//------------------------------// // Battle stations // Story: Chassis // by LoosePartyCannon //------------------------------// I was awoken by the sound of my alarm clock broadcasting today's news about the ongoing war over one of our newer colonies. I slowly rose from my bed and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes with one hand and turned off the alarm clock with my other. I stood up and walked to my closet and pulled out my uniform. A white undershirt, brown jacket with armor plating, black jeans and work boots. With that done I walked into the bathroom, splashed some water into my face and brushed my teeth. I could barely see myself in the poorly lit room but I could still make myself out. I was tall at six feet and had a well toned figure, years of training will do that to you. I had blue eyes which glowed thanks to neural implants and bright red hair tied back into a ponytail with my fringe falling down the right side of my face covering most of my external enhancement.Compared to most agents I still had most of my facial features left unchanged after surgery. My high cheekbones, slim face and freckles were still there, personally I wish they had gotten rid of the small amount of freckles I had. I also have a few scars on my face that never healed but they were small and hard to notice. I was twenty five years old but thanks to the wonders of augmentation and modern science I looked eighteen. Finished with washing up I left the small closet I call my room and walked out into the hallway of the RADC Frigate Phantom. As I made my way down the white and grey hallways passing by other soldiers or officers I pulled out my PDA and went through my messages. Turns out I was going to have to work over time today, some rookie in our Squadron wanted to play the action hero and banged up his Chassis. Fucking rookies make my life hell. We all have to help this asshole fix his machine because the new guys don't even know how to fix their own goddamn Chassis. By the time I made it to the mess hall the other soldiers and engineers were pouring in. After I grabbed some of the synthetic crap they called food I made my way to some other pilots and sat with them. I didn't pay them much attention as I was going through my messages and sending reports. "Attention, will Squadron Leader Esther Leonas report to the captain imminently." The mechanical voice from the ship's PA system brought me back to normality. I rose from the table and put the tray on top of one of the bins. Making my way closer to the bridge of the ship the corridors became crowded with officers and machines running around performing their various duties. As I approached the bridge doors I was stopped by two guards, both in the standard grey armored dress uniform. "Sorry ma'am but we must see some ID, Captain’s orders." One of them stated to me. I put my hand into my pocket and handed him my PDA. He looked at it for a few seconds and handed it back to me, when he realized who I was he seemed to stand up a bit taller. "Everything checks out ma'am." He said with a salute as the other guard opened the door. The bridge was a hive of activity with everyone at work, and yelling instructions to each other. It was rare to see the bridge this crowded. I made my way past the rows of computers and terminals to the front of the room. Sitting in a chair surrounded by computers sat the captain. "Sir." I said as he turned around to talk to me. The captain was one of the few aliens to be of such a high rank in a human fleet. The captain was a Raknan, One of the first species humanity encountered. like all Raknan he had scales instead of skin, In his case dark green ones. He had bright orange eyes and was hairless, instead in his old age he had a line of white horns jutting from his head, chipped and damaged over the years. He worn a black dress uniform with an antique M1911 on his hip. "Ah, Esther, just who I was looking for. As you are aware the mission is going smoothly." He told me as he turned to look out the Bridges window. "Yes sir, if all goes well we should have this operation done and dusted by next week. Though I’m assuming you didn't call me up here so I could high five you, Vectis?" I asked informally as I stood next to him and surveyed the endless sky. "No not exactly, but celebrations may be in order." He said with a chuckle. "Why? Did something come up?" I inquired, curious to what he meant. "Look at this." He said as he brought a screen up on his computer."When we were scanning the system before we made the jump the scans were pretty normal; a sun and five planets in orbit. Normal, until we sent out a probe yesterday to check some strange readings that cropped up when we entered the system. What we found is that planet SK.23, the closest to the sun, can sustain live and is a Terran level planet! A planet that close to the sun should be a molten rock yet there it is, oceans and all." He said clearly excited by the discovery. "This is… incredible! I take it the lab rats are foaming at the mouth to study it?" I ask feverishly as I study the lush green planet from the screen. "Yes, in fact I was thinking of sending you and your team with them as security." "Wow that's a bit sudden. I'm up for it but I can't be as sure as to the rest of the guys. When are we leaving?" I tell him. "After relaying this to the boys back at the Armada we've got clearance to extend our post in this system for a mouth so we have time to get a new ground force, though I would feel safer knowing I have a team of Pilots on the ground, especially a team being lead by a friend. As for when they’re going down, we will be in orbit in two days, so you will have plenty of time." He told me with a smile. "Thanks Vec." I smiled back. "Now then, that's all for now. If you wish to talk to me or the scientists you need only send me a message. Dismissed." "Sir." I saluted him and walked out of the bridge barely able to contain my excitement. --Hanger Bay-- "So that's the captains plan. Thoughts? Concerns?" I shouted into my armored helmet as I worked on my Chassis. "Well shit sign me up." "Yeah, I could use some shore leave." "No complaints here." Delta, Tyler and Elizabeth responded along with the the rest