Published August 11th, 2013
"Are... ure... close?"
"...lutely... fine...wakes up."
"But wha... and goes nuts... We're sitting..."
"Don't worry... just fine. Look, he's coming around now."
"Oough." I flexed my fingers and toes as I slowly came to, and rolled my head to one side as I opened an eye. Light flooded my vision, and I closed it again. Groaning once more, I stretched the rest of my body, earning a satisfying array of pops and cracks as my joints reset themselves into place. I rolled over onto my hands and knees, and stood up. I nearly fell back over, but a hand held me up.
"Easy, Sergeant. You just woke up, and you weren't out for very long." I shook my head to clear it a bit before responding.
"What-cough-what's the damage?" The hand led me to a tree to lean against, and I could now recognize the voice as Dimitri, though my vision was still tinged with red.
"Thirty-six Emrini, zero civilian, zero friendly." I rolled my neck, eliciting more pops from the vertebrae.
"Good. How's our timetable?" I winced as the sound of someone shouting orders came through my helmet's internal speakers, and right into my still over-sensitive ears.
"Technically we're behind schedule, but Groove was able to go back and set off the traps we left at the dig. He called in a couple minutes ago, said he had things under control." I nodded and took off my helmet.
"What about Toyoko?" Dimitri handed me a rag, and I started wiping off my face.
"She took Carlton and Ron east. Shadow Squad two-three-nine had one of their cloaks glitch out, and they can't get into their objective." Finished with my face, I handed the rag back and put my helmet back on.
"Alright. What about the marines, and Twilight and Rainbow?" He pointed behind him with a thumb, and I saw the marines standing guard while Twilight administered aid to the ponies. Rainbow, however, was standing just a few steps away from me with her arms crossed.
"They got here near the end of your episode. A group of stragglers had come up, laughing and talking loudly. Apparently loud enough for you to hear, since you then jumped out the third-story window and killed all of them with a few well-placed removals of flesh. You passed out just after that."
"Goody. At least now I know why my legs hurt. Reactions?" I continued stretching my body as he answered.
"Better than some. Rainbow isn't too happy about not being told, but Twilight said she trusted you enough not to worry. Klaxton told his squad to get over it as soon as they started talking. I don't think he cares either way." I nodded once more, and he handed me my Popper. I walked over to Rainbow, and she looked at me expectantly while Dimitri went to help Twilight.
"I'm guessing you're curious about my little tantrum back there, right?" She snorted derisively.
"An understatement if I've ever heard one, but yeah. And more importantly, why you didn't tell us." I could tell from her voice she was fairly pissed about being left in the dark on this, but we didn't have time for a full explanation here.
"I didn't tell you simply because I don't like people getting all up-in-arms about it when they find out that they've been hanging out with a berserker, and because I didn't think it would come up so soon. As for what exactly happened, you'll have to wait. The explanation for it is long and complicated, something we don't have the luxury for right now. So the real question is, are you going to make a big deal of it, or are you going to keep trusting me?" She tensed up a bit, and I could tell she didn't like either option too much. Eventually, though, she relented with an exaggerated sigh.
"Fine, but you owe us all one hell of an explanation when we get back, you hear me?" She pointed a finger in my face, and I nodded. "Good. So what are we doing now?" I honestly didn't expect her to be that willing, but I guess her friends came first.
"We need to go back to the west. There was some kind of prison there, with a good number of ponies inside. Once we get them out, we can call for evac." I started moving toward the group in front of the broodhouse. "Dimitri! We're moving! Klaxton, I need a few guys to bring with me. Who can you spare?" He had a total of five of his platoon go with me, and we had made our way to the prison in short order. Once there, I activated my cloak and cleared one of the entrances. The rest ran through the small open area quickly, and I hastily moved up to the door for the main cell block area. Meanwhile, Dimtri and a couple of the others went through the side corridors to the control room, as I took Rainbow and the rest of them inside. Ignoring the fact that my ears were going to be screaming with pain as a direct result, I tossed a blinder grenade up over the rail on the top floor, and we all opened fire on the Emrini below, my head feeling like it would split from the sound. The entire area was cleared in seconds, though, and we moved along the cells, breaking them open as we went. Once they were all open, I ordered a clearing of the building. All of us searched through the small complex, killing off the Emrini as we moved. Once outside again, I turned on my main communicator.
"Command, this is Shadow Squad two-five-eight commander Kuro Maldone. I have a whole mess of ponies here that need an evac. What can you do for me?" There was static for a moment before I heard a response.
"Shadow Squad one-nine-seven has an LZ cleared half a klick south of your position. Take all refugees there, and transport will pick them up shortly."
