//------------------------------// // Assembling Troops // Story: Equus' Unexpected Future // by Robert Emerald Fountain //------------------------------// The two crews boarded their ships early the next day and fired their engines. Reaching space, they radioed back to Ryder and Twilight. “We’ll meet you in orbit once we have our troops mobilized.”, said Agent 8. “Understood! See you soon.”, said Zuma. “Acknowledged, Agent 8! We will see you there.”, said Twilight. The two ships set coordinates for their home worlds and blasted their warp engines. From the space station, Thorax watched as the two ships disappeared from radar. “There they go! I hope they have some good soldiers.”, he said to Twilight. “Me too, Thorax. Me too.”, she replied. “We’d better start getting ready, Aunt Twilight.”, said Flurry Heart. Twilight agreed and she set up a worldwide broadcast. “Attention all citizens of Equus. This is Princess Twilight Sparkle. We must prepare ourselves to assist Ryder and his pups with bringing Humdinger and his nephew Harold to justice. All soldiers, gather your weapons and board your area’s shuttle for immediate launch to the E S S Harmony. This is a Priority-One mission. I repeat, this is a Priority-One mission.”, said Twilight. At once, all of the soldiers around the world started getting their weapons and equipment together before getting on the transport shuttles to head for space. After blasting up to the Harmony’s dock, they boarded the main ship and headed for their cabins. Ryder brought the PAW Patroller to the dock as well so that both ships could start out from the same place at the same time when all of the soldiers in all four fleets were prepared. ** When Mickey and his crew returned home, they opened a live broadcast similar to how Twilight did hers. “All soldiers, this is Mickey Mouse. Our presence is required in order to help a teenage boy named Ryder, and his group of rescue-trained pups to bring their enemy to justice for trying to get rid of them. Once we have landed, we will board shuttles for immediate transfer to the Disneystar at once. Ryder and his pups are known as the Paw Patrol, and they are famous in their home city. Their enemy, Humdinger, is the mayor of another city nearby. He and his nephew Harold joined forces to try to kill the patrol, but Ryder and his pups survived without Humdinger knowing.” Everyone was startled to hear this. A call came in for Mickey from some of their friends. “Mickey, this is Elsa. Why would someone do such a mean thing to an innocent person who is simply doing his job?” asked one of their friends. “This is Aladdin. Just as Elsa said, why would Humdinger do something so mean to Ryder and his loyal dogs?”, asked Aladdin. “I’m afraid that Humdinger did this only because of hate. He doesn’t like Ryder, nor his pups. This is a terrible reason to try to kill someone. However, as I said, Ryder and his pups survived the crash. The sensors for tracking their vital signs were damaged in the process, which caused Humdinger to assume that they were dead, but he is wrong.”, Mickey replied. Everyone was shocked to hear this, and the soldiers began suiting up for battle. As the crew was suiting up, all of their friends gathered at the launchpad in order to cheer the troops on. Once the crew had transferred to the shuttles for the Disneystar, they started strapping in and getting ready to help the PAW Patrol stop their enemy. ** When the Inkstar returned to Earth, Callie and Marie set up appointments for Taylor and Lizzie to appear on the news the following morning. They gave the announcement to both Inkopolis and Splatsville at the same time. Taylor gave the announcement at Inkopolis while Lizzie gave the same announcement at Splatsville. ** “Attention all Inklings and Octarians! We have agreed to assist a teenage boy named Ryder, and his group of rescue-trained pups, with bringing their enemy to justice. Their enemy tried to kill them just because he hated them. INEXCUSABLE! Gather your weapons and board the trains to the nearest launchpad as soon as possible. We will launch as soon as all soldiers are on-board, then we will proceed to the Inkblazer. This is a Priority-One mission, and the PAW Patrol is depending on us to help them.”, they said. ** Nobody knew what to say. Even Craig and Octavio were beyond words. Nevertheless, everyone began packing their gear, saying goodbye to their loved ones, and getting on the trains to board their ship. As they arrived at the launchpad they met with Callie, Marie, Octavio, and the Agents to discuss their plans of attack. Callie, Marie, Octavio, and the Agents were in charge of six squadrons that made up the Squidbeak Army. Since Callie and Marie were married, their squadrons included Mike, Andrew, Taylor, and Lizzie, as well as numerous other Inklings and Octarians. Octavio had assembled his best octotroopers and Octarians to fight against the evil mayor as well. Once the troops were all accounted for, they ran through a few practice exercises with their weapons before getting on their shuttles. Once both fleets were ready to board their flagships, it was time to shine. They knew that if they didn’t join up with Twilight to help Ryder and his pups bring Humdinger and Harold to justice, the end would not be pretty. Even then, they had only heard that Humdinger had captured Mayor Goodway. Nobody knew what other evil and devious actions Humdinger and Harold had taken, or if they had even tried to stop any emergencies that Ryder and his pups would have stopped easily. Who knew if Humdinger had tried to stop any emergencies, or if he had only made things worse? They would all find out once they reached the spies’ hideout and gotten information from Tuck, Ella, and the Cat-Pack. One thing was for certain though, it was time for his tyranny to meet its match.