of the team. I barely knew most of my team but these three have been in my Squadron since I was its leader. They handle well under fire and I’ve come to rely on them when I’ve need them. Delta was an Avia, birdlike creatures with feathers covering their body. They're adept at aerial combat, being born with wings and an almost supernatural level of speed when needed, so having them on a team is a god send when you train well with them. Delta was young at the age of nineteen and one of the few Avians to join the military either from birth or at a young age. He had white and black feathers and a black, cracked beak with yellow eyes and a blown back styled ‘haircut’. He wore an armored vest with a black undershirt, cargo pants, boots, armored plates around his arms and a red bandanna over his forehead. Tyler was a Human born on the farm world Sandra. He had a dark tan from his days on the farm and a working man accent. He had short black hair, dark brown eyes and was the oldest of the group at twenty seven. He wore a white singlet, black jeans and steel cap boots. The man was a born mechanic and chef, you could usually find him working on his Chassis or cooking something up in the mess hall. Elizabeth was what some people call a Droid, though if you said it to her face you would wake up in the med bay, and what many others called a Cyborg, Augmented or the umbrella term of Hybrid. She was mostly machine with her left leg, half of her face, her right arm and most of her chest being comprised of metal, augmentations, fake skin and wiring. Both of her eyes were replaced by the green orbs that fill the space now and she had no hair, not even eyebrows. No one really knows her story, all we know is her military background and that she sometimes tells people she was born on "a craphole of a planet", but that could be said about a lot of backwater alien colonies. Despite her intimidating appearance and tendency towards violence she was one of the nicest people you could work with once you got on her good side. She doesn't really wear clothes as she had nothing to cover with all the metal having long since repaired the damage done to her body. The rest of the team I have yet to get acquainted with though they’re all rookies; They became Chassis Pilots for the glory and ‘cool factor’ of being behind the controls of a war machine. I finished examining the wires and circuits that connect my Chassis's shoulder to the rest of its body. I removed my hand from the hatch, sealed it and operated the gravity lift to the ground. My Chassis was a beauty. A Mark 12-B Special Operations Class Skirmisher. It stood at twenty feet tall and was made of a super light metal alloy. Skirmishers were the most adaptable Chassis in combat as they are both fast and destructive. The legs of my Chassis were the lightest armored as they needed to be able to move quickly. They were covered in sharp angular metal but at the joint where the leg and thigh of the robot meet there sat a large sharp blade covering the joint. It was my idea, in combat if I was stuck in hand to hand combat or CQC with another Chassis I would jam my knee into the chest of the enemy's chassis and cut the wires and circuits that send power to the legs and severely damage its armor. The arms were similarly shaped like the legs but with more armor and instead of a blade, behind the elbows of the Chassis miniature reactors were embedded into the frame. In emergency situations they can boost power to the limbs to make climbing, which makes carrying or moving obstacles easier and in combat situations the reactors could charge and propel the arm at such a velocity that it can tear through walls of concrete and metal. Unlike most Skirmishers the Special Operations Class had hands instead of arm mounted cannons. They serve as tools and allows use of the Chassis armaments. The chest of the robot was the most heavily armored; In the center of the chest laid the Chassis's reactor. All Chassis, no matter what type, all have a reactor built into their chest or back; they’re self sustaining and can power the Chassis for months on end without recharging or suffering critical damage, though thankfully they can recharge in the field thanks to solar power. The reactors are highly irradiated though and after heavy use they need to vent. Mine can vent in two ways; Through the pipes, small holes and airways built into the back and front of the armor, which takes longer but is safer or by opening the reactors armor and exposing it letting it vent freely but the heat and radiation can kill anything outside of the chassis within ten meters of the reactor and leaves the Chassis vulnerable to heavy arms fire. On the back of the Chassis sat my two main weapons; the H3.22 Vulcan Multi-gun and the Can Opener. The Multi-gun is a four part canon built for the Skirmisher class Chassis. Its painted a forest green color, uses a drum magazine and normal iron sights, though the weapon is bulky, heavy and can crush most vehicles as a club. In its normal stage it looks like a normal auto-rifle, and it is, in that stage the gun had four barrels that rapidly fire searing hot plasma rounds, but it can also change the four small barrels into one huge barrel for the scattergun form. True to its name it shoots fragmented plasma rounds, destructive and fun. Its third stage is the rifle from, the barrel extends and converts the iron sight and handle rail into an adjustable scope. And lastly the railgun; the barrels retract into the gun and it shoots a super charged slug of plasma at the enemy, its known to tear through smaller armored opponents and cause an EMP effect. and the other weapon I carry is the ‘Can Opener’ as the Engineers call it. A giant sword that was retrofitted so that if the blade wasn't enough to tear through a wall of steel then the blades laser cut would. It was ugly and had a blue handle and a steel blade but it got the job done and I had come to rely on it in combat. And the last thing on my back were the Chassis's 'wings'. They looked more like four steel structures sticking out of the back but when in flight the rods light up and blue, the color is strictly aesthetic, bars of light connect two of the metal rods together to form