Death, a common occurrence on the battlefield, but you don’t just get used to it, you never can. It... Clings you like a small filly, but leaves you with a sort of dread that can’t be undone. Can one truly be so heartless, to find joy and comfort in the pain and suffering of others? Or is this false comfort, the one thing that keeps you sane enough to live another day?
Trippy sat in the helicopter, letting the constant swaying comfort him. His mind traveled back to the events he had just witnessed. There forces so easily ripped apart. All of the death... He shuddered quietly in his seat. The ride had been silent, apart from the heavy breathing, and the constant beating of the propeller blades above them. The sudden crackle of the radio broke the silence.
“This is control tower 3 of outpost MH-01, please radio in conformation of friendliness before landing or we will shoot you down.” The voice said with authority and a slight hostility.
Trippy quickly grabbed a headset hanging from above his head.
“Chopper DH-96 calling in. We have VIP number 1 aborde and others aboard. Requesting immediate landing at the nearest landing pad with medical assistance.
“Roger that.” The radio crackled to silence with its last statement. Trippy leaned back in his chair, pulling the headset off. He sighed loudly. It was going to be a hell of a day.
. . .
Trippy finished writing the report he had on the attack, and quickly sealed it up in the envelope that lay waiting on the simple glass desk. Trippy sat back in his revolving chair, and simply glared at the ceiling. He was in his private quarters at the Manehatten outpost. The New Lunar Republic had seized nearly a year ago, and had been a major asset in this war in more ways than he could think. But now... Kingsly. He was dead. He had tooken the data cards from the computers with him. He had stuck them into his saddlebag, but had tooken that with him. His eyes flashed wide at this fact. He jumped from his chair and flew out his door, and dashed down the hallway. He turned several corners before finnaly stopping in front of the last ornate door. ‘COMMAND CENTER’ was written in large letters. He punched in his code and ran in while the doors slid open.
“Princess! I have news that I forgot to mention! The data cards-”
He was cut off by the sudden glaring by many ponies surrounding the large holographic image of their last base.
“They had surrounded these 3 sides, and had taken out our recon teams first, then disabled our anti-air weapons with well placed mortar launches, which only leads to one fact. They knew we were here! Somepony had given them information on the inside, the only question is, who!?” An important looking unicorn asked this question with a grand gesture, as if actually asking his listeners.
“Trippy, you made speak.” Luna broke this silences to address the new comer.
“Thank you. I had just remembered that before we left the attacking base, one of the terminal workers had ejected the data cards containing the classified information that we had been decoding!” He said with enthusiasm.
“This is excellent news! Do you have the cards with you!?” She demanded.
“Um... No. That would be the problem. You see, I think they were with Kingsly. Right before he died.” He said simply.
Luna sighed, then nodded gravely. “You were right commander. Please initiate protocol 6 by my order.” She said speaking to a pony by a computer terminal.
The holographic image in the center of the room they had been surrounding now switched to a live aerial view of the base. A sudden explosion rocked the camera, filling the screen with the sudden destruction of thousands of Solar Empire troopers. The floor beneath them shook with the shock wave of the explosion. Trippy gasped in horror at what they had done. They had lost their last lead on stopping the Solar Empire.
. . .
Kingsly shuffled through the thick sands of the desert, occasionally looking back to see the recon base slowly shrinking in the distance. He coughed, grimacing at the waves of pain that this sent through his body. He lifted his hoof away from his body, the one thing that was keeping pressure on the bleeding. His armor had blocked some of the bullets, but not all of them. He sighed, and glanced back at his saddle bag, bulging with the data cards, carrying their important information. He grinned happily, there was still a chance. A sudden noise from afar shook his attention. Almost like... A loud click. He turned slowly to look for anything dangerous near him, as rumors of giant scorpions had proved to be more than true on recent scouting trips. The sudden explosion from the base made him jump. Then the force of the explosion finally hit him, sending him flying backwards, hitting the ground with a sudden crack. The last thing he saw was the sands of the dessert mixing with the crimson sky.