"Thanks, Command. Alright, everyone, listen up! We've got a ways to walk, so let's get moving! We'll pick up the others first, then we're getting all of you the hell off this planet!" Hopeful murmurs went up through the crowd of gathered ponies. "Come on, folks! We're burning daylight, here!" We headed back to where Twilight and the rest were waiting, and a significant number of the ponies I had with me started sprinting forward at the women we had freed. A number of the men from the prison apparently had girlfriends or spouses in the group, and several tearful reunions were made. As much as it made me feel all warm and fuzzy, though, it would have to wait. I turned on my helmet's speaker function, and lowered the internal sound levels. I had barely been able to deal with the echoing sounds in the prison, I wasn't about to deal with hurting myself with my own yelling. I jumped onto a large rock nearby to start my orders. "Okay, people, we need to go! It's not far, but we need to get you all to safety fast! Follow me, I'll show you where we're going." I jumped back down, and made my way through the crowd. They followed me easily, the stronger and healthier individuals helping those with greater injuries. The forest made moving more difficult, but we still made good time, only taking about fifteen minutes. Sure enough, when we arrived there was a large area cleared of any hostile activity, with several Remora tiltrotor vehicles hovering above to provide cover. The entire clearing was filled with Kingfishers, though. Several of them had the medic cross on them, and the wounded were immediately sent there. When all of them were loaded up, they took off, but there was still a large crowd of ponies left behind. I decided to check in on my subordinates to see who needed help.
"Groove, this is Kuro. You good at the dig site?"
"Yeah, boss, but I've got nowhere to bring these folks! You have anything, yet?"
"Yeah, just head for Dimitri's signal. I have one more passenger to pick up from the office you spotted last night."
"You mean that Emrini you shared the whatever with?"
"That's the one. Was he still there?"
"Dunno. He wasn't outside, and the door was still shut, so probably. I'm gonna head out now. See you on the way." The comm went silent, and I let Dimitri know what was going on before I left. Halfway there, I indeed came across Groove, with about five more ponies following him. I told him to wait at the evac zone for me, and continued on my way. Once I arrived, I decided to take the ramps down this time, and got to the bottom much faster. Inside the building itself, I found the alpha right where I left him, though he was awake now. He saw me come in, and got up so he could turn around and let me cuff him. We got out without trouble, and I called in my prisoner.
"Command, I need a prisoner shuttle at the evac zone in ten minutes. I found an Emrini alpha who was willing to go quietly for once, and I'm on my way now. Think you can swing that for me?"
"Absolutely, Sergeant. We have a Kingfisher en route now, we'll redirect it to you."
"Thanks. We'll be there soon." I directed the alpha towards the LZ, and we showed up not long after. As soon as Rainbow laid eyes on him, though, I had to move quickly to stop her from doing something stupid. I maneuvered myself between the two, and used my larger size and greater strength to keep her still while Dimitri and Groove took the alpha to the Kingfisher.
"Let me go! He's the one who did this to us! He's the reason we're all like this! I'll kill him for it! You hear me, you bastard!? I'm gonna kill you!" She struggled as I held her, but the Kingfisher was gone before my grip loosened. The moment she was free, she spun around and punched me in the jaw. I was glad I still had my helmet on, because it hurt anyway. The next punch didn't connect as I caught her arm, and in her anger, she tried once more, only to find her other hand stopped as well. Her thrashing quickly slowed down and stopped as she realized she wasn't going to get another shot in. I let her go, and she collapsed to her knees, sobbing quietly. "You were supposed to be helping us. How can you just let him leave like that? Is this what you consider fair?" I could hear the hatred in her voice, as well as the honest confusion.
"It's called 'compromise', Rainbow. And it's the one thing that can end this war faster." Twilight came over and helped her friend back up. "Did you find the rest of your friends, Twilight?" She nodded. "Good. I want all of you on the next shuttle up. You'll do more good with the other ponies than you will with us. Just stay away from that alpha. We still need him, and you don't have any authority yet, so don't start going off half-cocked again. I'll help finish up here, then head back. We'll talk after." They relunctantly complied, and the rest of the day went by without any more unexpected distress.
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When my squad finally got back, I was exhausted. We had been sent to two other sites, and the number of ponies that had been colletively freed was incredible. But the day wasn't over yet, so I changed quickly and made my way to the communal room that had been cleared out for the new arrivals. Looking around, I spotted Twilight and Rainbow without too much trouble and made my way over to them. Unsurprisingly, Rainbow was still mad, but I held up a hand for her to wait just a bit longer.
"How are they, Twilight?" She looked at me with sad eyes.
"Bad. Really bad. Applejack is still coherent, but she's so worried about her family she's barely able to do anything other than eat. Rarity looks like she hasn't slept properly in weeks, and she keeps mumbling to herself. Pinkie won't respond to anything, and she hasn't so much as grinned since we found her. Fluttershy, though," she turned her gaze to a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, "apparently she was their favorite. Rainbow and I were more desirable as combat units, so we didn't have to get... personal with the Emrini very often, but I don't think Fluttershy was ever sent out at all. She doesn't even have a port in her head. She won't speak, she won't eat, it's like her body is still alive, but her mind is just... gone." I could tell Twilight was holding back her tears.