a sort of wing look. The energy propels the Chassis to speeds capable of space travel and up to Mach six on ground. The Helm of the Chassis was covered in armor. The only structurally weak thing on it was the blast proof glass used to look out of the cockpit. The Helm had an angular design with the armored parts sticking out from the sides and pointing down towards the front of the helmet. The glass was heavily fortified from the inside and out so puncturing the helmet was near impossible and at the top of the helmet sat a large metal blade that was angled back a small bit. It was useless in combat and was used to Identify the leader of a squadron. My Chassis was painted White with blue lines and a blue visor. Delta was a Skirmisher like me but his Chassis was a Hunter Class, more specifically the Mark 12-A Harbinger. His was built lighter than mine but packed more weaponry. His armor was similar to mine minus the blades mounted on and the reactors but with more armor on his chassis making it bulkier and less protection needed on the joints and more on the actual arms and legs. Instead he had an arm mounted cannon and another arm mounted scattergun. Anything that the cannon can't kill with the cannon he finishes off with the metal piecing scattergun. On the Chassis shoulders he had mounted two rocket pods and on the back he installed a retractable laser mounted onto another arm. His helmet was shaped more like a beak with the face angled forward and the glass view forming a V shape running up the face. He had painted his black with red V shaped lines running down his chest, arms and legs and a white visor. Tyler was a Scouter, meaning he had the fastest Chassis on the team but had next to no additional armor. His Chassis, the Raven.21 used new designs that had next to no armor, so his Chassis was small in comparison to the others with the armor being very angular and form fitting. On one hand he had a mounted Carbine, its less powerful than the usual chain gun but was more accurate and lethal against smaller vehicles and in the other hand he had an actual hand that was customized so that it could electrocute anything it touched or sent an EMP pulse. On his left shoulder he had a mounted Sniper Rifle and on the other a Radar. The radar boosts his radio signal and made him able to track enemy positions while being able to mask and scramble his signal if he is spotted. Along with the radar he also had a camouflage module built into his back giving him ten minutes of invisibility. He had his Chassis painted with jungle camouflage and a green visor. Elizabeth was the teams Guardian. While us three may be built to favor speed over combat she was the opposite. She had more armor than anyone else giving her Chassis a bulky look. She used an outdated model that she had being constantly refurbishing known as the V.455 Stalker, one of the first Guardian class Chassis built during the war for Earth hundreds of years ago. It had two legs but instead of having blades or armor it had a cannon built into both legs to give a nasty surprise and the thing was built with four arms. On the left side the one arm held a Melter, given its name after the square shaped gun melted an entire gun range, and a auto-rifle. On the right side it had a shotgun built into it and a bolt-gun. The bolt-gun shots bolts of electricity which short circuits anything it goes up against. The helmet was built into the Chest with the reactor built behind it and the roof of the Chassis was occupied with a rocket pod on the left and a plasma rifle on the right. It was ugly, old and should not be able to fly but Elizabeth had somehow turned the centuries year old fossil into a modern day Harbinger of death complete with a flight system. Like most of the old Chassis it never got a paint job so it stayed gun metal gray. All Chassis needed two things to be recognizable on the field if coms are down and radars are jammed; their units emblem and their name. On every Chassis the left arm, chest and right leg have the pilots first name, rank and Chassis class painted on in white , for me its ESTHER-SQUADRON LEADER-SKIRMISHER SPEC OPS-. And on the back of the Chassis, my Units emblem; A black phoenix carrying a knife and scroll in each talon with our motto written underneath: 'Per Ardua Ad Astra' or in English: 'To the stars through difficulties', sounds better in Latin. It used to be the motto of the Royal Australian Air Force but after Humanity banded together and formed the Royal Armada Defense Corps the idea of separate armies protecting different regions became asinine when it would take an army of billions to defend a planet. The Skirmisher Special Operations Task Force adopted the motto twenty years ago when it was formed. At the moment we were all running repairs and diagnostics on our Chassis, the news that we would soon be protecting a team of scientists on an unknown world got us all excited. As I worked the Gravity Lift back to the group and pulled my goggles up to my for head and turned to look at the hangar. The hanger was a hive of activity to say the least. Engineers and pilots repairing tools of war and machines able to raze a city to the ground as sparks of fire and lighting fire off in random directions in a fatal display of mechanical beauty while one floor up the scientists and scholars find new ways to create life as their experiments could be the saving grace that we need. And then I looked out into space through windows lining the bulkhead door. It was beautiful. It’s hard to imagine with all the warfare and horrors we have seen that the universe is such an amazing place, The bright power of the warm sun, the planets painted blue and green and the trillions of stars that shine so brightly. We use these weapons of war to protect the people who invent impossible things to save this beautiful war zone we call home. Meanwhile... It was a cold night as I and my sister stood side by side in the war room as we listened to the reports from the front lines. The griffins were slowly pushing us back and it was estimated they will be at Trottingham within a few months if we can't hold back their numbers. As the night went on we continued to discuss ways we could hold them off, the