//------------------------------// // Boneyard // Story: The Descent into Madness // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash Rainbow let out a hiss of pain as her helmet lens adjusted to the harsh sunlight that was streaming into them, quickly darkening in response to the conditions and allowing Rainbow to look out at their landing area. She sighed as she saw Hannibal, a tear threatening to spring to her eye. She hated what had happened on this world, and the losses that she suffered on it, but that was of little consequence to her anymore, and she couldn’t allow it to affect her mission. “Swooping Pegasi! Sound off!” Rainbow called out, activating her helmet comm to make sure they heard her across the barren world. “Spitfire reporting in Exarch.” “Gilda here, I copy.” “I’m here too,” Lightning chipped in, her voice sounding weaker than normal. “Scoots checking in.” “Wavechill reporting in, team reports five by five, we’re all here.” “Good,” Rainbow nodded, twisting to check over her warriors and watching as Lightning clutched her stomach. “Lightning? What’s the matter with you?” Lightning didn’t respond, instead jumping from her Jetbike and tugging her helmet off. A split second later, she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor, retching she tried to get around the feeling that was building up in her stomach. “That’s it Lightning, get it all out,” Rainbow sighed, jumping from her bike and moving towards the stricken Pegasus. “Can’t handle a bit of transdimensional jumping?” Spitfire scoffed, taking her own helmet off. “With all due respect, screw you Spitfire,” Lightning groaned, retching again, before looking up at Rainbow and smiling crookedly. “Stop it, both of you,” Rainbow warned. “Take your helmets off, we’ll recover for a few moments before moving on.” The others nodded, pulling their helmets off and sliding from their Jetbikes to stand beside Rainbow and Lightning. “So this is Hannibal?” Wavechill asked as he looked around. “The same planet I landed on when I first came here, yeah,” Rainbow nodded slowly. “Are you ok Dash?” Gilda asked softly, placing a wing on Rainbow's back. “Yeah G, I’m fine,” Rainbow sighed. “Just a lot of memories is all. Still, it won’t affect what we do.” “And what are we going to do?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow pondered for a moment, before coming up with a plan. “Prep you bikes, I want to check them all over and make sure they all survived the journey properly. See to your personal wargear as well, I want everypony to be ready if we get jumped.” “I thought you said this was a dead world,” Scootaloo pointed out, walking back towards her Jetbike. “Don’t remind me,” Rainbow sighed, checking her own bike. “But a dead world doesn’t mean dead inhabitants. The Tyranids could survive here, the Mechanicus can. I don’t want surprises.” “Makes a change,” Gilda muttered with a smirk. “I remember when you were all about surprises back at Flight Camp.” “And I remember when you were cool,” Rainbow shot back with her own smirk. “Yeah, I bet you do,” Gilda chuckled. Rainbow rolled her eyes, turning away from the Griffon as she got back to looking over her bike, the red glow of the setting sun helping to mask the slight blush upon her cheeks. For a few minutes, the team was silent, each member checking over their bikes and weapons, making sure that the teleportation hadn’t broken or damaged them. Eventually, Rainbow had finished the checks on her own bike, all systems showing up green as she ran a final systems diagnostic, before turning back to the others and walking towards Lightning and Wavechill. The stallion had already finished checking his bike, completing the checks even faster than Rainbow herself, and had already moved onto helping Lightning. If there was a member of the team that understood Arc-Tech as well as Rainbow, it was him, and he often was the one to repair the rest of the team’s equipment if it ever got broken in the field. It was odd that after he had revealed this particular talent, Lightning’s gear had been getting more and more ‘malfunctions’. Smiling slightly, Rainbow passed the pair by, knowing that Wavechill would ensure both machines were working at optimum capacity, heading instead towards Spitfire. Her idol being on the team had never quite felt natural to Rainbow, and even after all this time, Rainbow