//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: EXECUTIONER ONE // by Hurgusburgus //------------------------------// Lara, as their guide preferred to be called, had an impressive knowledge of Coalition arsenal. As the shuttle slowly made its way around the cavernous hangar bay, she answered without pausing as the ponies – and dragon – inquired about the various technologies of their alien guests. “Oh, what's that one?” Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at a large aircraft that was being serviced. “That's an antique from Unification Wars – a Liberator heavy bomber. Easily more than three hundred years old. A museum piece is what it is.” “Then why use such outdated aircraft?” Luna piped up. “Well, since the Rebellion began, we had next to nothing in the way of supplies. Fought tooth and nail to see the next day, lived by the skin of our teeth, as the saying goes. We couldn't be picky. If it could be used against the Vasari, we took it. Of course, the situation's improved noticeably since then, but we keep those junkers around – if there's one thing good about ancient army surplus, it's that you can fix it with duct-tape and snot. Modern, up-to-date tanks, ships and the like take much longer to repair in comparison.” The ponies nodded understandingly. “Ooh, what're those?” Pinkie Pie pronked up and down, her hoof (somehow) unerringly pointed at a small group heavily-armoured soldiers. “Those're first-generation EXOs. Just about the best-equipped soldiers Coalition has. Billions of credits were sunk into making hundred-and-fifty of those suits of armour. And not a single soldier who volunteered for the EXO Corps has fallen in battle since. They're rated for orbital drops, to boot. Drop 'em onto the enemies' heads and let them go to town.” “Seems a little excessive, honestly.” Luna responded. “When the war came, we needed a means to buy the mid-system worlds time enough to fortify their territories. Best defence is a good offence, after all.” Rarity raised a hoof, gaining Lara's attention. “If I may, how much do you know of the Rebel Queen herself?” “As much as anyone else, I'll wager. Word is she lost her family to the Vasari when the war started. She enlisted in the Corps, along with millions of others who'd lost friends or family. She climbed the ranks from then on, and eventually made Colonel. Normally, no one would be promoted as fast as she did, but we had precious few experienced officers back then, so she got the stars. She got her own battlegroup to command. And for a while, it seemed like things were looking up for us – made allies with Asli, and later, the Asahi Empire... And then Ayra Alexi happened.” “Who?” “Ayra Alexi, the sole offspring of Santor Alexi, the man who ruled Trade Order before the war. She arrived one day, bold as you will, thinking the brass would give her the reins just because she demanded. Man, the Queen hated her. They took every chance to chew each other out. And then the day came when Battlegroup 92 was lost with all hands. Seventy-five thousand men and women, dead because Ayra Alexi betrayed us.” Fluttershy gasped in shock, covering her mouth with a hoof. “Of course, at the time, no one knew how rotten that girl was. We've recently traced more than one intel leak to her. Anyways, two months later, Grisova herself arrives at Koronis, where our headquarters is, with a bunch of defector Vasari ships. She tries to kill Ayra, but is unsuccessful. Her claims of Ayra's treachery go unheard, and the Colonel vanishes. Deserts, and no one can find her. Then, two weeks later, she steals the very ship you're aboard now, and declares the Rebellion. Bunch of folks, military and civilian, followed her.” “How?” Twilight piped up,and Lara chuckled grimly. “Our commanders were thinking of diplomacy with the Vasari, and Advent, when they decided to join the war.” “I don't see how diplomacy is a bad thing.” Celestia added in. “Well, usually it's a good choice. But a lot of people had lost someone to the war. Making nice with aliens who killed and enslaved humans was the last thing they wanted to do. The Queen offered a chance to get even, to get revenge. Tore the Coalition in two, she did. Since then, it was touch and go every day. Until all of our lost territories rose up, all at once. No way the Advent or Vasari could clamp down on them. Our holdings doubled in a matter of hours.” “Remember, Princess? That message Executioner received?” Twilight piped up, and Celestia nodded in agreement. “Yes, I do.” “Might be just me, but you don't seem to like her an awful lot.” Lara added, a knowing half-smirk on her face. “Speaking frankly? No, I do not. She's rude and flaunts her authority, and didn't even hesitate to threaten Rainbow Dash when she pointed out her character flaws.” “I'm right here, you know.” “I feel like she does everything she can get away with solely because she's a queen.” The alicorn finished with a huff. “Well, she'd be the first to agree that she's no people person. But then again, she's kinda hard to read. She'd make a killing in poker, that's for sure. But she's walked the talk so far. Those who've joined up with the Rebellion have done so of their own volition. Look, I could go on all day about us. But that's not the case here, is it? I'm guessing you're worried we'll drag you into this war, too.” “I think it's safe to say that's already happened.” “Yeah, true enough. With a bit of luck, we'll have this one over and done with post-haste. We've got some top-notch military hardware – wherever the Vasari pop up, we'll come crashing down on their heads like the wrath of God.” “You sound very confident of your success.” “We've got two Asahi backing our war efforts. Of course I'm confident.” They returned planetside a couple of hours later – Twilight and her friends returned to Ponyville, while the princesses set about preparing for the attack. Royal Guard units were brought up to speed and deployed to locations of tactical importance. Unicorns who were well-versed in shield spells were allocated to protect major population centres. The Rebel troops operated unchecked, however. Sightings of them were few and far inbetween – even Lunar Guards, being skilled scouts and infiltrators, were hard-pressed to keep their rulers up-to-date with the aliens' movements. What few sightings were documented spoke only of ponderous transports heading for