Part III--A Frightened Mind
Crystal Empire City Border
Aprox. 1200 Hours (Equestrian Time)
I huffed as I pushed myself up and out of the top of the tank turret and stepped down to the body, waiting for the other two. Ryan was next, gripping the outside of the circular opening and hoisting himself out. Nathan followed right after and we all stood by one another for a moment. We were about to hop down to the waiting guard division until a critical thought forced me to stay put. I put an arm in front of the other two also to keep them from going too.
"Wait a minute." I said, looking over at Ryan and Nathan, who both now wore quizzical looks, before looking the captain in the eyes. "As aliens to us, we don't trust you at all yet or that you won't try to turn our machinery on us when we have our backs turned." I said firmly and the other two nodded slightly.
"I say you let us drive our machine to a spot where you wish for us to stop, and we won't touch it afterwards." Ryan added.
It was at this moment I could tell Shining Armor was at least an okay negotiator, because his reply was firm and quick.
"And as aliens to us, we do no trust you yet or that you won't try to blast your way out of here once we start walking." He said, holding his head high as he was obviously proud of his retort. "Follow the guards, we'll take care of your machine."
I shook my head slowly before raising my hands up.
"Suit yourself." I said curtly as I jumped down, followed by the other two.
The guards immedeatly started slowly approaching us with weapons at the ready. I looked around at the equines in golden armor, still a little mind fucked about the whole situation. I didn't even bother to raise my hands.
"Oh no. You're not putting hand cuffs on me!" I heard Ryan spit at a guard.
I looked over to see a guard with three pairs of handcuffs floating in front of him in a light blue aura.
"Ryan," I said, making him look over at me. "Just let the guard do his job."
Ryan faltered a little before giving in and extending his arms outward. Nathan and I did the same and pairs of silver handcuffs were slapped on our wrists.
"Now please come with me." Shining Armor said 'kindly'.
The three of us walked in silence, surrounded by guards with the captain in front. As I looked around I took in the scenery of the strange city we were in. It was so... shiny. Everything I looked at seamed to reflect sunlight in some way, making my eyes hurt a little with every head turn. There was something else I noticed. There were other ponies looking out from windows and around corners and doors at us, and all of them had the same kind of luster. I just hoped these citizens weren't the kind of ones who get all grossed out every time a speck of dirt lands on them; it'd be amusing, but annoying...
"Man, everything here's like looking at a mirror of the sun." Nathan grumbled, not really targeted at any one of us.
"Tell me about it. Even the people here are fucking glazed." Ryan replied.
"Where are we, captain?" I asked Shining Armor.
He turned his head to look at me with what looked like a small grin on his face.
"The Crystal Empire of Equestria." He said, and I noticed an odd "surfer dude" tone to his voice.
All three of us chuckled at the sheer absurdity of the statement.
"Fuck this day."
The walk went for another few minutes without a word from anyone, but when I looked over at Ryan I could tell something wasn't right. I could see his chest heaving, his eyes darted from place to place rapidly, and I thought I could see sweat glistening on his face. He looked around ready to just turn and run. Maybe Nathan and I weren't showing it like poor Ryan, but I know I could say I felt what he felt if only lightly yet.
Lost and confused.
That's when I couldn't help but just think of what I could do. What was there to do though? The only way we could feel less confined if we... escaped.
"Robbert, we need to get out of here now. You need it, Ryan especially needs it. You can see it on his and Nathan's face, they want out. You need to do this for the sake of your friends!" The planning part of my mind encouraged.
"But think of the downsides. You'll be public enemy no. 1. You'll be a potentially deadly alien on the loose in this Equestria. Think of what forces they have!" The reasoning side cried.
"Forces? These guards are wearing probably one of the weakest metals on the periodic table as armor. They're carrying crossbows and spears for fucks sake! What military might could they have other than just a couple barracks filled with them?" Planning retorted, and that's what won me over.
"Excuse me, captain," I said flatly, making Shining armor turn his head but not stop walking. "May I have a word with my crew?"
The captain stopped and the guards did too, turning to face us just in case, as a thoughtful face swept over him.
"You may." He said after a moment's hesitation.
I turned and beckoned for Nathan and Ryan over to huddle up. Once we were in a tight triangle with our heads in the middle I felt safe to discuss my point-blank plan, but not without an extra precaution in case any of the guards decided to eavesdrop.
"Code One." I said silently.