still wasn’t one hundred percent used to the idea of being in command of her. “Oh come on!” Spitfire shouted suddenly, giving her bike a solid kick. “You realise that won’t help fix it yeah?” Wavechill quipped. “I think it helps,” Spitfire grumbled, kicking her bike again. “Bucking technology.” “Already Spitfire, what’s the problem this time?” Rainbow sighed, standing beside Spitfire. “The port side stabiliser isn’t operating properly, and the engine is seizing slightly at around ninety percent power.” Rainbow nodded, running a hoof along Spitfire’s bike as she walked around to the offending stabiliser. Like her weapon, Spitfire’s bike was unique, designed for her exact needs by some of the best egg-heads in the Canterlot R&R department. Extra stabilisers, a new fin design, and smoother engines all came together to provide the most stable firing position possible for the sniper, at the expense of speed and ride bumpiness. The one time Rainbow had ridden Spitfire's bike, she could have been forgiven for believing she was just flying, rather than riding. Suffice to say, it took all the fun out of the ride, and Rainbow hadn’t used Spitfire's bike since. “Yeah, the secondary intake cluster is misaligned,” Rainbow pointed out, looking at a small collection of nozzles on the side of the stabiliser. “Run the realignment program, setting Gamma. It will sort it out.” “And the engine?” Spitfire asked. “Just some dust and small rocks is all,” Rainbow shrugged. “You could clear it out by hoof, but a real full burn as opposed to a simulated one should clear it out.” Spitfire nodded, working on the bike and doing what Rainbow had told her to do as Rainbow walked towards Scootaloo, the young Pegasus flitting around her bike as she checked everything was working on her own labour of love. Scootaloo’s bike had originally been designed to the same standard specifications as Lightning’s’ and Wavechill’s, but that had been before she’d had been tinkering on it for three years. The bike had undergone a lot of modifications since she had got it, ranging from a larger engine to the multitude of extra thruster nozzles dotted around the bike, all capable of drawing power from the engine and propelling the bike in a completely different direction. Those were minor compared to the main one on the bike however, and the one that had impressed everypony when she’d unveiled it. The modification had stemmed from the grav-module that Rainbow had given Scootaloo when she had first returned to Equestria. Scootaloo had gotten used to it, but when she’d joined the team, it had been too exposed to attack, and after months of weighing up the options, she had undergone surgery to insert it sub-dermaly in between the bones where her wings met her spine. That hadn’t been enough for her however, and after she had got the bike, she had travelled to Canterlot with a request for Twilight herself. It was amazing just what Twilight could do when it came to Arc-Tech and advanced spell-weaving, allowing Scootaloo’s grav-generator to sync with her Jetbike perfectly. It wasn’t true artificial intelligence, but it was certainly closer than any of the others had, and her Jetbike had almost taken on a rudimentary personality of its own, albeit one at the level of an animal rather than a pony. “How’s the bike?” Rainbow smirked. “She’s doing great,” Scootaloo beamed, stopping her mad dash around her bike and staring at Rainbow. As she spoke, the bike flared into life, seemingly supporting what Scootaloo had said. “Good, just make sure to keep ‘her’ operational,” Rainbow smiled, patting Scootaloo on the head. “Remember, it’s a bike, it can be fixed up, but if it’s not working, then your pet will get you killed.” “Yeah, I know,” Scootaloo nodded. “But if she does, she’ll get me killed in an awesome way.” Rainbow chuckled, rolling her eyes at the energetic Pegasus’s attitude, before moving on to check on the final member of the team. Gilda was without doubt the most laid back member of the team, never acting as if she really wanted to be here, and certainly never bothering with what she called ‘boring professionalism’. Rainbow knew though that beneath all of the cavalier attitude, Gilda did actually enjoy being on the team. “How’s the tank?” Rainbow asked, tapping Gilda’s back. “It’s fine Dash,” Gilda nodded. "Everything’s working as far as I can tell, just need to run