soldiers we will lose and the innocents that we won't. It was never easy being a Diarch, harder in times of war. It started as an argument with the Griffin King, they needed land and resources as the cold winter had stricken them with a strain on their resources, and if they did not get new farmland within Equestrian soil they may not last the year. We told them we simply had no land to give them as we had given a large portion of it to the Crystal Empire and then the newly crowned Princess Twilight. The news went over badly and tensions grew. The war unofficially began when an unicorn got into a public confrontation with a griffon and then killed him. The griffons demanded blood and they got it, they found where the unicorn lived and burnt his house to the ground. My ponies demanded payback for what they had done to the stallion’s family. Borders closed and in time we grew spiteful. The Griffins came and captured a farm town near the border and the Royal Guards operation to take it back turned into a bloodbath for both sides. The Griffon King declared full scale war on the United Lands of Equestria and the border between the two countries turned into a war zone. That was five years ago, and slowly the war had gotten worse. Frontier towns raided, Griffin Tribes slaughtered and with tensions brewing with the other nations there is talk that the other nations can no longer stand on the sidelines. By the time the reports had ended and the new plans were put into place I felt exhausted and melancholy. "Another failed operation, will this war never end?" I muttered with a sigh as my sister and I walked down one of the many hallways of the gleaming Canterlot Castle. The sun had set hours ago and I was feeling the effects. “Sister, you and I both know that we are on even ground with the Griffins, they can't advance as long as we hold Rockfall Ridge, and it is firmly in our hands." Luna said to me in a reassuring voice as she put a hand on my shoulder. "It's been a long day, try and get some sleep, that's an order." Luna told me in a mock demanding tone. I chuckled and hugged her lovingly. "You worry about me too much sister." "That's because you're too busy worrying about everyone else." She said as she returned the hug. I broke the hug and walked into my bedroom. We said our goodbyes as I closed the door behind me. She was not wrong. Since the war had begun I had slowly started getting more and more worried about my subjects. I fear that if the war continues the casualties will be the highest in recorded history, but with the slow decline of enlistment I may have to reinstate the old laws of conscription. As harsh as it may be it is necessary, but it will cause a public uproar. We are facing something not seen in Equestria since the Lunar Rebellion, and I’m afraid. Sighing, I went into my bathroom to have a warm shower to calm my nerves and plan. When I was done I dried myself with my magic, went to my closet and pulled out my sleepwear. Though they may seem childish compared to what other ponies would wear I decided to wear a shirt with a picture of the sun and some comfy pants. Before I went to bed I walked out onto the balcony and looked over my land. It had changed over the years from the picturesque beauty of a regal city to the firm presence of a stronghold. Ponies could be seen patrolling the city walls and flying overhead, the homeless littered the backstreets and alleys, many displaced by taxes or loss of their homes and businesses that had gone under because of the increase in crime. With each day the tension between the nobles and the common pony grew and the clouds of smoke billowing from the factories obscure some of the night sky. Canterlot had changed but it was for the better, no longer can we live in ignorance of the world around us. As I looked up into the jeweled sky, I simply stared for a while, captivated by the beauty my sister shared with the world. For a while things seemed normal until I saw what looked like a blue star moving. It was too slow to be a shooting star but too bright to be an asteroid or some other form of extraterrestrial waste. I simply told myself that I would ask my sister in the morning about it. I walked back into my bedroom and crawled into my bed, lulled to sleep by the sound of my own heartbeat. My name is Celestia, Raiser of the sun, sister to Luna, and the leader of the Royal Equestrian Army, and I was scared that by the end of this war there will be no Equestria left to save, for it has changed from the land of harmony I have tried to make it into a war torn hell. Two days later Esther RADC Phantom I was awoken to the sound of sirens and the thunder of armored feet banging against the steel ground, I knew what this meant; A Rift was detected. Which meant that soon a fleet of Marauders would be heading our way. Marauder is the name the first contact victims gave them, pretty fitting if you ask me. They find a colonized world and they descend on it, killing everything in their way. Those they don't kill become slaves, food or a Marauder though mental and physical torture and the plague they bring. In the beginning when they made contact with Earth we were fucked. Our weapons weren't strong enough to pierce their ships shields, as a result the fighting was one sided as they bombed our cities from orbit. But over time we invented, retrofitted and stole enough technology to invent ships fast enough to dodge them, guns strong enough to pierce their armor and recruit men and women hateful enough to never back down from a fight. Soon we found other Species that had been invaded or fighting back and soon we had armadas that were enough to take the fight to their planets. They call it the Marauder Retaliation and we won that particular war many millennias ago, now all that's left of them are small raiding parties that go after frontier planets. They’re monsters, all of them. You can't reason with them, they don't show mercy, and wherever they go they spread a disease that kills and infects anything it comes into contact with. Everyone in the army has a bone to pick with them, so as you can imagine the sound of a siren going off is enough to get everyone to their stations. I ran down the hallways in my