Published August 9th, 2013
"What?! What do you mean we aren't going with you?"
"Just that. You'll be going down later with one of the marine platoons, along with Carlton and Ron."
"So you're telling me we busted our butts for almost three weeks' worth of work, just to find out that you'll be doing something else entirely?"
"Not quite. My team and I will be part of the forward strike force. We'll take down as many control centers as we can overnight, then everyone else will come down at dawn, when the majority of their forces will be most tired and prone to ill-preparedness." We stepped through a large automatic door, coming out into Nexus Wheel Beta. The three Wheels along the length of the ship were easily the largest single areas of the ship, acting as hubs for every other area in a maze-like system of stairs, elevators, moving walkways, and doors. I led the other two down a flight of stairs to our left as Rainbow continued attempting to justify letting them go with us.
"Come on! We worked so hard to get here. Doesn't all that training count for anything?" She was trying to use the pleading-eye stare on me again, but I kept moving, and she quickly gave up.
"It does, but not as much as you apparently think. Tell me, how much training do you think soldiers in your army went through for basic?" We got onto a moving walkway, which would take us the rest of the way to our destination, albeit at a slightly slower pace. I leaned against the railing as Rainbow answered my question.
"We don't have an army. Not really, anyway. I mean there's the royal guard, and I guess they have ponies stationed around Equestria, but it's not considered an army by most folks." That, I found surprising. It also gave me better insight into just how peaceful their home was. If they didn't even have a standing army, then they weren't just unfamiliar with war, they probably didn't even really know what a war was until the Emrini showed up.
"Alright, then. How much basic training do Royal Guards get?" She thought about it for a moment, apparently trying to recall a memory.
"Let's see... I remember talking to one guard while we were staying at the palace at some point, and he said it was about four weeks, I think." I sighed and shook my head, prompting curious looks from both ponies. "What?"
"Basic training length for a brand new recruit is three months in our army." This got a big reaction from both of them. Their eyes widened, and their shoulders slumped in shock. "In order to be eligible for Shadow Soldier training, you have to go through marine training, which is four months long, be in service for at least five years, and then you have to go through the physical and mental testing phase to see if you're sufficiently healthy for Shadow training, which is another two and a half months on top of it all. Still think you're on my level?" Both of them slowly shook their heads, dumbfounded by the amount of time it took to get to where I was. "Good. Now stop complaining. I'm going to have enough to listen to when Ron finds out he'll be going with you."
"Why would he complain about that? He seemed to like us just fine." I nodded as we finally entered the hangar area, where both she and Twilight started gawking at the size of some of our machines.
"He does, but what he doesn't like is having to wait. You and the squad you'll be with won't go down until more than eight hours after the rest of my squad touches down. That's why he'll complain at me." They smiled a bit in amusement, and followed me off the walkway as I spotted my squad. I called Carlton and Ron over with their equipment, and sure enough, he figured out what was happening and started complaining before we even started moving. He pleaded, begged, and even made a couple insignificant threats, like putting water balloons in my bed. I ignored him as we went, and when I made a beeline for one of the parked Kingfishers, he gave up with a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a sob. I got them introduced to the platoon's leader, a rougher Staff Sergeant by the name of Clive Klaxton. He struck me as the by-the-book type of commander, and I figured it would be good for all of them to go with him on this particular assignment. Once they were set up and everyone understood what they would be doing on the ground, I headed back to the Drop Shooter I'd be taking with the others. I put my helmet on, and logged into the ship's computer network to access the mission briefing. A loading screen appeared, and then disappeared a moment later to make way for the briefing video. Diagrams, charts, maps and battle plans flashed across the screen to illustrate the audio's instructions.
"Shadow Squad two-five-eight. Commander: Sergeant Kuro Maldone. Deployment strategy: use of Drop Shooter multi-person atmospheric entry device during natural meteor shower. Primary objective: Emrini dig site previously discovered on planet Rokan. Secondary objective: breeding shelter uncovered by satellite imaging. Additional objective: large, egg-like devices scattered throughout enemy territory believed to be relay stations for mental control units. Destruction or deactivation on all devices is recommended to disrupt and remove Emrini control over Earth Cracker, Energy Keeper, and Cloud Buster units. Use of lethal force against units under mental domination is determined as a last resort measure only. Attempt liberation of mind controlled units before use of fatal options. Final objective: secure any available materials or personnel appearing to be of sensitive or high-profile nature. Briefing completed. Time until deployment: eighty-five minutes. Transmission closing." I logged out of the ship's system, and took a seat next to the Shooter to get some sleep. I woke up later to the sound of a timer warning going off in my helmet. With fifteen minutes to drop time, I started my final check and prep of my equipment before hearing my name being called. I looked to my right to see Dr. Pernaki moving towards me with the magic harnesser. I stopped what I was doing to speak with him.
"Looks like you managed to finish just in time."
"Indeed. We had a couple of problems, but the errors have been corrected and the system works perfectly now." He grinned with satsifaction at the technological marvel as he offered it to me.