"Don't worry, we'll help them. They'll be better soon enough, I promise." I heard Rainbow humph behind me.
"Yeah, right. Like you even care. You weren't even willing to kill the one in charge, why should you be interested in helping us, huh? You have no idea what we've been through, or what we've lost! All you care about is whether or not you win your stupid war!" I turned to see her glaring at me, accusation burning in her eyes.
"And you don't care about the war?" She huffed.
"No, I don't! All I care about is going home, and getting everypony else home, too! Your war has done nothing but cause problems for us, and I for one don't want any more to do with it!" I could already tell there was something else bothering her, but that could wait. She needed to hear some flat-out truth first.
"Too bad." She went wide-eyed at that. "At this point, you don't really have a choice. You're stuck here. We don't know where your planet is, and even when we do find out, you won't be able to go back until the Emrini are beaten. You think they just stumbled on your world? You think that just because they get kicked out, they'll leave you alone? You're an idiot. That's not how war works. A conflict of this magnitude doesn't end until one side is so beaten that they can't ever get back up again. We aren't fighting to defend ourselves anymore. We're fighting so that we can put an end to it all. When we win-and we will win, now that you aren't under their control-we're going to put their entire planet under martial law. They won't be able to so much as go for a walk without us knowing. And as for your world, that will take months of combat to get back from their control. Possibly years. And, of course there's the reconstruction. I heard you tell the story yourself. You know what they really did that day? They ambushed you. They were prepared for every possible counter-measure you had. They had planned out that attack weeks, maybe even months, in advance, and carried it out like the predators they are. But you know what? We're going to beat them, because humans are better predators, and we're going to be able to hunt them far more effectively once the alpha we found starts talking. And once that's all finished, then you can go home. Then you can try to forget that any of this happened. Emphasis on try. But for now... Twilight, let one of the medics take Fluttershy to the intensive care unit. They have tech that should be able to fix her at least partially. Just give the others some time, and make sure they know you're with them. They'll need as much emotional condolence as you can give. Rainbow and I will be back soon." I beckoned the blue pegasus to follow me, and I led her to the closest observation room. The window currently faced towards the planet, and we could see the occasional ship moving to or from the surface. I knew she was still hurting, but she needed to get whatever was bugging her out of her system before she really started to lose it. I lowered my voice a bit, and went back to the softer tones I use when I'm trying to be nice. "You know, Rainbow, I didn't really expect you to go off on me quite so vehemently. I already know you aren't happy about the alpha we brought in, but something else is bothering you, I can tell. Talk to me, maybe I can sort things out for you." She shifted her position for a few moments, obviously having not expected me to guess so quickly, or be so nice about it. She wasn't quiet for long, though.
"It happened right after the drop. I rushed forward to try and get there faster, but I kept getting stalled and delayed by Emrini who were either patrolling, or waiting for us. One of the ambushes I came across was armed with guns. A marine pulled me into a ditch, and told me to keep my head down. Once we thought all the shooters were dead, he stood up and started yelling about how I was going to get us all killed. In the middle of him telling me to stay with the group, his head just... exploded to one side. We had missed one of the snipers in a tree, and he had shot the guy right after he stood up. I couldn't move. All I could do was stare at his body. He had been in the middle of a sentence, and boom, he was dead. Just like that. And it was my fault. If I hadn't been in such a hurry, he wouldn't have been yelling, and he might have seen that sniper. Or maybe the sniper wouldn't have targeted him at all, or someone else might have seen it. But no, I had to go and rush forward, and get someone killed. I-I can't deal with that. I can tell myself the Emrini are monsters, but that just lets me ignore what I'm doing. With this I can't even do that! It's the invasion all over again. I try my hardest, fly as fast as I can, but at the end of it all I'm still useless, completely helpless to make anything do what I want, or do anything to help my friends." She started crying at the end, and I couldn't fault her for it. But that didn't change the course of action we needed to take.
"You're not useless, just inexperienced." She looked at me incredulously. "I know what useless looks like, and you're not it. You're young, and you don't have the years of living with war that we do. All you need is training, and combat experience. We can give you that, but right now, there's something far more important you need to do." She wiped her eyes and sniffled.
"What's that?" I guided her back to the communal room with the others, and pointed to her friends, laying there listlessly.
"You need to be there for the ones you care about so you can help them. They're hurting now, and they need someone they know won't abandon them. They need you. So stay here for now, and the rest can come later. Don't worry, everything will work out soon enough. I promise.."