usual getup back to the hanger. every single pilot was scrambling to get to their fighter, Chassis or bomber. Delta, Tyler and Elizabeth and the rest of the team were already getting prepared in the armory. I ran after them and got everything I would need from the armory. The armory was a hive of activity. The dim blue lighting from the ceiling and walls showed men and women grabbing guns and armour from their small, secured lockers built into the walls or activating their specialized equipment whether it be a mechanized suit or a set of neural implants. I walked into one of the many booths lining the walls and took off my clothes until I was only wearing my plain white underpants and bra. A hatch opened behind me and a pair of robotic arms scanned my body to Identify me. "Welcome, Skirmisher Pilot Esther Leonas, armoured pilot suit ready." Said a soft, feminine robotic voice as a pair of robot arms sealed a skintight jumpsuit to me. Most Pilots wear what's known as a LANS. Lightweight Armoured Neural-linked Suit. their light, heavily-armored with metal shoulder guards, chest plates, arm and leg armor and a helmet that resembles your Chassis's cockpit. They also possess small flight capabilities like jump jets in the soles of the boots and small vents on the back which act like a small jetpack. The suit also heightens reflects and had a Heads-Up Display inside the helmet that displays a radar of a small radius and the pilots vital signs and Chassis integrity. When it was done putting on the LANS I picked my normal clothes, opened the front of my helmet so I could see without the blue borders and statuses and went to collect my guns. I put my hand on a touchpad and after a few seconds a hatched opened on the wall letting me access my locker. I pulled out my best friend; a high caliber plasma rifle with a metallic finish. The M3.Sundown. It was half a meter long but retracted when it was not in use to the size of a pistol. It shot hot plasma rounds that can travel for ten kilometers before the round would burn out. the clip can carry twenty rounds before it needs to recharge, thankfully I carry ten clips with me in one of the pouches on my suits belt. The gun looks similar to a M1903 Springfield but fully metal, made of titanium and the barrel and chamber is replaced by a long glass barrel. A set of small holographic nodes placed on top of the barrel display a blue scope capable of magnification of up to 9 kilometers. When deactivated the nodes function more as an iron sight. I strapped it to the back of my belt. Next I grabbed my revolver, the Anaconda. Based off the old Colt Anaconda revolver it shares a similar design but instead of the primitive six round cylinders it used Cartridges that hold up to twenty rounds that are loaded into the handle of the gun and had a longer barrel with vents on the side. Similar to the Sundown, it had a node that displayed a holographic dot sight capable of 3x zoom or simply act as an iron sight. I placed it in the holster strapped to my left leg and put its spare clips into the pouch strapped to my thigh. And lastly my Auto-rifle. Auto-rifles were the most commonly used machine guns for both infantry and Chassis as they were fast to build and reliable even when damaged. The gun was shaped similar to how the Chassis' looked but instead of a drum magazine it had a box mag and a 6x scope with a tripod also built in. I put my bandolier on and strapped the gun to my back and put the two spare magazines for them in the front along with two fragment grenades and two red flares. All that was left were my tools; My portable blowtorch strapped to my left side and my Plasma welder on my right side. My Chassis carried more tools but these were the lightest that I could carry and make use as weapons. Finally geared up, I ran back outside and joined up with the rest of my team as they neared their Chassis, the Technicians kept them powered and recharging in preparation for a confrontation. When the Chassis picked up my neural signature it got down on one knee, the helmet opened up and a ladder descended down. As I climbed up I saw that everyone else was doing the same thing or running around finalizing things for launch. When I got into the helmet the hatch closed and the small chamber was light up with blue lights illuminating the many screens and radars as the metal cover raised to reveal the hanger. I put my clothes in a hatch that had opened up in the wall. A small luggage compartment for a pilot's necessitates or personal items. The Chassis had an impressive amount of storage space, mostly filled with food, water, ammunition, emergency supplies and tools. "Power levels nominal, shields and armor at 100%, the reactor is powering up, weapons locked and loaded and flight model is primed. We are good to go Command!" I spoke into my helmet. Upon confirmation my Chassis was lifted into the air by the grav-cranes built into the hangers roof. Soon all the Chassis had formed a line and were lowered in front of the bulkhead doors. The Chassis were able to change from flight and combat form. In combat the machine's legs were its main form of transit and the wings/engine acted as a way of accelerating movement. In flight the bottom of the legs feet opened up and revealed rows of smaller engines used to propel the Chassis and the wings extended causing them to hover of the ground. "OK listen up boys, As you know we have detected a rift about to open near the fleet. Normally this wouldn't be as much of a big deal, but as you also know we have discovered a scientific anomaly on the planet we planned to land on. If we let the Marauders take over the planet then we have no idea what they could find and use against us. While the fleet takes out their flagship we are to deal with any boarding crafts, interceptors and landing parties. We are to form a perimeter around the planet and prevent them access. Understood?" I shouted the orders to every Pilot in the hanger as slowly every spacecraft and machine got in formation. When the bulkhead door opened everyone scrambled out into the void. The Phantom was the biggest scout ship that had been deployed to this date, a mile long with about two thousand cannons, AA guns and turrets built