipping the winches to their harnesses.

Once everyone was tethered to a winch, Mickey counted down from three on his fingers. When he reached zero, he opened his hand back up and waved it as if he was giving a salute. Then, two at a time, everyone jumped out of the door in one-second intervals and started dropping through the smashed window. After touching down on the floor, they started looking around to make sure the guards were out cold.

“Clear!”, said Minnie as she looked and saw that the guards near her were all down and motionless.

“Clear!”, said Agent 8 as she looked around and saw the same thing.

“Command, we’re inside. All guards are down.”, said Ryder.

Mickey looked around and saw they were on the lowest floor in the complex. A sign on the wall said they were on level 3-S. There were four levels above, but the sign said that the next two sub-levels were 7-G and 4-R. He motioned for everyone to split up into three pairs. He and Minnie were saving Taylor and Lizzie, Agents 3 and 8 were saving Iris and Michael, and Agent 4 was teamed with Ryder to save Sally and Jerome.

“We’re splitting up. Proceeding to targets.”, said Minnie over the radio.

As she and Mickey started searching for Taylor and Lizzie, everyone else ascended to the higher levels. On sub-level 7-G, Agents 3 and 8 made their way to cells 8-P and 9-L. After cutting open the doors with lasers, they found Michael and Iris chained to their beds. Pulling out lockpicks, they broke open the shackles and picked up the two Inklings. Struggling with the weight, they carried Michael and Iris down to sub-level 3-S. The plan was for everyone to meet back up where they touched down and then Chase would drop a gurney for Callie and Marie’s parents.

“Marie, this is Agent 8. Your parents have been extracted and they’re secure.”, said Agent 8.

“Good work, Agent 8.”, replied Marie.

On sub-level 4-R, it was another story. When Ryder and Agent 4 arrived at cells 1-Q and 2-E, they saw that the cells were empty. However, they saw footprints on the floor and followed them up to sub-level 5-T, which was the complex’s cafeteria. They spotted Sally and Jerome at one of the tables and face-down in trays. Giggling, Ryder called to Callie.

“Callie, it looks like we spoiled your parents’ dinner. They’re face-down in their meal trays.”, he said.

Both Callie and Marie cracked up laughing. Nevertheless, Ryder and Agent 4 pulled Sally and Jerome up and cleaned their faces off before carrying them down the stairs to the meetup point. To Ryder’s surprise, Sally and Jerome hadn’t fully passed out. When he and Agent 4 laid them on their backs to clean the food off, he saw that Sally’s eyes were wandering a bit. When she saw the word “Rescue” on Ryder’s suit, she smiled and spoke quietly to Jerome. Agent 4 heard what she said.

“We’re saved, my dear.”, she said before they fell asleep completely.

“Callie, your mom just saw us and realized they’re being rescued.”, said Agent 4.

“YAY!”, cheered Callie as she clapped her hands.

After reaching the meetup spot, Ryder called to Chase and Skye.

“Chase, both Callie’s parents and Marie’s parents are secure. Drop the gurney.”, called Ryder over headset.

“Here it comes.”, said Chase as he started the winch.

“Mickey, Minnie, this is Callie. How is the search going for our kids?”, asked Callie.

Mickey said the search was going well. Luckily for the two of them, Taylor and Lizzie’s cells were right next to each other. They had just gotten to the doors when both of them picked up a bad stink and started to gag. This startled Callie and Marie.

“MICKEY, MINNIE! Are you two alright?”, asked Callie.

Mickey coughed for a second and then he radioed back. 

“We’re okay, but we just caught a whiff of something that stinks really bad.”, he said.

“If the stink is coming from the kids themselves, we may need to change their diapers. It’s a good thing we brought special tools to trace odors to their point of origin.”, said Minnie as they pulled out two wands. 

Once these wands were switched on, they started flashing red intermittently. As they entered, the wands started flashing faster. Once the wands were aimed straight at the kids, the lights stopped flashing and stayed lit. Mickey and Minnie turned their wands off, covered their cameras with their hands, and paused the footage.

“It’s as we suspected. Taylor and Lizzie need to be changed. It’s a good idea you sent the supplies with us.”, said Minnie. 

A few minutes later, Mickey and Minnie resumed their live footage. At this point, Lizzie and Taylor were still fast asleep, but they were now wrapped in warm blankets and had pacifiers in their mouths. They reached the meetup spot as the gurney was reaching the floor. In concern that Taylor and Lizzie would slip out of the gurney, Mickey and Minnie just held them in their arms. Once Callie and Marie’s parents were strapped in the gurney, everyone reattached their tether lines and Ryder called to Skye.

“All clear, Skye. Bring us up!”, he said.

Everyone was on-board the rescue craft and closing the door when Marina heard a crashing sound in the backup generator room. Looking at the camera, she saw that the technicians had managed to get the hatch open. Frantic, she called to Skye.

“Base to Rescue-1. The Draconians are about to power up the reserve generators. You need to get out of there. HURRY!”, she said.

“Don’t worry, Marina. This craft has a cloaking device that will make us invisible.”, said Minnie.

Skye engaged the cloak before the Draconians turned on their spotlights to look for intruders. The cloaking device also silenced the engines, which allowed them to escape without being heard.

