//------------------------------// // The Drop of the Spectra Brigade // Story: Swooping Pegasus // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// Rainbow and the others sat in the back of a wave serpent as they were whisked across the planet, alongside a number of other transports, all carrying the Swooping Hawks towards the newly created Firebase Indigo. She could say a lot of things about what she thought of the Imperium’s doctrine of war, that it was brutal, that it had a tendency to achieve an objective by simply throwing men at it, and that they usually killed aliens on sight with little to no forethought, save for Lord General Sturnn, but it did have redeeming qualities. The men were brave, and stood firm in a galaxy of horrors far greater than their own, plus when they set their mind to digging in to a position, very little would make them move again. “One minute to touch down.” The pilot called from the front of the Wave Serpent. “Ready weapons.” Kaliden said, grabbing hold of his rifle. “But…the Imperials are our allies.” Rainbow said in a confused tone, but readied her weapon all the same. “Today’s allies are simply tomorrow’s enemies.” Kaliden replied. “The Imperium is not known for tolerance, and if they do prove to be treacherous, I would rather be ready.” Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but Tar’nek stopped her, shaking his head slightly. Getting whatever message he was trying to get across to her, Rainbow dropped the point, and instead picked up her helmet, inspecting its surface for a second. While the rest of her armour stayed in top condition thanks to Jolee and the Bonesingers’, but as was tradition in the Floating Assault, they only repaired their helmets if they absolutely needed to, leaving the cosmetic damage as a display of the battles they had been in. Smiling at the small amount of damage on her own helmet, Rainbow slipped it on, locking it into position. Feeling the ship touch down, she raised to her hooves, and moved into position to disembark from the transport, positioning herself so that she would be first off as ordered. As soon as the ramp had lowered fully, she was on the move, quickly running out onto the ground of the firebase, and taking in her new surroundings. The camp was huge, at least if the low wall and ditch beyond that ringed the camp was anything to go by. As she looked out across the flat plateau, she could see men, wearing similar armour to Major Cusatis, moving between squat concrete buildings, or walking towards a series of large buildings that rainbow assumed were the human hangers where their Valkyries were stored. Further on from that, she could see at least ten large barrels pointing up towards the sky, and instantly recognised them as the basilisk guns that both sides were using as long range artillery. Nodding as the others formed up beside her, their weapons held uneasily in their hands, the squad set off towards the centre of the camp as more Swooping Hawks landed. Due to their part in the discovery of the Eldar by the humans, and the lack of any of the main command structure of the Eldar force, Tray’gu had decided that Kaliden would be named the liaison between the humans and the Eldar, and that any plans that were to be made would be run past Kaliden, and by extension, the rest of the Floating Assault. Rainbow got the distinct feeling that the exarch was not happy about that particular idea. “Follow me.” Kaliden ordered. “Rainbow, you know what this, Major Cusatis, looks like. Keep your eyes out for him, we have been ordered to see him.” Nodding, Rainbow made sure to keep an eye out as they walked through the camp, getting a lot of strange looks from the human soldiers, who clearly were not used to having Eldar walk past them peacefully. Catching sight of the semi-familiar face of Goge, Rainbow pointed it out to Kaliden, before leading the Exarch towards the Major. “Rainbow Dash.” He nodded curtly as they walked over. “I am presuming that this is the remainder of your squad.” “No, this is Kaliden’s temple. The Floating Assault.” Rainbow said, allowing the Exarch to come forward and look at the human. “I am assuming you are Kaliden?” He asked curtly. “I am. You are Major Cusatis?” Kaliden said, his face unreadable from behind his helmet. “Yes. Will you do me the honour of allowing me to look upon your face?” Goge asked, indicating that his helmet was under his arm. “I will not.” Kaliden said simply. “I am assuming you don’t trust me then.” Goge asked with a slight smirk. “No, Major, I do not.” Kaliden replied. “I am here because Tray’gu and Sturnn came to an arrangement that is mutually beneficial to both sides. I do not however have to like working with Mon-keigh. I have seen what often comes of such alliances, and do not want to be caught up in the fallout of one again. My armour and spirit has already