in. The ship was expansive and the metal armor was designed to destroy debris on impact, so as you can imagine its bulky, large and a bit ugly. Its the finest ship in its class. The ten other smaller frigates and destroyer class ships were of a similar shape but on a smaller scale. There were thousands upon thousands of smaller crafts in the air as we all prepared for the coming wave. As I flew with the rest of my team, Fire Team Recon, I counted that including myself there were twenty pilots who had formed up next to me as we neared the front of the Phantom. Normally raiding parties are of a small scale of five small personal carriers and a few hundred ships and aliens. So you can imagine the shock and fear we felt when twenty frigates warped in. Like a swarm of destruction their plague carrying pods descended on us tearing apart many on contact. "All Pilots break apart and engage! Open fire!" I shouted as everyone made evasive maneuvers to dodge the incoming hostiles. All ready we had destroyed two of their ships with the combined firepower of our fleet but they were destroying too many of our pilots and there were too many boarding ships to shoot down. I evaded a large blast from the Phantom, switched my auto-rifle to my Rail gun and started tearing through their numbers as my searing plasma scorched the pilots within and tore through their pathetic shields. As I turned to assist another pilot who was being torn apart by two interceptors something grabbed me from behind and sent me crashing into the side of a smaller frigate. I found myself face to face with a Tormentor. Tormentors got their name through how they love to play with their prey before tearing them apart with their deformed limbs and tentacles. Tormentors were a mixture of a long forgotten species mixed with a fight engine and jagged metal and sound just as horrifying. It propelled itself at me and with the few seconds I had to react I raised my knee and gutted it on the blade attach to my leg. As it tried to rip my Chassis helm off with its tentacles and tear open my reactor with its twisted teeth I pulled out my Multi-gun and switched it to the scattergun. I blasted its grotesque face off as black blood and ichor stained the ships walls or floated off into space like the scrapes off its body. As I flew away from it back to the pilot I saw I wasn't quick enough to save the pilot as I watched a tormentor rip open the reactor. The explosion sent me spinning disorientingly and flying back. I managed to stabilize myself long enough to see more and more Interceptors heading for Delta. Delta "This is Flight Lieutenant Delta, I got two bogies on my tall, I can't shake them!" I shouted into my com as the flying buckets that had been following me kept dodging the molten shots I rapidly fired at them. It was at the same time that I saw the missile lock warning that I saw Tyler and Esther gun down both of the incoming Marauders, one each. "Thanks, fuckers almost got me back there. Shit, to your left Esther!" I shouted in time to see her pull out the Can Opener. Within a few seconds she engaged its blade and tore through the seeker spore causing the two split semi-organic halves to fly off into the void as its blood stained her armor, painting it in dark blue viscera and meaty chunks. The mutilated halves of infected tissue were scorched from the searing heat of the now deactivated sword and floated off into the battlefield behind her. "Good save Delta." she congratulated me. "Tyler, see if you can find Elizabeth's signal, we're gonna need as many pilots as we can, we’re getting slaughtered out here." After I gave Tyler the order, sure enough Tyler overtook me and lead us through the wreckage of fallen friends and slain beasts to find Elizabeth was going head to head with a pack of tormentors. "Everyone mark your targets and avoid Liz." Esther instructed us. I locked my rocket launcher on the one coming up behind her, Tyler's Sniper singled in on the one circling her and Esther had already charged the one attacking Liz head-on. By the time the beasts had notice us it was too late, my missile lit up like a Christmas tree and the resulting explosion was twice as bright, Tyler's round took the head off the ugly fuck and Liz and Esther had both torn the thing apart with their weapons. "Thanks, was getting a bit rough bac-" Elizabeth was interrupted as the explosion of two of our frigates side by side partially blinded us as the chunks of debris rained down on us. When the light cleared we saw something we dreaded; A heavily armored landing craft heading our way. Meanwhile As I stood on my snow covered balcony to stare up at the night sky I stood in awe, for it looked as if the stars themselves were at war. Bright flashes of blue, red and green flew haphazardly as explosions seemed to occur repeatedly as fire rained into orbit and promptly burnt up. Perhaps this was a sign that the gods and my ancestors were angered by what I have done. I hope when it is my turn to join them I will be judged fairly. Tearing my gaze from the sky I stared down at my castle and town. The winter had hit us the hardest that year with the wind blowing the snow down from the mountains. With each passing day more and more griffins were either claimed by the cold or died in flight. Many buildings were crowded as people desperately tried to stay warm and find a dry place to sleep. If it weren't for the food being supplied from the farmlands east of the mountains I fear we may have not survived the past few years. I was in no way proud of how we claimed that land, but we need it. If those Princesses could see how my people suffered, maybe then they would understand, but those Xenophobic ponies would never set foot in my lands lest they have to face a new way of looking at things. As the cold winds started to get to me I walked back into the warm hallway of my castle. Soon one of my guards came to me with news, though we have made no leeway in passing the Rockfall path we had formed a trade route with the Drakes and the Diamond Dogs who would gladly support our war effort. This trade route and new reinforcements would soon prove to be invaluable. As I entered my war room I continued to discuss this news with the