some actual checks." Rainbow nodded as she watched Gilda climb onto the bike and start it up, her talons making using the bikes controls much easier for her than hooves did. Like Spitfire’s bike, Gilda’s had been designed specifically for her, mostly due to her sheer size compared to the rest of the Pegasi on the team, but also due to her preference to get herself into the most dangerous situations possible on any battlefield she found. The main difference came from the extra armour on the bike, just like her aspect armour, able to take punishment that would have wrecked other bikes five times over. Coupled with the retractable blast shields that could cover the pilot and protect her from fire, albeit it's at the expense of some visibility, Gilda’s bike truly was more of a human weapon than an Eldar one. Eldar believed the best way to survive an attack was to simply not be there when it landed, using speed as their biggest defence, while humans made sure to slap as much armour on their vehicles as was physically possible. Both had their merits and short falls, and as long as Gilda could continue to keep up with the others at travel speed, Rainbow wasn’t going to complain. “Everything good G?” Rainbow asked as the blast shields lowered, allowing Gilda to slide off her bike. “Everything’s working Dash,” Gilda nodded. “We have a plan of action?” “Kind of,” Rainbow replied, before turning to face Wavechill and Lightning. “Wavechill?! How are Lightning’s and your bike looking?” “Solid, kind of like flying bikes,” Wavechill shot back with a goofy grin. “Are they working?” Rainbow reiterated with a groan at his attitude. “Yes, they’re both working,” he nodded. “Personal wargear too.” “Good, gather in then,” Rainbow called, the team gathering around her. “Alright, here’s the plan. Applejack has maybe a day on us in terms of how long she’d been here. Food’s short, she’d know that she’d have to find some, so she’d have walked off somewhere. We need to spread out and find her, as well as figuring out a way off this planet.” “Ideas then?” Lightning asked. “Wavechill, Scootaloo, I want you to scan the west and north from this position, no more than fifty miles out, Gilda, Spitfire, I want you to do the same on the east and south. Check for footprints or any signs of life. I don’t know how much drift this kind of teleportation has, but if it’s more than fifty miles, we’ll need to get a proper search pattern up and running.” “And you and Lightning?” Spitfire asked. “I don’t want Lightning flying just yet, and I’ll stay with here till you return, we’ll work on getting a beacon up and running. With any luck there will be some Rangers or Corsairs that we can contact,” Rainbow replied. “And don’t engage any enemy’s you find, the Mechanicus were here, and for all I know, there could still be the odd Tyranid roaming around here. If you see anything, return and signal the others. Understand?” “Don’t worry Exarch, we’re not all as reckless as you,” Spitfire smirked. “True,” Rainbow chuckled. “Still, get to it.” The others nodded, slipping their helmets back on and hopping onto their bikes once more. Rainbow watched with a smile as they sped off, before Lightning let out a soft cough to draw her attention. “Why didn’t you allow me to go?” Lightning asked pointedly. “Like I said to Spitfire, you just threw up, I don’t want you flying straight away ok?” Rainbow replied simply. “Oh come on, it was a bit of sick, but I’m fine,” Lightning defended herself, her wings flaring slightly. “Possibly, but I’m not risking it while we don’t have access to outside medical support or a friendly population. Plus I need some help setting up the beacon.” “I didn’t even know you had a beacon, let alone how to set it up,” Lightning grumbled, before pointing after Wavechill and Scootaloo. “I want to be out there with Wav…with the team.” “With the team huh?