been lost for centuries thanks to human hands, I would not have it so again.” “Very well.” Goge nodded, before turning to look at the rest of the squad. “Then, assuming any are willing, would you allow one of your subordinates to discuss plans with me? Face to face?” “If any of them will talk to you, I will allow it.” Kaliden nodded, before turning on his heel. “If any of you are willing, you may stay here, otherwise, report back with me to the transports.” Walking away, Kaliden began to make his way back to the Eldar landing zone, followed closely by almost all of the Floating Assault. Almost. “Rainbow Dash?” Goge said, turning to the only remaining member of the temple. “As long as you don’t mind face to muzzle.” She said, before removing her helmet and locking it to her waist. “Please, follow me to my command room. We have plans to discuss, and as your, exarch is it?” Rainbow nodded. “As your exarch has given you command of this, which puts you in charge of the drop in my books.” Nodding, Rainbow followed Goge, walking alongside him as the human and the pony cut through the camp, drawing even more odd looks than the Eldar had. “Rainbow, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you?” Goge asked as they walked. “A pony, specifically a Pegasus, from Equestria.” She replied after a short period of silence in which she decided what she should tell him. “Then how did you throw in your lot with the Eldar of all races? They are not the most, agreeable when it comes to other species.” “I said I would talk to you.” Rainbow growled softly. “Keep talking like that and find the offer revoked.” “Ok, I see I have struck a nerve, and I apologise. So far, I know of ponies doing humanity no wrong, save for the incident at the guns, and I do not believe from your actions humanity has ever done you wrong, so let us move past grudges between Eldar and Human, and talk about this drop.” Goge said, holding the door to a small building open and allowing Rainbow to walk in first. Looking around the room, Rainbow could see that it was lavishly decorated, banners and other battle honours lining the walls. As Goge entered the room, he smiled as he saw Rainbow looking at the walls with curiosity. “The 212th is an old regiment Rainbow, stretching back thousands of years. This is our history, from the attack on Teloc to the defence of Provest, and even our time on Armageddon, violent scrap that.” Goge said, looking as if he was remembering old memories, not all of them good. “Impressive.” Rainbow nodded. “I don’t know much of war, but I think it would be best if we got on with this.” “You say you know nothing of war?” Goge asked, sitting down and gesturing to another chair. “Maybe by the time we’ve planned this drop I will have taught you some more about how humanity wages it. It’s not as clean as your Eldar friends, but we make do.” “You’re very easy with a xenos Major.” Rainbow said, sitting down herself, smiling as she instantly thought of Lyra. “I thought all humans hated aliens.” “Hate is a strong word.” Goge said, smiling knowingly. “I don’t hate them, truth be told I don’t hate much, ‘cept for blasted heretics. I’ll follow orders to fight aliens till the last drop of blood falls from my body, mind you, but I don’t hate them. Now some humans, they bloody despise aliens, even sub-humans. I know for a fact some of my men faced lashings thanks to that particular hate, but no one got shot, so that’s all I care.” “What about Samstag?” Rainbow asked. “She didn’t seem to like working with us.” “Samstag’s from Catachan, a death world, the death world. It breeds a certain sort of person, and most of them hate outsiders, especially weak and frail ones like the Eldar. She’s loyal though, as are her troops. They’ll not try to kill you unless the Lord General approves it, then, well, Throne protect you.” “Thanks for the heads up.” Rainbow nodded. “Don’t get used to them if you are on the other side.” Goge warned. “Now, about this drop.” *** Several Hours Later *** “Is that all?” Rainbow asked, looking down at the plans the two had drawn up. “I believe so. Here, carry this to your exarch, the details of the plan are in there. Goge said, holding out a scroll. “I will see you on the drop then.” Rainbow smiled, standing and turning to leave. “Remember what you learnt here Rainbow. The human way has prevailed just as much as the Eldar way.” Goge said. “I’m not sure the Eldar would agree with you there Major Cusatis.” Rainbow said, smiling to herself. “No, I’m sure they wouldn’t. But, if we survive this drop, come see me again. You’re not an Eldar, and you may not be human, but you seem like you are trying to do right. Regardless of your species I respect that.” He smiled warmly, and Rainbow realised it was genuine. “You’re not what I expected from a human.” Rainbow smiled, turning back to face him. “We humans