Generals and Alchemists. As of yesterday I had asked for a report on the lights in the night sky and the same as yesterday, and I was shocked. It appeared hundreds of machines were engaged in some form of confrontation using magic and technology never seen before. Shocked I told them to keep me updated and tell me if anything changes. Filled with a new sense of dread I couldn't help but feel this was an omen of things to come. As I entered my chambers and closed the door behind me I walked to my window and looked up to the War in the sky. "Gods forgive me for the blood I have spilled, but do not mistake me when I say it had to be done, for the sake of my people this war had to happen, I can not sit idle as my people suffer these horrid winds and this never ending snow. Do not mistake what I say for hate or blame but I beg of you, why have you forsaken your people? What have we done to deserve this?! Have we not stayed loyal? Have I not lead my people with the strength of the kings and queens before me?! If I have not then I beg of you give me the courage and strength to do so! For if it means I must lead my armies down a darker road, burn the land in a macabre display of devotion and usher the people I once called comrades into oblivion to save those I still love then I will do so! But please, tell me; what have we done? Why must I suffer more for the sins I commit? Have I not lost enough?!" I shouted to the winds, my tears sliding down my hardened face and freezing upon the ground like a precious snowflake. As I ranted to no one I failed to realize I had fallen to my knees, for I found myself losing the strength to stand confidently. Picking myself off the ground and staring out the window it was not the night sky I saw but my reflection. It was of a young man, a healthy Griffin with white and gold feathers, bright sapphire eyes and a jewel encrusted crown worthy of the gods atop a man who once stood tall and proud. It was the reflection of a wealthy and beloved King, but it was not the crown nor my feathers that I saw, it was my eyes and the harrowing sights it held. They were the eyes of a veteran, the kind in which if you stare all you will see is horror and war, the eyes of an old man who is tired, the eyes of a killer looking for forgiveness. I was a young king, but all my eyes showed me was that I was a tired soldier who can't keep fighting two wars. Tyler We’re fucked, plain and simple. We had emptied round after round into its shield and armor but it accomplished nothing. The Marauder landing craft was a monster. It was a large, dented and bloodied prison ship captured by those monsters. They had covered the cockpits window in near imprenitrable metal, meaning the ship had to either be piloted blind or rarely with the aid of a optic placed outside the ship. The ship's armour plating was layered with large spikes designed to impale Chassis and smaller ships, usually goring the pilots. It seemed to ooze corruption as a black foul smelling liquid seemed to seep out of the ship. The blind ship was falling fast and would soon be in the planet's atmosphere in a few minutes tops. "Fuck! This is pointless, Can anyone think of a way to take that fucker out?" Elizabeth shouted over the coms. As it neared I could identify its make and model. It was an old Jailbird carrier, used on prison worlds. They were scrapped years ago after the prisoners learned how to... "Guys, that's a strong ship but it suffers one weakness: The generator that powers the ship's shields is on the back and the hatch can be easily removed! Give me some cover fire, I got a plan." I shouted as I powered up the engines and flew over the top of the ship. I narrowly dodged the turrets firing at me and the spikes meant to impale other pilots but thankfully through quick maneuverability and the suppressive fire Recon was laying down I made my way to the back of the ship. I reached the panel and could see it was hastily put back in place, shoddy work. I tore the hatch off with my hand and saw that the generator was protected by its own shield. Powering up my hand I placed it onto the shield and through overloading it the shields flickered. Jumping back a few feet I emptied a clip into the generator with my Carbine and sure enough the ships shields feel as the generator exploded. "This is Tyler, Open fire on the carrier." I shouted as I powered up my jets and flew up past the front of the ship. The others had laid waste to the ship as most of its armor and parts were falling off from the brute force of our fire power. As we emptied round after round into it It started to exploded and then, in a bright flash, the ship broken apart and the crew inside disintegrated with most of the ship. Esther Within a half hour almost all of the other pilots had being decimated leaving me, Delta, Tyler, Elizabeth and a handful of other pilots to fend off the increasing horde. They had lost half their fleet and almost all of their fighters but we were down to only three frigates and our last destroyer, I don't want to think about all the men and women that were on board each ship that went down. We were losing ground and men. Fast. "Captain Vectis, this is Squadron Leader Esther, we are losing ground fast and need support! Is their anything you can send?" At first all I heard was gunfire and an ungodly screeching then I heard the captain breathing heavily. "Esther! Thank fuck you're alive, listen, we’re done. Every soldier and pilot is either caught in battle or dead and we’re losing power to the Marauders, I'm activating the Skyfall Contingency!" "What?! We'll be stranded in the middle of an unexplored system!" I shouted over the Chassis com channels. "Not entirely. Before the fuckers jammed our signal an S.O.S was sent out. I'm not sure how long it will take for the signal to reach a military outpost but it has been sent and to boot we have found there is sentient life on the planet below. Listen I don't have long; Clear out of the way of the Phantom and reach a safe distance. I've ordered a full evacuation to all remaining soldiers. Land on the planet, send out a signal and regroup with the other survivors, that's all we've got at the moment." He told me as gunfire went off in the background. "Fine, but