"Well, I have to say I'm impressed with how fast you've been working, Doc, but unfortunately I won't be taking this with me." He seemed more than a little surprised by this.
"What? But why not? You seemed most interested in using it earlier."
"I was, and I still am. But it occurred to me that the Emrini may have magic detection capability to detect and apprehend ponies who have escaped, and if that's the case then we can't risk early detection on this mission. Once we're able to confirm that they don't have the ability to track magic energy signatures, I'm sure your work will see more than its fair share of usage. But for now, I can't take it with me. Sorry." He seemed a little disappointed, but he fully understood, and returned to his lab after wishing us luck. I finished double-checking my gear, and did a quick check of everyone else's before climbing into my space on the Shooter. While we waited the last few minutes, I mentally prepared myself. Hanging from the hand- and foot-holds of my pod, I flexed my combat muscles, twitching slightly in place as I imagined various scenarios and developed strategies and counter-strategies. All too soon, though, the warning alarm buzzed, and the hangar floor was stirred up with activity. I strapped in, and watched the edges of the pod as my hatch was sealed by technicians outside. Satisfied that there weren't any breaches, I opened my short-range communicator.
"Alright, folks, call it in. This is a major operation, so we're doing it by the book. Toyoko, you copy?"
"Hai. All equipment is functional, and pod is sealed. I am ready."
"Dimitri. All systems green?"
"Copy. All biotech is at full capacity and charge. All readings nominal."
"Groove. Coordinates confirmed?"
"Roger that, big man. All computer inputs match, all gps systems are synched. Let's go get the party set up, already."
"Launch crew, this is Shadow Squad two-five-eight. We are green and ready for deployment."
"Shadow Squad two-five-eight ready for deployment. Initiating carrier arm sequence." A huge, four-fingered grasper moved over our Shooter, and slowly lowered until it contacted the nose shield. A second later, the fingers began to curl, gripping the front of the vessel like an egg. "Carrier arm attached. Moving Drop Shooter to bay door six." We slowly rose, until we were sitting ten feet off the floor, then we swayed slightly as the arm moved towards the bay doors. It moved over door six, then froze there as the airlock closed around us. "Initiating drop in five... four... three... two... one..." My body jerked forward as the carrier arm let go, and we fell out of the ship. I grabbed the control sticks, and tilted them left, pushing us away from the ship before we hit the hull as it passed. Rokan came into view, and I started the auto-entry. The Shooter started moving on its own as I let go of the controls, and soon we were near the meteors that would serve as our cover. The vessel lurched as we entered the atmosphere, and we quickly felt the temperature start to rise. The nose shield's heat reduction components prevented us from roasting alive, but it still got really uncomfortable, really fast. As we started to see the meteors around us vaporizing and exploding, the Shooter tilted downward. There was a quiet cranking sound as the nose shield started getting pushed back, until a short clunk sounded. A moment later, I felt and saw my pod lift away from the main body, allowing the wings to flare out and slow me down, making the pod much more bearable as the temperature dropped.
"Everyone confirm successful separation." I turned the pod as i fell to make visual confirmation everyone had separated before the whole thing burned up on entry. Looking around, I saw all three pods doing circles as they each called over their safety. "Alright, fall in. We'll be landing near where I came down last time, so let's see where we are." I brought up the pod's internal map and found where we were in reference to the new landing zone, as well as where the old one was, so I would have a better idea of distances. Once I figured out where everything was, I turned my pod right, aiming for the area we were designated to land in. We couldn't use the same spot as last time, unfortunately, due to the fact that they had probably already figured out where it was. When we got close enough, I dropped into a steep dive, pulling up over the trees as I skimmed along the tops. As we approached I started swerving left and right to burn off momentum, and from my rearview camera feed, I could see the others doing the same. Our insertion zone came into view, and I shifted my position to prepare for landing. "Alright, everyone, get ready. Landing sequence in five... four... three... two... one.... Flare up!" I pulled up on my controls until the pod pointed skyward, then pulled the triggers. Two tanks of compressed air in the nose of the craft released their payload forward, driving the entire thing backwards, which was now also down. The tail spike embedded itself into the ground, the long piece of metal acting as a lever to hold the rest of it upright above ground. I popped the hatch, and stepped out to collect my gear while the others finished their landing procedures. Once we had all finished outfitting ourselves, we set our waypoints and synched our HUDs again to make sure no one would get lost. We found our way to the dig site quickly, fanning out around it to get as many viewpoints as possible. Along the way we came across two of the relay transmitters, and opened them up in order to yank out the power supply. By the time we actually got into position, we were fifteen minutes behind schedule. "Alright, guys, we need to move. No mistakes, get it right the first time." We started slowly making our way down into the dig site, until about halfway down when Groove called for a stop.
"Boss, there's a workhouse or warehouse or something right below you, built into the cliff wall. Looks like someone's home, too. Lights are on, and there's someone or something making shadows." I paused for a moment to improvise.