never are.” Goge laughed, before watching Rainbow trot out of the room and back towards the Eldar. Shaking his head, he pushed the pony out of it, and walked out of the room himself to go and distribute the plan around the regiment, no, his regiment now. *** Quickly making her way through the camp, Rainbow walked over to the Wave Serpent that she had arrived him, and moved over to where Kaliden was sitting, his helmet still firmly on his head and covering his face. “You’ve returned from your little chat with the Mon-keigh?” Kaliden asked, looking over to where Rainbow stood. “I have, and I’ve got plans drawn up here.” She said, holding out the paper, before sitting down next to Tar’nek. “The major isn’t as bad as you think he is.” Kaliden looked over at Rainbow, before getting up and leaving, not uttering a word. Rainbow was about to go after him, but Tar’nek pulled her back down, before clouting her over the head. “Stupid.” He muttered. “What’s the matter with Kaliden?” Rainbow asked. “Humans, that’s what the matter is.” Juhani said simply. “They’re not…” Rainbow began. “What do you know of Exarchs Rainbow?” Jolee cut in. “I’m sorry?” She asked, taken by surprise by the question. “What do you know about Exarchs?” Jolee repeated. “Not much.” Rainbow admitted. “Then let me explain to you.” Jolee replied. “When and Exarch is killed, his spirit is taken indefinitely into the armour, held there for as long as it remains whole. When another dons the suit, these souls dominate the mind of the wearer, and transform his mind into that of the Exarch who first wore the armour, the original Kaliden. They can die, and Kaliden has died many times, fighting against the humans more than anyone else. It takes its toll, and then to hear one of his promising disciples praising them…well, you saw what he thought of that.” “I didn’t know.” Rainbow said, crestfallen. “And he won’t hold it against you.” Tar’nek shot back. “But I would suggest keeping any kind words for the humans out of his ear shot.” “Sorry.” Rainbow nodded. “Well, speak up, when do we move out?” Juhani asked. “Tonight.” Rainbow replied simply. *** Rainbow sat in the Wave Serpent, checking her rifle, before reaching down and checking that her sword was where it had been the last time she checked it, a couple of seconds before. She couldn’t quite understand why, but she was feeling more apprehensive about this coming battle than any that had come before. She couldn’t place her hoof on it, but then again, it didn’t matter, it was going ahead, and the voice of the avatar in her head was softly voicing its opinion on the matter. “Valkyries in position.” Came a voice over Rainbows helmet comm. She had changed her helmets system to be able to pick up the human signals, but as far as she could gather, none of the Eldar had done the same, most of them feeling much the same way Kaliden did about working with the humans. “The 212th is ready.” Rainbow called, relaying it to the other Eldar so they would know as well. “We are as well.” The pilot replied from the front, speaking directly to Rainbow. It felt odd, the pilot and the rest of the Eldar looking to her to relay orders, as if somehow she was in charge of things around here. She didn’t know what she should feel about having any sort of command, she hadn’t asked for it, that was for sure, but now she had it, she wasn’t exactly itching to give it back. “Major Cusatis?” Rainbow asked over the comm. “We are ready to drop on your signal.” “Then the word, Rainbow Dash, is go.” Goge said, and Rainbow could hear the anticipation in his voice. “Let’s go!” She shouted, both over the radio and to the pilot. A split second later, the rear door was flung open, and the wind whipped into the inside compartment, filling it with little partials of snow. Looking out into the dark, Rainbow could see that the earlier signs of a blizzard had been false, and the sky was relatively clear, aside from being dark. She cursed silently, knowing that a storm would have made masking the sound of the decent easier, before steeling herself, and jumping. Silently, Rainbow fell towards the earth, the other Eldar from the Floating Assault close behind her. Looking around, she watched as her helmet picked out the other Eldar dropping from their own transports, surrounding them in a faint green haze. Looking to her other side, she could see the human Valkyrie carriers zooming overhead, the Elysians’ dropping from the back with bulky packs on, grav-chutes she believed they were called. She smiled softly as they were outlined as well, these ones in yellow. It was surreal, dropping in near silence. There was no chatter over the comm, and Rainbow felt at peace again as they all dived towards the fort. If intelligence was right, this place would be a knock over, ill-equipped to survive an assault from the sky. As they passed through the