It was serene. There wasn't another soul for what must've been miles, just grass and hills as far as the eye could see. Tall blades rose out of the ground. After spending my whole life in cities, it was strange to actually be able to see dirt. There we no buildings, no walls, and no ponies. Why couldn't every place be like this? Everypony would be so happy, and we wouldn't have to worry about having enough of anything. It would be paradise.
Around that thought was when the shutters lifted, and the Commandant came over the intercom. "Pilots, grab your sea bags and prepare for departure. The shuttle to Angel City is leaving in 10 minutes." Now all I could see was the rest of the IMC fleet orbiting over the planet below. Angel City was down there, where my new life as a pilot would begin. This was the frontier.
The Shuttle Bay was alive with military grunts and sailors, preparing the dropships for missions and travel. They weren’t nothing special. It was actually kind of funny to see them marching around in columns, drilling with their rifles as the sergeants called out orders. I chuckled every time I saw them. The worked so hard to appear strong, and yet pilots were they ones people feared.
My destination was the shuttle at the end of the hangar. It was tiny compared to the rest of the dropships, barely big enough for 6 ponies and a coxswain. Around it sat the four other pilots, waiting for me to show up I’d assumed.
“There she is. Get hypnotized by the shutters again?”
Of course I had, but I wasn’t about to let eery pony else no that. It may have been the worst kept secret on the ship, but it was still my secret. “The Constellation is a big ship. Just took me a while to get down here is all.” It was my worst attempt at a lie and they all knew it. Whatever. I did like the scenery, even if it probably didn’t exist. “Where’s the Commandant?”
With my perfectly timed remark, I heard the distinct rhythm of 3 hooves and a prosthetic approach me from behind. I turned to see the gruff leader of our squad, face scarred and battered from experience. We never could get the old crone to tell us what exactly happened to put him in such a state. That was the best kept secret on the ship.
“Seems like you’re all here,” His voice was as rough as his face, which was comforting in a strange sort of way. “but just to keep the adjutant happy, I’ll be taking roll. Meteor Shower,” The pony who greeted me called out in response. He didn’t seem to care that we were being delayed by roll call, but then again, he never seemed to care much about anything.
“Snow Drift,”
A pure white mare raised a hoof into the air. She was a mute, which might have disqualified her as a pilot were she not so skilled in a simulator. Our interfaces had FaceCom, so it wasn’t a huge detriment. In all honesty, she was probably the most skilled runner out of the six of us.
“Jump Jet,”
A very young stallion called out so that everyone in the hangar heard. He was very young for a pilot, some 3 years my junior, but he was unbelievable with a rifle. I’d actually been somewhat worried about him. Being so young, I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to fight how he would need to. There was only one way to test that theory, though.
“Angel Dust”
A blue eyed, blue coated mare sounded off. Of the five of us, she seemed least likely to actually be a pilot. She was more worried about the polish on her visor than actually working the thing. Not that it would mean that much in combat. She was nice and comfy inside her Ogre.
“Summer Solstice.”
That was me. I sounded off as the Commandant filled out the last of the paperwork, promptly shoving the finished stack at his aid. “Good. You all will be leaving soon, so I will only tell you the one thing you need to know about the frontier.”
We all turned to face the Commandant. Jump Jet even leaned in. he could be any more boyish if he tried. “Everyone down there is out to get you. The Militia have a lot of loyalty among the populace, so don’t trust anyone. If your left behind by an evac, you might as well be dead. Clear?”
We all nodded in sync. With that, he left us to load up the shuttle and prepare to depart. “I don’t see why the ponies down there don’t like us. Those militia are such brutes from what I’ve heard.” Angel Dust was always very vocal about her thoughts. When we first met back on earth, the first thing she’d ever said to me was that I needed a new jumpsuit, since mine had a drop of lubricant on it.
Just because Angel was being herself, Meteor wanted to disagree with her. “What could they possibly do to us? All of their equipment is antique. None of their titans are from this decade. They might as well be throwing rocks.” For someone so laid back, he was awful full of himself. Meteor was dependable enough to work with, but every other time he was just a lazy pain in the flank.
“They won’t even see us comin’!” Jump Jet expressed his usual youthful exuberance. “They’ll be sorry they ever badmouthed the IMC!”
I’d heard a lot about the militia, we all had. Stories would make their way back to earth about cities being cut off from the rest of civilization, effectively blacked out. If you were caught in their advance, that was game over. Some ponies would say that they would make outposts disappear completely, like they’d never existed at all.
I never believed any of it. They were ponies just like us. And while they may not be as wealthy as those living under the IMC, their pilots were no less capable. If what the Commandant had said was true, then come hell or high water I would always be the first on that dropship.