locations unknown. And, though some ponies complained about the Rebels' aircraft disturbing their daily goings-on, there was no trouble reported. Until, of course, all hell broke loose three days later. The night sky glittered with a myriad of stars – Luna flapped her wings as she took to sky, as the last sunlight faded into nothing. She looked up, knowing that thousands of alien soldiers stood in vigil, far above their world. Say what you want about them, they had been deployed across Equestria post-haste. As she looked, she saw a star wink into existence, deep in the void. And another. And another. Wait... those are no stars. The dots of light grew in numbers, before slowly fading out, one by one. The midnight-blue alicorn frowned as she came to a hover, gazing upwards. Even from here, she could see the colossal shape of the Rebels' flagship – its engines burned fiercely, slowly moving Deliverance out from low orbit. So it begins. Snow and wind howled fiercely, staggering the column of ponies trudging along. It was pointless, really. The snowstorms were as fierce as ever this far up north. Any enemy force trying to attack the Crystal Empire would find themselves stymied by the weather with every step they took. But, orders were orders – if these 'Vasari' were out there, their positions were to be reported to the Rebel liaison back at the castle. From then on, it was somepony else's problem. It should've been expected, though. The Crystal Empire was hard to miss. Thus, Steady Shot and his unit found themselves freezing their plots off, trying to find something that may or may not be there. The enchantments on their armour could only do so much. It was about then that he tripped, landing face-first in snow. Luckily, his subordinates were too busy freezing to laugh at his misfortune. Grumbling, he righted himself, taking a look at what had tripped him, and his heart skipped a beat. It was a head – not of a living creature, but one made from metal, dented and crumpled, black liquid slowly seeping through the cracks. His eyes widened in horror as he recognised it as belonging to the sentient machines, Xalathii. “Sir, we've found more scrap around. Some of it is still warm, surprisingly. Whatever did this could still be around.” Steady Shot bit back a groan – he could almost hear Marephy laughing. His law was not something to be invoked lightly. Except the laughter was real – and it turned out to be a bellow from a savage beast's throat. He spared only a moment to look back before taking off at full pelt, his troops galloping behind him without hesitation. “Faster! It's right behind us!” One soldier shouted, fear evident in his voice. Pure terror gave them the will to run despite the thick snow and howling winds. The pursuing animal still drew closer with every passing moment, its loping gait shaking the ground, its snorting, rancid breath all too audible. No way we can outrun it, Steady Shot thought miserably, steeling himself for the moment it caught up to his unit. Perhaps he could distract it long enough for others to get far enough away- Twin streaks of howling fire whizzed past inches above his head, striking their assailant square in the face. With a pained roar, it tumbled to a halt, trying to regain its bearings. “It would be best if you retreated to a safe distance.” A calm voice spoke, and Shot took the moment to look at the hulking machine standing in front of him, its eyelights shining brightly despite the weather. “The beast will not remain dazed for long.” Two more similar automatons dropped from the sky, taking up positions. “Er... You don't have to tell me twice! Come on, everypony, let's get out of here!” As others ran past, he paused, looking up at the alien machine. “Uh, thanks for saving us.” “It is what we are here for.” The alien nodded once, still as calm as before. “Now go and report to your superiors. Much blood will be shed in the coming days.” The alien's words proved to be true – the Vasari deployed more forces planetside, probing the Rebels' defences – and each time, they were crushed without hesitation, as their fleets played hide and seek far above the planet. This far out, there was no hope of reinforcements, and both belligerents knew it. Celestia frowned as she stared outside, past the shimmering barrier Luna had conjured around Canterlot – in the distance, she saw the ponderous shape of a Ortalian warship as it dropped two Executioners via its tractor beams. Their horns blared sonorously before they strode off to their destinations. Outlying settlements and villages had been evacuated, their inhabitants safe and sound within Equestrian cities, further protected by the Rebel forces – bombers, gunships, and more waited for a target to strike, while powerful shield generators supplemented Equestrian shieldcasters. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it'd have to do, seeing as the Vasari gave little chance to erect a more solid defence. “The bastards won't stand a chance, Princess. You'll see.” The power armour-clad woman to her right spoke, also spectating the ongoing deployment. “I trust you aren't wrong in saying so.” “Hey, I didn't get to where I am with empty speeches.” Lieia responded curtly, giving the alicorn a sidelong glance. “I've held up my end of the bargain, haven't I? None of your ponies have been injured or killed. Collateral damage to your cities and infrastructure is well within acceptable projections – hell, we'll fix up anything broken, time permitting.” Celestia let out a quiet sigh at that. “It really doesn't sit right with me that your people are dying to keep mine safe. All we can do is sit by the wayside and watch.” “That's how I felt when I enlisted. Wanted to do my part, save lives and push the Vasari back. Turned out it was nowhere near that easy or black and white as it seemed at first. As time went on, I began to see shades of grey in places I never noticed before. Didn't like the idea that world was more complex that I thought it should be, but I had to accept that fact of life sooner or later.” Celestia nodded absent-mindedly – she did not like the Rebel Queen all that much, but she had developed some respect for the woman. And in a way, it was better that way. She opened her mouth to speak when the wail of sirens cut through air. Distant and faint, the distinctive dirge could only mean one thing. The Vasari were coming.