cloud layer, Rainbow instantly knew that something was wrong. Blasts of sporadic fire were already lancing into the sky, targeting the falling forms of the Elysians’ who had come through first. Even from this distance, Rainbow could see that some were limp after being struck by shots, and if they weren’t dead already, they would be when they hit the ground. As she watched, the first explosion mushroomed in amongst a falling squad, tearing them apart. It was as if this single shot had opened a flood gate to what felt like the apocalypse to Rainbow, as the sky was suddenly filled with flak, smashing into the drop assault force, scattering or killing them as it came near. Flapping her wings hard, Rainbow avoided flying through a ball of flame, cartwheeling through the air and loosing track of the other Eldar. As small bits of detritus hit her head, the hazes around the force began to disappear, leaving Rainbow to curse as she continued to fall, not knowing what the status of the rest of the force was. “qqqzzzchhh hell is going on?” Came a voice over the radio. “Big fucking mista-arrghh.” Came another one, Rainbow wincing as it was cut off by an explosion. She didn’t need to hear the radio anymore to know what was going on. In human terms, shit had hit the fan. Plunging towards the ground, Rainbow felt her heart race, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she powered towards the ground, flapping her wings hard to get out of this maelstrom of fire and death. This was the first time she had done a drop in live combat, and she was terrified. She knew the fort would be little better, but at least she may be able to fight back. As she neared the halfway point of her fall, she watched as a wing of three Vulture gunships swooped down beneath her, their weapons already spinning up, before they began to spray rounds into the fort far below with reckless abandon. Missiles launched downwards as the Imperials managed to get some fire of their own onto the fort, before they too were snuffed out, swatted from the sky like they were children’s toys, or being driven off and forced to withdraw. They would receive no more help from them now, the force was on its own. Growling, Rainbow tried to raise anyone of the comm, still powering herself downwards, but got back nothing but static. Either something was blocking it, or her helmet had been damaged. Allowing her growl to turn into a roar, Rainbow streaked downwards, finally catching sight of people moving on the ramparts on the fortress. Letting out a screech, Rainbow twisted, spewing grenades onto the parapet, before smashing down into the courtyard below and brining her weapon up, searching for both targets and cover. Firing a single shot, Rainbow struggled to hear anything over the ungodly sound of the flak still firing, before diving behind a row of barrels, and coming face to face with a human, thankfully garbed in the armour of the Elysian Drop troopers. “What the fuck?!” He yelled, firing blindly over the barrels. “No idea!” Rainbow roared back, taking an aimed shot and striking a human in his chest, causing him to fault. “I thought this was supposed to be easy!” “It w-arrgghh.” The man screamed, a bullet smashing into his chest and causing him to skid backwards. He groaned for a second, before more shots peppered him, forever silencing him. Growling, Rainbow dived away from the corpse, rolling before bringing her weapon up and pumping lasers into the general vicinity of where the shots had come from, before diving back behind a pile of sand bags. Leaning against them, Rainbow sought to catch her breath, trying hard to control her fear. Whatever was happening here, she did not think they were winning. Getting up to fire again, Rainbow heard a crash behind her, and looked to see the wall that had been there a second ago simply vanish, leaving nothing but swirling dust in its wake. As she peered into the murky darkness, she saw a figure moving forward, and did a double take. It was huge, easily head and shoulders above Celestia, maybe even taller than Discord. Whatever it was, it looked like a human, but was armoured completely differently. She couldn’t make out much, but she could see a huge pack on its back, as well as the yellow and black hazard stripes painted on its shoulder pads. Seeing it raising its weapon brought Rainbow back to her senses, and she dived backwards, hoping to get away from whatever the hell that thing was. A loud crack cut through the sound of the battle. Rainbow felt a pain unlike any other seer through her right rear leg and wing, falling to the floor. As she floundered about like a fish out of water, trying desperately to find her voice, or hell, even breath, she watched as the figure stepped out of the dust, flanked by two more identical warriors and begin to fire, before the shock and the pain made her pass out.