//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22 
// Story: Combat Magic 
// by totallynotabrony 
//------------------------------//

	Night had fallen long before and Rarity was still sitting awake. It had been strongly recommended that she not watch cartoons while on duty. She was fine with giving Disney a rest, even if she had been learning more about them lately. One of their parks, Disney World, was apparently very popular, to the point that going there had become a bit of a cultural thing.
Also, there were security systems to monitor and intelligence highlights to read. Rarity occasionally glanced at the computer monitors while going over notes and papers about things that could be of interest. The softly glowing screens provided just enough light to read by. The rest of the cabin was dark.
Some light filtered in through the windows. The full moon would occur the next night. A tense time like this was not ideal for losing Bear, but that could not be helped. Morgan claimed that with a little magic and effort she could be kept in human form but constrained to a small area that was prepared for the spell. It would be better than having her running wild in the forest while Purity’s group was around.
Rarity kept reading. The weather should be clear for the next few days. The Idaho Air National Guard was doing coordinated training with their Oregon counterparts at the airport in Portland. The government scientists who’d tested the magical suppressant said its last effects should be wearing off soon.
That last item made Rarity happy. She still didn’t feel quite herself, but whatever length of time “soon” meant, she hoped it was shorter rather than longer.
A flicker caught Rarity’s eye and she jerked her head up. Staring carefully at the video screens with their green night vision, she spotted no discernible threat. Sweeping her gaze across the other sensors, Rarity did see one possible concern. Something called an electromagnetic detector was indicating that it sensed an anomaly. Rarity didn’t know how the device worked, but had been told that it picked up traces of electronics in use.
She was aware that night vision goggles relied on batteries. While only one part of the security network was indicating something might be amiss, that was one part too many.
Just then, a small piece of quartz crystal mounted in a wire holder next to the computer monitor began to glow softly. It was the magical component of the network, designed to detect people if they came within two hundred yards of the cabin.
Thermal sensors might have been fooled by an animal. Motion detectors could be spoofed by wind in the trees. The spellwork on this piece of crystal was supposed to be foolproof. Therefore, at least one person was approaching the cabin.
This was serious. Rarity got up to warn the others. She had just stepped into the darkened kitchen when movement from the edge of the trees caught her eye. Rarity froze, watching four men carefully exit the trees and gather around the parked SUV. They were all dressed in heavy armor, with high-tech weapons and night vision goggles. The bright moon made that last piece of gear almost unnecessary. 
Checking out the vehicle, the men seemed to agree on something. Evidentially, they’d found their target. All four of them drew a knife and simultaneous punctured each tire.
Rarity’s nervous system had gone into overdrive and anxious energy crackled in her body. She was wearing her own armor and carrying her own weapons, plus there were five others upstairs that could be ready to go at a moment’s notice. However, the four aggressors had already started to head towards the cabin’s front door.
She had seen examples of breach-and-clear operations, and knew that her element of surprise would last up until the moment the front door was opened. A sudden thought struck her. Were there more at the back door?
Rarity slung her rifle off her shoulder and trained it at the small window in the front door. Her thumb clicked the safety off and her finger edged to the trigger. The first man crouched, doing something to the door. Shoot him! Rarity’s instincts screamed. They’re coming in!
The man straightened up and then he and the others turned around and quietly left, moving back into the trees. Slightly dumbfounded but very thankful, Rarity lowered her weapon. Remembering herself, she dashed up the stairs. “This is the worst possible thing!”
It didn’t take very long to get the message across. There was no telling why the men had left, but Bear sagely advised, “If there were only four, they’ve probably gone to get help.”
“What do we do?” asked Rarity.
Bear considered it. “We still have surprise. There’s no way of telling how many shooters they’ll bring back. I think our best bet is to regroup and try to gain an advantage.”
Rarity was agreeable to that, however the SUV wouldn’t be going anywhere. The six of them would have to walk out with only what they could carry.
Everyone quickly collected the most important equipment. Veronica grabbed the hard drives from the monitoring system for analysis later. She looked at Rarity. “This stuff didn’t notice any intruders?”
“Well, there were some faint signals,” answered Rarity. “The magical people detector only activated when they were much closer than two hundred yards.”
“Fucking perfect,” growled Morgan. “Apparently they have counters for that, too.”
More supplies would be fairly easy to get with an air drop, or so Bear claimed. As a result, the six of them didn’t pack food. It would be more weight that would only slow them down.