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’ll get your chance Lightning, I promise you that, but not yet, that’s an order.” “Fine,” Lightning grunted, turning back to her Jetbike and looking over it. “Tell me if you need help, otherwise I’ll be working on this.” Rainbow sighed at Lightning, remembering just how difficult she could be, as well as how stubborn she still was, before turning back to her own bike, looking for the parts she had brought along for the beacon. It wasn’t going to be pretty, nor was it going to be very effective or long range, but it may just be able to reach an Eldar ear. All Rainbow had to do was remember Eldar emergency signal wavelengths, and make sure that it would be hidden to meddlesome humans. The minutes ticked by, both Pegasi engrossed in their work as they tinkered on the machines, before Rainbow's ears suddenly stood straight up. She was instantly alert, straining to hear anything that could be a threat to her. Lightning didn’t miss the signs, and walked towards Rainbow. “What’s wrong?” she asked, standing beside Rainbow and looking out across the rough terrain of the planet. “Shh,” Rainbow whispered softly. “But…” Shh,” Rainbow repeated, more forcefully this time, before slipping her helmet on. “Weapons, now.” “I don’t…” “Just do it,” Rainbow hissed, picking up her own weapon and creeping towards her Jetbike. She rested her rifle across the saddle of her Jetbike as her ears began to pick out a soft hum in the distance. Activating her helmet comm, Rainbow opened a channel to the rest of the team. “Guys, back to my position now, unknown bogey closing in now.” “Hostile?” Gilda asked. “On this planet? Probably,” Rainbow hissed, before allowing the helmet comm to go dead as the hum turned into a low rumble. “Lightning? You ready?” “What are we facing?” Lightning asked, her rifle readied like Rainbow’s. Lightning’s question was answered before Rainbow could even open her mouth as an shot rang out, impacting the dirt just in front of Rainbow's bike as ten vehicles loped towards the pair. Each one was propelled forward by two long back-jointed legs, their open cockpits allowing Rainbow to see a single human at the controls of each one. “Scout Sentinels!” Rainbow roared, snapping off a shot as she ducked a blast from yet another one of the machines heavy bolters, the shell mercifully flying high. “Lightning, get airborne now!” Rainbow didn’t wait to see if Lightning was following the orders as she jumped on her own bike, speeding into the air as more shells tore up the ground where she had been a moment before, the pilots finally finding their range mark. “What are those things?!” Lightning roared, flying next to Rainbow. “Imperial Scout Sentinels,” Rainbow grunted. “They’ll be the first wave, we could have armoured ones inbound any second. Keep clear of their weapons and aim for the pilots.” Lightning nodded, before rolling her bike over and diving towards the vehicles, spinning as she avoided the shots firing up at the pair. Rainbow followed behind Lightning, her bikes weapon spitting out shurikens as she went, the micro-disks slicing into the armour of the sentinels. More than one pilot cried out as they were hit, but none of them dropped from the inaccurate fire, and Rainbow quickly shot past, banking hard as she looked out the way the sentinels had come from, seeing more dust clouds rising as yet more vehicles approached. “Lightning! We’ve got more incoming, watch for additional fire!” Rainbow roared, before speeding beneath one of the sentinels, grasping her sword in both hooves and hacking at the walker’s legs. They were too thick for her to slice through completely, but the hydraulics cables weren’t, and the machine came to a grinding halt, before pitching forward at its gyro stabilisers failed. “Where are the others?!” Lightning roared, dodging yet more fire. Even as she spoke, one of the sentinels exploded as a bulky Jetbike slammed into its back, the thin armour offering it no protection against Gilda’s bikes mass. Even as the vehicle exploded, another ground to a halt, the pilot’s head suddenly containing more metal than was healthy as Spitfire cycled the bolt on her rifle, lining up another shot. “Nice of you to drop by,” Rainbow quipped, spinning away from a gout of flame. “Where are the others?” “Eta fifty seconds,” Wavechill replied over the comms. Heads up, looks like you’ve got more inbound.” “What sort of things?” Rainbow asked as a shot rang out, pinging off the armour of a Sentinel. “Look like some weird metal boxes, five in total, tiny turrets on the top, possible troop carriers.” “Their hiding in metal boxes!” Gilda roared, her weapons roaring with her, a vehicle exploding in reply. “WE should take away their precious boxes!” “Don’t get cocky, they’ll be Chimera!” Rainbow roared. “Transports, a squad in each. Fifty Guardsmen may actually be able