if I die down there its on your head." I shouted into the coms as I prepared to evacuate with the rest of the Pilots. Vectis "This is captain Vectis, I have set in motion the Skyfall contingency, All remaining forces head to the nearest Escape pods, this is not a drill." I shouted through the ship's P.A over the loud, whirring sirens. With the Bridge's Blast doors sealed and guarded by ten guards we were secure for enough time to set my plan in motion. As I took my seat and set in a new trajectory, into the Marauders’ flagship, I could hear the monsters in the hallway burning a hole into the door, I didn't have long. If the plan went right then the resulting explosion will be strong enough to take out the rest of those bastards’ armada. After some triangulation and security overwrites the course was set but at the ships current speed the Marauders would get in, kill us and steer this ship off course and the planet and any hope for the survivors or the aliens below living long enough for help to show up would be gone. Realizing what I needed to do I turned off shields and lighting to half of the ship and Diverted it to the engines doubling our current speed. At that moment the door burst open and the marauders on the other side poured in. The guards were gunning them down but there were too many of them for the meager force of troopers. "Sir get the fuck out of here! We'll hold them off just get into the escape pod!" One of them shouted at me. I pulled out my pistol and ran to the other side of the room. when I was halfway to the door the vent above me opened and one of them jumped on me. Turning around I came face to face with it. Its skin was rotten and coloured a dirty brown and black, its black blood had mixed with its saliva as it poured out of its mouth through its broken yellow teeth, most of its deformed and cracked body was hidden behind the busted armor of whatever soldier was unfortunate enough to be infected. I pulled the knife from my belt and stabbed it in its black eye causing it to jump off me and try and get the knife out. While it was distracted I got to my feet and picked up my pistol. By the time it had tried to run at me I had already shot six super -heated rounds into its chest. In its weakened state all it could do was grab at me. I kicked it to the ground, pulled out my knife and emptied two more rounds into the monsters head as it gasped its last breath. The soldiers were being torn apart but were still slowing them down. Using what little time they could buy me I ran to the escape pod, opened the emergency armaments hatch, pulled out an Anaconda revolver, flipped the safety off and upon turning around emptied two clips into the oncoming horde. forty bullets later the bridge was covered in the blood and entrails of the guards and officers who gave their lives trying to save this ship and the monsters responsible for this now laid in a pool of their own vile blood. Reaching back into the hatch I pulled out a marines helmet and took off my dress uniform cap. Thankfully the dark blue and gold regulation Dress uniform doubled as body armor. Shutting the door behind me, I ran past the rows of empty seats as the officers and soldiers that should have filled those seats gave their lives to slow down the raiders. Running into the pilot's seat I turned on the engine and shot the small craft out of its tunnel and into space. As I made a sharp turn to enter re-entry with the remaining pilots I saw the destruction of my ship. With no shields left the Marauders broken frigates tore through its armor causing the back end of the ship to snap off and drift off into a smaller frigate. As I neared the remaining pilots I entered their com channel. "What the fuck was that!?" I heard Tyler shout through his com. "The death of the Phantom. All remaining soldiers listen up; before the ship went down I was able to get an S.O.S out, I have no idea when they will receive it but it was sent. The current plan is to land on the planet and meet up. We will hunt down any remaining threats if they somehow survived, we won't let our comrades die in vain. Oh shit, EVERYONE BRACE FOR IMPACT!" I shouted before the wreckage of the phantom crashed into their flagship. The resulting explosion's brightness was akin to that of a supernova. The shock wave hit us like a tsunami of heat and shrapnel and we were all sent off course. The shock wave cracked and broke a few windows. An oxygen mask came down from the overhead compartment and the metal bulkheads covered the glass but the heat seeping in from the cracks in the window became too much for my unarmored body to bear. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was Tyler shouting for me to respond. Tyler With my coms fried and my engines EMP’ed from the blast I had no way to maneuver my Chassis as I breached the atmosphere. The closer I got to the ground the more control I got back to my robotic limbs. As I neared a farm I changed my approach so I could minimize damage done, though when I hit the ground it didn't stop my body from being tossed around like a rag doll. Delta To say I was panicking would be an understatement. Training never taught you how to land a Chassis in a blizzard with no sensory data and no control over your movements. Doing the best I could I lowered the metal cover for the window, raised my shields and hoped for the best as I crashed into the snow covered rocky fields. Elizabeth My trajectory was blown way off course. Instead of landing in a forest with the other Pilots I was now spinning out of control towards a dessert. My Chassis armor and my metal body would be strong enough to handle the landing and anything that broke would be fixable. What I was worried about was being stranded on an unknown world, in a dessert while made of metal. Fuck my life. Esther Good news: It will be a softer landing as I'm heading towards an ocean. Bad news: I have no idea where anyone else is landing or if anyone else survived the blast. I was simply glad I wasn't vaporized from the heat of the atomic blast. I rerouted power from my backup reactors to boost my shields and form a defensive position. Something tells me I just got out of frying pan and I'm about to land in the fire.