Rarity’s gear was fairly well distributed on her body, but she didn’t know if she could travel cross-country with it. In an effort to balance the weight of the assault rifle cradled in her arms, Jenny suggested packing a sniper rifle on her back. She added, “Plus, it could be useful for defending wherever we set up next.”
Not wanting to argue, Rarity slung the other weapon over her shoulder. Everyone seemed to be ready, so they headed for the back door because Rarity had told them that the four intruders she’d spotted had gone in the opposite direction. Rob reached for the doorknob.
“Wait!” called Rarity. “Those men did something to the front door; I don’t know what. Maybe they did the same to the back?”
Rob shrugged and turned to the window beside the door, smashing out the glass with the butt of his weapon. The destruction surprised Rarity, but she realized that they would likely not be coming back to the cabin. Rob stuck his head out the window. “Sure enough, there’s a bomb out here. Probably a trap for anyone trying to leave. Thanks for save, Rarity.”
One by one, they climbed out the window while skirting the broken glass. The lake behind the cabin seemed quiet and calm. Jenny cocked her head, listening to something. “Does anyone else hear that buzzing noise? It’s kind of faint.”
It took Bear a moment, but she heard it too. None of the rest could.
“It’s moving,” noted Bear. She made a face. “It’s probably some kind of UAV, a small one. They’re watching us right now.”
“Take it down, Rarity,” ordered Morgan.
“Wha-how am I supposed to do that if I can’t even see it?” she protested.
“I’ve got a flare,” said Veronica. She handed it to Jenny, who pointed the launcher skyward at the target and pulled the trigger. The fiery rocket soared into the air, illuminating the area and also the small aircraft in the sky above.
Concentrating hard, Rarity attempted to grab the UAV before it could escape. Her magic was still blocked and telekinesis wasn’t strong enough to simply pull it out of the sky. Remembering something she’d learned about heavier than air flight, she attempted to slow it down until the UAV stalled and lost lift.
Seconds passed, but it was working. The UAV teetered on the edge of control before beginning a tumble that Rarity worked to accelerate. The small plane crashed down through the trees before slamming into the ground.
“Let’s get moving,” said Bear. She was interrupted by splashing as a small group of assailants rose from the surface of the lake.
Rarity turned to run, hearing several weapons begin to fire. She dashed along the back porch of the cabin, her boot catching on the infernal exposed board. She shrieked, not in surprise but in fear of becoming an easy target, as she spilled over onto the ground. Her armor somewhat cushioned the blow of falling and protected her from splinters kicked up from a burst of bullets that slammed into the cabin wall over her head—bullets that would have found their mark if she was still standing.
Not pausing to consider the irony, Rarity rolled sideways off her assault rifle, jerking it up to aim in the general direction of incoming muzzle flashes. This time, fully automatic firing was completely justified.
The magazine emptied in what seemed like an instant. By then, however, there was no return fire. Rarity couldn’t tell whether she had hit any of the attackers, or if that had been taken care of by someone else. As she got up, the other five emerged from various pieces of cover.
Rarity did not see any floating bodies on the surface of the water. They had probably been pulled down by their heavy gear. She shuddered, wondering how she could be thinking about accessories at a time like this.
Speaking of her own equipment, Rarity changed magazines and chambered around, setting her weapon back to safety.  She was nothing if not meticulous.
With a nod from Bear, they got moving again, faster this time. It was probably a good thing no verbal commands were being used, as Rarity’s ears were ringing from the shooting.
The nearly full moon provided plenty of light to guide their way, but Rarity realized that it also must make them visible to any of Purity’s people in the area. The brief skirmish behind the cabin had been much, much more fighting than Rarity had ever hoped to experience and that was only a small amphibious assault team. It was certainly a good thing that they’d gotten moving before the main force could surround the cabin.
Dashing through the forest was tiring, and Rarity knew she was holding everyone else back. She persevered at a jogging speed as long as possible, but even with the threat of death hanging behind her, there came a point that she simply couldn’t maintain such a pace.
“We’ve made good time,” said Bear. “Without UAV coverage, they’ve probably lost us. We’ll have to be careful, but I think we can reach the mountain by sunup.”
“How much further is it?” panted Rarity, massaging her aching legs.
“The GPS shows about eight miles,” answered Veronica. “Plus we’ll have to climb almost a mile in elevation to the rim of the crater.”
Rarity moaned, but forced herself to start moving again.