to do something!” Rainbow banked round again, her weapons roaring in conjunction with Lightning’s as the pair sped towards a Sentinel, the pilot within shuddering as his body was peppered with laser blasts and shuriken. Against the scout sentinels, they could easily win, but with the arriving Chimera, Rainbow didn’t rate their chances nearly as high. “We need to withdraw,” Spitfire seemed calm as she put a shot between the eyes of a Guardsman as he exited the Chimera. “As soon as the others get here,” Rainbow agreed. “Like hell!” Lightning grunted, swooping low over the heads of the Guardsmen. “We’re winning.” “For now,” Rainbow replied. “Watch your heads,” Wavechill shouted as he let out a burst of fire, Scootaloo flying beside him. Unlike the rest of the team, Scootaloo didn’t sit on her bike, insisting that the hoof locks were good enough to allow her to stand up, while her modifications allowed her to still steer her bike, allowing her to get a better shot with her weapon. Without a moment’s hesitation, Scootaloo opened fire, peppering the Chimeras with heavy laser fire, sending the men scurrying for cover. Another shot rang out, taking the head off a Sergeant, followed quickly by another solid shot, and another. “Spitfire! What’s going on?!” Rainbow roared as three of the remaining Sentinels ground to a halt, their pilots dead. “That’s not me,” she replied, before taking another shot, forcing the final Sentinel to grind to a halt, no long able to move without a living pilot. “It was us,” a voice came over the communicator in Rainbow's helmet. “Identify yourself now,” Rainbow quipped, the team forming up behind her as they banked over the Guardsmen, raining shots down on them and dodging the return fire. “Ranger Yeria, affiliated with Saim-Hann Rainbow Dash, my team and I are set up one mile west of your position. Please hurry, I wish to be gone from this place.” The helmet comm went dead, and Rainbow turned towards the general direction Yeria had said, watching as five tiny flashes preceded five deadly accurate shots. “Come on, we’ve got reinforcements, let’s take them down!” Gilda roared, her heavy weapons firing at a Chimera, punching a hole through its armour. “No! There are too many, we’re linking up with the Rangers and leaving,” Rainbow retorted. “What about Applejack?” Scootaloo asked. “If she’s here, the Rangers will know more, if not, then we need to get to Saim-Hann anyway. Now form up on me and let’s go.” The team quickly complied with her orders, although Rainbow could hear Gilda’s grumbling about retreating, forming up behind her as they sped away from the humans. The occasional shot came near them, but the range was now far too great from the Guardsmen, and the shots that did get through barely did more than cause the paint on the team’s bikes and armour to blister slightly. “Ranger Yeria, please confirm your position,” Rainbow called over the comm. “Drop to the deck, continue on current heading for ten seconds then turn five degrees portside, you’ll see us.” Rainbow didn’t question the orders, complying with them, and quickly catching sight of a small shimmering patch of light in the distance. It didn’t take them long to reach it, and the six jetbikes touched down, facing the five Rangers. “Rainbow Dash?” one of the Rangers asked, his face almost completely covered by his cloak. “I am Yeria, it is an honour to meet you.” “Why are you here?” Rainbow asked, casting a quick glance over her shoulder to check that no humans had followed them. “We received word from the farseers of Saim-Hann that a disturbance on Hannibal was about to return. We were asked to investigate. Please, here is not the place to discuss such matters. If you would follow me and my team into the Webway.” Yeria turned and quickly walked towards the glowing light, stepping through and disappearing into the portal. Rainbow began to follow him, only for Gilda to lay a talon on her shoulder. “You sure this is safe Dash?” “They're Eldar, they say they were given a mission from Saim-Hann, and they’re offering us a place off world, I’d say they’re safe,” Rainbow nodded, before grinning beneath her helmet. “Plus, if they’re not, we’ll be close to them, Rangers are long range, we have swords. We’ll be fine.” With that, Rainbow followed Yeria into the portal, the rest of the team following her lead and entering the webway once more.