Something moved through the corridor.
Nightshade dived from the window snatching up the K-Lance with her foreleg. She flung her hinds sideward, landed, skidded on her rump and slammed against the wall folding her other fore beneath the barrel and training it against the doorway.
Everypony else followed her, their weapons coming around in a single snap movement.
Straight Flush burst through the doorway, his eyes came wide and he skidded to a stop before sitting back and throwing his fores into the air. “Whoa! It’s me you crazy bucks!”
Nightshade sighed and blew a dangle of dark mane off her free eye. She huffed, “Dammit, Flush. Whatever happened to the signals?” She slung her lance across her back and got up on all fours. The room relaxed a little.
“Sorry, chief, but Vermillion is reporting Keshi’s on the road to the north, moving fast.”
Nightshade moved to the window and hopped up, one hoof on the sill and the other pulling her lance to her side. “They’ve found us.”
Magnum was on his back, neck flat up against the window and peering outside with his lance held across his body. He exhaled and looked to her, his voice as calm as always, “So what do we do?”
Nightshade, still looking out into the shadowed streets felt her eye twitch, “We get them out, now.” She turned to Straight Flush. “Get your ponies and meet me in the next quadrant, by the descent.” Eyes all around the room met her.
“But, chief,” came the reply behind her. “Nopony goes into the descent, its suicide.”
Nightshade looked around to Straight Flush and smiled. “I know.”
He stood for a moment, then a grin spread across his face. He thrust a hoof forward. “You’re crazy,” he said, then turned around and galloped back out into the corridor with an almost maniacal laughter. “I love this crazy mare,” echoed behind him.
As she turned around she caught Magnum staring at the floor in thought. “They’ll not follow us into the descent.”
“Exactly.”
He exhaled, turned his head briefly as if to loosen some strain then got back to watching the street.
Nightshade’s ear lifted to the sound of engines, a deep humming echoing from behind the ruined buildings below them.
“Keshi,” somepony muttered.
“Get ready,” Magnum called. “Remember, we’re not here for a fight. Keep your heads down, your tails in and don’t get lanced.”
Everypony jumped with the sudden shriek of electricity that sounded in the air above them. The sky-lights above their quadrant shut down, leaving Nightshade and her squad in complete darkness. She stared out into the darkness for a moment. It dropped from behind the building, the sound of its engines raking at her ears with great whooping rotations resembling the animal for which the machine took its name. She looked up at the Hyena gunship, then swung back around as the spot-light burst through. She spoke with widened eyes and clenched teeth, “Get behind something, now.”
She should have been ready for this.
Ponies scuffled in the shadows. The beam slid sideward. Nightshade felt herself pushing harder and harder against the stone as it crept across the room. The gunship’s engines revolved with an almost sickening laughter, a psychotic predator teasing its prey.
One of her ponies stood back up against the corner of the room with nothing around him and completely exposed as the spotlight made its way toward him.
Magnum, tucked beneath the windowsill looked up. “What do we do?” His eyes switching between her and the colt in the corner who stood motionless, an ever increasing look of fear on his face. The eye of light slithered over a mound of rubble, the ponies behind it ducking their heads away at the very last moment.
Nightshade swallowed and shut her eyes. She should have been ready.
Engines roared into the street below, slowed and then idled. Pneumatics droned through the darkness, ramps lowering, gunned turrets revolving. The sound of hooves falling against metal filled the night.
“Shade, what do we do?” Magnum called a little louder than he should have. The gunship screached as it moved sideward.
Nightshade opened her eyes then, and a slash of hot air left her nostrils.
No. She wouldn’t fail them again…