The two nodded in understanding of my order of language swapping. After a case in which a Marine I knew was captured, he told his story of everyone in our barracks in person. One thing that really intrigued me was when he said he used another language, Latin I think it was, to convince his captors that he couldn't speak English and was of no use to them. They later tried using him for a slave trade but hey, the Marines didn't feel like negotiating at the time. After that I had come up with the idea of the three of us learning some foreign language for special scenarios, like this now, which we classified as Code One.
"Okay ... Okay guys, mayroon akong isang plano upang makakuha ng sa amin out sa lugar na ito. Ito ay hindi masyadong mabuti, ngunit ang lahat ng ito na kailangan namin. Sigurado ka guys handa?" (Okay... Okay you guys, I have a plan to get us out of this place. It's not very good, but it's all we've got. Are you guys ready?) I said in Filipino, the language we had decided on.
"Sobra, oo. Alam ko pa lang kami dito tungkol sa sampung minuto, ngunit hindi ako makapag tumayo ang kaisipan ng pagkakaroon upang manatili sa kung anumang pagkakulong nila binalak para sa amin." (Very much, yes. I know we've only been here about ten minutes, but I can't stand the thought of having to stay in whatever confinement they have planned for us.) Ryan replied with a slow shake oh his head.
"Ano ang iyong plano, Robbert? Hindi ko nais upang manatili sa bilangguan ng isang dayuhan o kahit ano." (What's your plan, Robbert? I don't want to stay in an alien's prison or whatever.) Nathan added, glancing at the looming spire in the center of the city.
If we weren't about to break out of an alien city I probably would've smiled. If Nathan and Ryan were thinking at all of the down sides to doing this, they were not showing it. That was good. The last thing we need is to look scared out of our minds while making an escape.
I sighed, knowing there was no turning away from it now. "Mabuti na kukunin ko na gawin ito maikling. Sa aking marka namin ang lahat ng aming hilahin pistols at open fire. Huwag maghangad ng malalang hit bagaman. Hindi namin nais na mag-iwan katawan o makikita itong ilagay sa higit pa sa isang presyo sa aming mga ulo. Pagkatapos ay gumawa kami ng isang run para sa Sandstorm at umalis. Nakuha ko?" (Alright I'll make this brief. On my mark we all pull our pistols and open fire. Do not aim for fatal hits though. We don't want to leave bodies or it'll put more of a price on our heads. Then we make a run for Sandstorm and leave. Got it?) I said quickly but calmly.
Nathan and Ryan nodded in response, and I gave them a quick pat on the back before breaking apart and turning to Shining Armor.
"Excuse me captain, but, could you remove these handcuffs? You see, humans have very delicate tissue and skin on their wrists and we could possibly loose our hands if it is damaged." I said in the most persuasive voice I could do.
The captain looked very skeptical about this request, and did hesitate for almost half a minute before nodding. "Okay then. Release them." He said.
Three guards cautiously walked towards us with keys to the handcuffs. As they undid the chains I glanced over at the two and nodded to them. As soon as the metal fell from my wrists I was ready.
"Dalhin hostages at hayaan ang mayroon em ito. (Take hostages and let em have it.)"
In an instant I wrapped my left arm firmly around the guard's throat and pulled out my FNX-45 Tac. with my right and pushed it to his skull. The others did pretty much the exact same as everyone started shouting and yelling in all directions for a few seconds before the captain shut them all up and the three of us started backing up towards Sandstorm.
"Let them go now!" Yelled Shining Armor.
"Do not come any closer! Any of you! I can blow this horse's brains out with one flick of my finger!" I shouted back as all the guards circling us trained spears and some crossbows on us.
"Boss!?" Ryan cried.
"Mark!" I replied, giving the order. "Dalhin down ang crossbows unang! (Take down the crossbows first!)"
The next second a burst of gunfire echoed throughout the whole area as the crossbow wielding equines fell down, crying out in unimaginable pain, while some actually passed out from it. The next sequence of shots was aimed for the remaining ones with spears who were charging at us. Anyone that wasn't hit was either hit soon after or ran for cover.
"Come on, we gotta go now!" Screamed Nathan.
I was about to release my hostage as I whispered into his ear.
"Next time your friends will not be alive to face us."
And with that I dropped him and sprinted the long road to the awaiting tank, Nathan and Ryan right next to me. As we got closer to Sandstorm I noticed there were no guards doing anything with it, apparently they had come to aid in our failed suppression and gotten caught in the firefight. I could hear a lot of guards coming our direction from behind us as we reached the tank finally, out of breath and still a little shaken at what we had just done.