On the way back to the Squidbeak base camp, Skye turned on vacuum pumps to blow the sleeping gas out of the rescue craft and replace it with regular air so nobody would pass out after taking their masks off. Once the air was clear, Skye turned the pumps off.

“You’re clear to take masks off.”, she said after she and Chase had taken theirs off.

After everyone took their gas-masks off, Mickey pulled out an injection device that was filled with a reviving serum. Once he had given it to everyone they’d rescued, he had immediate results. Everyone started waking up and they saw the Agents’ faces. Knowing that the agents were friendly, nobody panicked. Twenty minutes later, they were arriving near the base camp. Skye radioed in and Pearl called out to Smolder.

“Rescue craft on approach. Get ready.”, she said.

Smolder nodded and put on her ear-protectors. Gallus and Yona followed her to the landing area so they could get the chocks ready. As the craft came into view, Smolder turned her marshalling wands on and held them up. Motioning the wands carefully, she guided the craft to the ground until it had touched down. 

“INSERT CHOCKS!”, she yelled to Gallus and Yona.

Once the chocks were in place, Smolder held the wands over her head and slowly moved the tips towards each other to tell Skye that the chocks were inserted. Then, she swept one of the wands horizontally in front of her neck, telling Skye to cut the engines. Once the engines had stopped and there was silence, Skye opened the hatch and everyone got off. Callie and Marie were waiting behind the hatch when Skye opened it, and they ran to their parents when they got off. At that point, tears began to spill from their eyes. Crushing their parents in hugs, they cried their eyes out and kissed them. Moments later, Mickey and Minnie got off the aircraft with Taylor and Lizzie in their arms. When they saw Mickey and Minnie carrying the kids off the craft, Callie and Marie released their grip on their parents and rushed over. They still had tears in their eyes.

“Are our kids alright?”, Marie asked through her tears.

“Safe and sound, you two.”, whispered Minnie as she and Mickey handed Callie and Marie their babies.

Taylor and Lizzie had gone back to sleep during the flight. Callie and Marie instantly took their angels into their arms and kissed them on the forehead. Taylor and Lizzie woke up when they felt their mothers’ lips touch them. Then they burst into tears of happiness that they were back with their family. As the tears were running, Callie and Marie unwrapped Taylor and Lizzie slightly so they could hug each other. 

**

Now that the rescue was complete, Callie and Marie led everyone back to Callie’s house for the winter celebration. Taylor and Lizzie loved the presents they got, and Callie and Marie’s parents got to meet the Paw Patrol and the Disney Fleet. Once everyone had quieted down, Flurry Heart pulled out a document that declared the Squidbeak Splatoon would become allied with all three fleets. Callie and Marie were excited by this, and they, along with Octavio, signed the document to form a permanent alliance with Equestria, the Paw Patrol, and the Disney Fleet. It was at this moment that they all realized what had happened during the last days.

“We have just declared war against Draconia. It will take everything we’ve got in order to beat them.”, said Flurry Heart.

Callie and Marie nodded their heads in acceptance. The following morning, they made a guest appearance with Deep Cut to announce the Declaration of War. Everyone who had enlisted the previous year began gearing up.

**

At the Draconian Base, things were a different story. The base’s General, Jared, became enraged upon hearing from the guards that all of their hostages were gone. In a state of fury, he called to Koval.

“WHAT? THEY’VE BEEN RESCUED?”, screamed Koval angrily.

“I’m afraid so, Your Majesty. We didn’t know this until we woke up. According to the guards, the rescuers shot something through the roof that released a gas which caused all of us to pass out. Then, the hostages were taken away.”, explained Jared.

Neither Jared, nor Koval, knew that the Squidbeak soldiers would be coming in the morning.

**

The following day, Jared’s troops were preparing for another hostage run when they suddenly heard the loud booming of cannons firing. Looking outside, they spotted the Squidbeak Navy arriving at the island. Then, they saw the shots from the lead ship strike their defense turrets and blow them up, splattering ink all over the ground in the process. These turrets were remote-controlled, so nobody was killed. 

Minutes later, Jared heard from a guard that someone demanded to see him. Reluctantly, he stood up and followed the guard to the main entrance. Upon arrival, he saw the Squid Sisters. They were ANGRY. After Callie readied her Splat Roller and Marie pulled out a Splat Charger and pointed it at Jared, the Captain marched up to him. Snarling, she handed him a sealed envelope. Feeling skittish, Jared opened the envelope and read what was inside. After reading what the letter said, he lowered his head in defeat.

**

Dear Draconian Leader,

You have opened fire on us and kidnapped the family members of my top two agents. As punishment, you are hereby BANISHED from our world. We have also issued a Declaration of War against you for this. Since you attacked first, we will return fire. You had best defend yourselves from us and our allies.

Signed,

Squidbeak Captain

**

Callie made the gesture that she was watching and Jared was led back to his post. He announced over the intercom that they were being forced to leave the planet. After they had packed up, dismantled their base, and blasted off, they returned home. Koval was even angrier that his squadron had been forced to leave. Part of this was due to the fact that Jared was his best General. Nevertheless, they started preparing to defend themselves for an attack from the four fleets.