Chapter 1: The Prototype
"My name is Lyra. Lieutenant Lyra Melody Locke I am a White British girl with Black hair and blue eyes. i was born in Chester hospital on the 14th September 1997 and in 2024 The impossible happened to me and my Old friends who followed me from school into the Royal marines. This is my story."
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I was walking to my mission briefing when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw my friend Corporal Nathan Hughes. His armour was covered in desert sand and he still had all his equipment on, so he must have been on an IED disarming mission, He called to me again.
“Hey Lyra, Wait up!” he called running past a squad of SAS troopers and running over to me.
“It’s Lieutenant to you, when I feel like being a hard ass.” I said and he chuckled.
“Well just so you know Jordan will be joining us on our mission later today, whatever that may be.” He said calmly.
“We’re taking your brother Nathan?” I thought about it for a second “He’s only just got shipped out here and we’re already taking him with us. I’m pretty sure Jordan is going to be shot. I know he has the basic skill and training but no experience and I don’t want him hurt under my command.” I said this with a worried look burned into my face.
“Don’t worry I’ll look after the little rookie.” Nathan said with a smirk.
I shook my head and started walking to the command tent to find out what we are actually doing out in the field. The tent was the biggest in the base. As uninteresting as the base looks from the outside, inside was very packed with British soldiers getting ready to take the fight back to the Taliban for what they have done in the London bombings last week after the death of Osama Bin Laden.
I entered first and was met with the sight of seeing my CO talking with Jordan and Kieran. Peter wasn’t there yet. They stopped talking when Nathan walked in behind me.
“Ah, Lieutenant Locke, good you’re here, now we are just waiting for Lance Corporal Meeks. Then we can get started.”
It took another 5 minutes for Peter to arrive “Sorry, sir. I just heard I was wanted!” he had exclaimed when he ran though the tent door.
“It’s ok son, now we can get to work.” He said as he went to the table in the middle of the room and picked up a dossier. “Here, this contains the Mission and its purpose.” He said handing me the file.
I opened it and read the mission briefing. Apparently I am the best pilot around here and am needed to take the brand new chopper for a test bombing on a Taliban base. The chopper is made of new alloys and doesn’t need fuel, only electricity. It is lighter and more resilient than any other military helicopters ever seen before it.
“Sir, this chopper sounds impossible. The choppers need fuel to get the blades moving fast enough, are you really telling me they have a device capable of turning those blades the correct speed for flight, running only on electricity!?”
He looked at me, a knowing smile plastered on his face.
“I said the same thing to the Officers who gave me the dossier too.” He said Chuckling.
30 minutes later we were all in the hanger, unveiling the new chopper. It was beautiful, a standard desert camouflage, it was rounded and had a futuristic look to it, large passenger area and some solar panels on the top it was the best chopper I have ever seen. It was fantastic and surprisingly light. Just the 6 of us Me, Nathan, Jordan, Peter, Kieran and my CO could lift it over our heads.
“Damn! I have never been able to lift a helicopter by hand before!” I laughed as we put it back down.
Kieran, who was feeling very proud of himself, asked. “So when do we leave?”
I answered first: “5 minutes. I need to do a run of the engines, fly it over the base once or twice for a comfort run. And then we load up and go.”
As I finished speaking, I got in the cockpit and put my helmet on, hit the on button and watched all the lights come to life. After a 3 second check to see if there were any problems, I took the stick and quickly rose into the air, it was incredibly smooth flying. It took me less than a minute to get used to flying it. 'Best fucking heli I have ever flown in my bloody life.' I thought as I started to make my descent back to the Helipad. After the landing, I got out and started loading some supplies. We packed some guns, ammo, food, water, medical supplies and some powerful radios for our use, if we are shot down out there. This thing has thick armour, but there is a possibility we will be shot down.
Peter came up to me and asked “Where are we actually going to attack?” after roughly 10 seconds I turned around to face him.
“Northern mountain base, there are about 235 identified Taliban assholes sitting in that pile of shitty rocks, so we’re going to blow them into goo and then come back here and probably get a drink.” I said honestly.
He stared at me before chuckling “I have never ever understood you and never will.” he said shaking his head, still smiling.
I responded by pulling his hat over his eyes and continuing to pack the helicopter. Another 5 minutes later I was back in the chopper getting ready to fly.
“COME ON!” I shouted as Nathan and Jordan Climbed in.
Peter and Kieran arrived a few seconds later singing to ‘Discord’.
“YES! Keep singing that!” I shouted and hit the start button. My CO and a few British and American Army boys came to see us off.
The Americans had arrived 30 minutes earlier with wounded that couldn’t get a CAS EVAC in time so the British army evacuated them as we were already close.
After I Rose us into the air and towards our destination. We had been in the air about 10 minutes in silence. That was interrupted by Kieran behind me though.
“Ok, let’s get this straight. We’re going to fly over this place and then bomb the living daylights out of the shithole!” Kieran shouted over the noise of the blades and cocking his assault rifle.
“Maybe.” Nathan said, crossing his eyes, making Peter and Jordan Laugh.
We passed over some mountains when suddenly the entire helicopter started shaking all over, the sudden turbulence instantly silencing everyone aboard, and after a few seconds of shaking the blades started to slow down and we started to plummet.
“OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!” I screamed trying to get control of the chopper. “NATHAN I BLAME YOU FOR THIS!” I shouted Pointing at him with my free hand.
“WHY ME!” he shouted back as Kieran was holding the door next to him screaming like a little girl.
“EVERYTHING EVER THAT GOES WRONG FOR ME IS YOUR FUALT!” I shouted as the ground was now meters away. We all braced ourselves for our inevitable fate.
There was no explosion. After 5 seconds of silence I opened my eyes and was surprised to see what I saw. It looked like a piece of shit and was burned like hell and covered in multiple pinkish clouds but I could recognise it, it looked. Jordan climbed over the turned over ammo case and looked out the window.
“HOLY SHIT! IS THAT CANTERLOT!” He looked at me in surprise.
I turned around and saw the others looking at me too. Nathan was smiling at hearing that name, Peter Scowling with hate for the city and its bureaucratic B.S, Jordan sad and Kieran looking with a blank look, his eyes twitching every few seconds because the impossible had just happened.
“Well, didn’t expect that.” I said looking at the city again.
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POV: Watcher.
I looked over at the strange Enclave sky carriage to see what they were doing down on the surface when one of the ‘Ponies’ stepped out of the vehicle and looked around
“Hmmm, I wonder how much taint that mare took in to look like that. no wonder they left the clouds.” I said then began my approach.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L
Lyra. Nathan. Jordan. Peter. Kieran.
Strength: 6 4 5 9 4
Perception: 7 5 6 7 8
Endurance: 6 5 5 9 4
Charisma: 7 8 6 6 4
Intelligence: 6 4 5 5 6
Agility: 8 6 4 4 3
Luck: 6 3 9 5 9