"Come on, get in!" I urged as we climbed into the tank and into our posts. "Ryan, start us up and get us the hell out of here! Nathan, load HEAT and be ready to fire on my command but do not turn the turret!" I ordered as I turned everything on and the screens and lights flickered to life before me.
Not a second later I heard the loud roar of the powerful diesel V-92S2F engine and the tank started turning in place. As we finished turning I peeked through the rear viewing prism and saw a lot of armed guards marching towards us, Shining Armor--who had somehow not been hit in the gunfire--leading them.
"Nathan, fire at the shield!" I cried without looking away.
The tank rocked backwards a little as the round impacted with a powerful explosion and the shield instantly disappeared from the whole city. What a weak defense.
I also saw a lot of the guards in the brigade stop dead, most likely in shock, but the captain tried to urge them on. When none followed, he disappeared in a blue flash and my eyes widened. I turned around and manned the gun platform up top, looking around for the vanishing unicorn captain. When the tank sudently stopped though, I turned the gun forward and there he was, standing about five yards from the tip of the barrel, his mane and tail blowing in the strong winter winds.
"Rob," Ryan said. "The captain's out there, I think he's following us."
"I can see that, Ryan." I replied. "Nathan, see if you can drive around him."
It didn't work as he reappeared in front of us once again as the tank pulled forward and stopped.
"Motherfucker..." I said to myself.
"What do we do?" Asked Ryan.
I was about to reply when I saw Shining Armor's eyes shut tightly and his horn glow blue. I didn't know what he was planning on doing until the whole tank shuddered and the front end started rising slowly.
"Woah woah woah!! What the hell?!" Cried Nathan.
"Back us up, back us up!" I yelled, taking control of the gun station, but the angle of the tank by now got in the way.
Sandstorm started backing up quickly, which only helped a little as the front started slowly rising again.
"I think he's trying to flip us over, hang on!" I screamed as I reached up for the hatch and threw it open.
Sandstorm was now at around a fifty degree angle as I unholstered my sidearm and took aim at the captain, almost hanging around the side. I pulled the trigger, and the round missed, but I could see his power weaken a little. I fired a second shot and it did the trick, hitting the top of his shoulder and leaving a small gap of flesh. Instantly the energy lifting us up stopped as the captain fell over, yelling in pain. Unfortunately I didn't have time to even start getting back into the tank as it fell forward extremely hard, the shock making me practically bounce off the side of the turret and land just on the edge of the body. I groaned in pain but didn't feel any broken ribs as I sluggishly made my way back into the tank and shut the hatch.
"You okay, Robbert?" Inquired Nathan.
"Nice job out there, I'm sure his pals will come get him." Ryan sighed.
"I'm okay, just a little shaken." I breathed. "Let's just get out of here, straight ahead, Nathan."
"You sure? Armor did say there were other towns and shit that way." Nathan said.
"I'm sure we'll find some place to hide. Now get going and keep your eyes peeled." I replied.
"Copy that. Sandstorm is Oscar Mike."
\_____/\/\/\/\/\_____/
Aprox. 1400 hours
There was no telling how long we were out in this blistering arctic climate. It felt like days, even though I know it wasn't. But the scenery was hardly the start of my stress. First we fall into a sinkhole that should have killed us, then we landed in this fucking blizzard, then we drove straight into an alien city full of short, talking horses, then we broke out, making us the most wanted, and now we're here (again).
"You guys doing okay?" I asked softly over the radio.
"You could say that..." Ryan grumbled.
"Don't worry Ryan, we'll be fine..." I said, almost getting lost in the few words. "Everything will be fine..."
Silence fell over the three of us once again for another good amount of time. I wanted to do something, to lighten the mood, to make my crew feel... safe again. But what was there? What could we do? We're on a foreign planet. I was kinda amazed that I was still able to think clearly. I don't think any normal man or woman would be sane by this point, but I had a feeling we wouldn't last much longer.
It wasn't long before we noticed that the blizzard winds were starting to die down, leaving only the thick snow for us to tread through.
"Hey boys, I think we may be getting close to something." Nathan said in an exhausted voice.
"Yeah, I think so too." I said.
"What'da you think it is?" Ryan added.
"Not sure... Wait a second, are those trees? Guys I see trees!" I said just under a yell as I operated the camera on the weapon platform.
"No way!"
"I'm gettin' us there now, hopefully there will be an okay place to stay." Ryan informed happily.
I was so relieved I leaned back in my seat and laughed a little bit. Refuge was not far.
Unfortunately, the worst toll on our minds and bodies was yet to come.