"Alright, I'll deal with whoever is in there. The rest of you start laying charges and counter-frequency arrays. Move fast, we're behind time." We finished making our way to the ground, and I quickly hid myself against the wall of the bunker Groove spotted. Peeking in, I could see an alpha moving around inside, obviously frustrated with whatever was on the table. I moved to the door, and pulled a tube of nano-jelly from my belt. I smeared it around the door handle so it would open noiselessly, and made my way inside. Deciding that caution was the better part of valor, I went through the rest of the surprisingly small building first, picking up a couple of impressive-looking blueprints on the way. When I got back, the Emrini that had been pacing around was now sitting on an uncomfortable-looking metal chair, slouched in a haphazard position, and holding a bottle of something that appeared to be alcoholic. Now that I could see his face, the scars over his left eye were obvious. It was the manager of the dig. He was staring blankly out the window, so I activated my cloak and drew my stun gun. As soon as I took a step, though, he spoke.
"You may as well turn that silly device off. I smelled you the moment you came in. Not that it matters now. Just shoot me and get it over with. I don't care anymore. I didn't even get to finish my haksra." That made me stop and think. Why would an alpha want to die? I decided this was worth the effort, and deactivated my stealth. He looked at me for a moment before taking a swig of his drink. "Go ahead, whenever you're ready."
"I'm not here to kill you." He looked at me quizzically.
"Oh?"
"No. In fact, you're not even the main reason I'm here." He rolled his eyes.
"Amazing. I've fallen so far even you don't see me as an important figure anymore." He took another drink.
"What does that mean?" He sighed once he swallowed, and gave me a calculating look.
"Why should you care? I'm not important, remember?"
"What makes you say that? Just because I'm not here for the exact purpose of killing you means you aren't a target?" He snorted once.
"Why wouldn't it? We're going to lose the war, why would you need any of us alive? The only ones you wouldn't plan on having assassinated are the ones who aren't enough of a threat to warrant any real effort, right?" Another swig.
"Just because we're winning doesn't mean there aren't questions we haven't been able to answer. And judging by the amount of equipment you have here, this excavation is pretty high-level. Which means you know something we probably want to find out about." He stared at me for a moment, weighing my words. He suddenly snorted again, and leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees.
"So what, then? Torture me until I tell you? Or just use our mind controllers on me, get it all quick? I should tell you now, you won't get much enjoyment out of me. I don't have anything left to lose, none of us do. Might as well tell you everything and maybe make it less painful for some of them." I paused for a moment to process that. Why would he assume we would torture him? And why would he assume we would enjoy it? I decided that the rest of my questions could wait until we got back.
"No, nothing like that. Although I will let you finish your haksra." He chuckled at that.
"You're too kind." He upturned the drink, chugging the rest of it before throwing the empty bottle into a trash can in the corner. "So now what?"
"This." I aimed my stun gun at him and pulled the trigger. His whole body was stiff for a moment, then went limp as he faded into unconsciousness. I picked him up, and moved him back to the bedroom I had spotted beforehand. After locking all the doors so he couldn't get out, and sabotaging the radio so he couldn't call for help if he hadn't already, I went back outside to find the others keeping themselves hidden nearby. Toyoko was first to speak.
"What happened in there? You were occupied for some time."
"Yeah," Groove added, "you have a heart-to-heart with him first? Shared a beer, maybe?"
"Not quite. Apparently their alcohol is called haksra." All of them jolted with expected surprise, and I allowed myself a small grin under my helmet. "I'll tell the story later. For now, let's start moving toward the broodhouse. I want to finish this up quickly." The others nodded, and we made our way back up and out of the excavation area. I checked our time, and found that we had fallen far behind schedule. We made a beeline for our next destination, but stopped after less than a minute. We had come across a small, prison-like building, with guards patrolling the area. I had the others surround the building, then activated my stealth unit again and carefully made my way inside. The interior of the place matched the exterior. Cells lined the walls, and each one held no less than three ponies. This place was the size of a small mansion, but it looked tiny in reference to the number of prisoners it held. I left before I could lose my composure, but I made a mental note to turn the building into less than rubble when we came back. After that, we regrouped once more and finally set out for our final stop. By the time we got there, it was almost dawn. Outside, there was already a large group of Emrini waiting to get in after their night shift. Now I was starting to get hot under the collar.
"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. We can't take out this many on our own, the invasion force is about to deploy, and it looks like-" The doors suddenly opened on the broodhouse, and a cheer went up from the congregation as they flooded the building. "-they're about to let them in." A low growl escaped my throat, and I could hear roots pop as my fingers clenched and ripped the blades of grass under them from their homes. The rest of my squad moved away from me a bit just as the screaming started. Even from a distance, the pain and despair in the pleas for mercy were obvious. I could feel my body pushing itself off the ground, even as my mind continued showing me memories and imaginings of what happened in those buildings. Then there was a scream unlike any other. Desperation and sorrow filled the sound, and I bolted out of cover, sprinting for the door like a mad dog. I rammed the entrance, roaring as my gaze swept over the scene of carnal hell in front of me.
Then everything went red.