//------------------------------// // And so, the Hunt Begins // Story: Sentinels of Equestria // by Lightning Spear //------------------------------// ATLAS Subterranean HQ, Switzerland High Alps 1800 hours 17 April 2062 "A 'snatch and grab' mission huh? What a fuckin' joke." Lieutenant Victor "Warhammer" Craig commented as he and the rest of Wolfpack walked through the futuristic hallways of the subterranean facility, fully armed and equipped. "Yeah, I personally prefer to fight here." Major Alexandra "Wolf Mother" Pearce replied "But at least, the pay's worth it and this is our last job." "Right, ve vill be schtuck there for God knows how long. Verdammt." Captain Heinrich "Herr Mauser" Heiddleburg retorted as two AST units walked pass them followed by a platoon of soldiers. "But at least we will have more things to explore. Probably not just war, death, and destruction." Sergeant Caroline "Ice" Wong added. "We will see about that later." Monsoon said with a dark tone. MAMBA nodded in approval. His expression remained unreadable as his face was always concealed by his black futuristic gas mask. "Alright, we are here." Alexandra said as they arrived at one of the facility's Rapid Rail Transport System's entrance. A pair of ATLAS juggernaut guards saluted them as they stepped into the transport's car. After scanning their IDs and taking their seats, the transport accelerated at high speed through the underground network of rails; taking them to their destination. The car kept switching tracks from one to another, until eventually it stayed on a single rail; speeding through a long tunnel. Not long after, the car stopped at a massive hangar filled with a lot of military hardware and some ATLAS Tactical Security Service high-ranking personnel. So large, that even four Paladin orbital gunships were stationed there. But the main feature of the room was not the large amount of hardware and gadgetry, but instead it was a scaled down modified version of the Excalibur cannon and its various massive launch pads to transport anything and anyone to the brave new world. Wolfpack stepped out of the transport and into the concrete platform and walked to the entrance door, guarded by two AST units and a squad of ATLAS Tactical Security Service troops. "Halt." An AST operator said with a deep robotic voice "Your IDs please." "You should've known your superiors." Alexandra said as she scanned her bio-metric ID followed suit by her team. After everything checks out, the guards let them in. "Damn, this place is huge!" Victor commented as they observed pretty much everything in the large, futuristic room "I guess they ain't kidding about the Exodus project." "ATLAS don't fool around lieutenant, we make things happen." said a male voice coming from behind them. The group turned around and saw a squad of A.T.S.S. troops escorting a man in his early thirties. The man had a proportional-average build, neatly styled brown hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. He was wearing a black suit, a white dress shirt, a red tie, with an ATLAS pin on his suit's collar. That man was Mark Irons, a distant cousin to Jonathan Irons. "Major. Welcome to the Exodus Chamber." He said politely, shaking Alexandra's hand. "Mr. Irons." she replied "My team is set and ready." "Good, lets get to it then." Mark said before walking side by side with Wolfpack. "I started this project during the glory days of ATLAS, as a safeguard should anything happens." He said as they walked pass some technicians and soldiers tending to the multitude of gadgets equipment. "But my cousin, denied this idea. Telling me that my idea will bring ATLAS to bankruptcy; 'no such weapon system could possibly work.' he would say. Putting more faith to MANTICORE. I am not saying that's a bad thing, in fact he designed one of the corporation's most valuable asset. But he refused to see the bigger picture. But now...not only we have the ultimate weapon, but also a potential gateway to start again." he said while gesturing to the entire room "I'm not crazy, I am a visionary." "He would've been very proud of you now Mr. Irons." Alexandra said. Mark smiled to her comment. "Alright we are here." Mark said as they arrived in front of the Storm Fortress; clamped in its launch pad. Reaching up a whopping size of 100 feet in length (guns forward), 46 feet in width, and 36 feet in height; the Storm Fortress would be an excellent mobile command base as well as a super-heavy tank. A series of heavy-lift repulsor engines kept the massive vehicle afloat, allowing for much more mobility as well as strafing and tactical options; and for a massive tank, the Storm Fortress could reach up to 37 mph -surprisingly fast for a super heavy tank, thanks to its improved heavy-lift repulsor engines- an integrated particle warp generator had also been added as their primary means of going home and for quick long distance travels. In addition, an active camouflage generator; code-named CHAMELEON, was also installed in case they need to lay low by blending in with its surroundings. The tank was powered by an internal fusion energy reactor that could last for years, thus eliminating their need for external fuel source. Despite this, a series of solar panels were also installed. The cabin was much more spacious than even the T-740 due to it's larger turret. It had six seats, comfortably spread apart. The commander would seat at the controls of the tank in the middle of the turret, while other crew members would seat beside him/her. The tank had numerous facilities including a living quarters, 3D printers, an armory,a medical chamber, a cargo bay with containment cells and three hover-bike stations, a kitchen, two bedrooms with a capacity for six in each room, plus showers and lavatories. As for weaponry, the Storm Fortress had been equipped with eight rocket pods mounted on either sides of the cockpit which launched homing rockets capable of targeting multiple groups of ground and aerial targets. Eight grenade pods were also installed which shot out different types of grenade such as smoke, incendiary, and etc. Like it's prototype; the Storm Fortress primary weapon consisted of a high-caliber smoothbore main gun and an EMP cannon separated from the main gun capable of taking down any targets with electronic components with a single shot. Also, an advanced Trophy System provided defense from incoming projectiles such as missiles and cannon fire. Giving it an omnipotent firepower. Due to the tank's massive size, an advanced AI system; codenamed IRENE, had been installed to help operate the tank automatically should Alexandra issue a command. Particularly, commands that could effect dead or alive situations. However, any Wolfpack member could give basic orders and communicate with IRENE. "She is all set and ready to go." "Thank you, sir." Alexandra said as the two shook hands and parted ways. They quickly boarded the tank as they saw Mark Irons watching through the control room glass nearby. Directing the staff for start-ups. Inside the tank,the team stored most of their weapons and equipment on the tank's armory while taking their personal weapons with them. They took their seats on their stations and setting their weapons beside them. Alexandra as the tank commander, Victor as the gunner, Heinrich as the driver, Caroline as the spotter and technician, with MAMBA and Monsoon as recon and surveillance. The team was solid, but should things go wrong; Alexandra would be granted complete control over the vehicle. "Wolfpack, comms check. Do you read? Over." Prophet's voice spoke from the tank's comms system. "Copy that Prophet, we are reading you loud and clear. Over." Alexandra said. "Good, power up and head to launch pad Saturn. Over." "Copy that. Disengaging locks and powering up." Alexandra said before disengaging the clamps and powering up the tank. Moments later, the tank's repulsor engines came to life; emitting a steady humming sound and lifting the tank from the ground. "All systems check green. Trophy and weapon system online. IRENE online." Caroline said as the main screen came to life, indicators showing an excellent status of the tank. Then, the tank moved towards its designated location. "In position." Alexandra said. "Copy that, stand by." Prophet replied. As soon as he said that warning alarms were heard throughout the room and everybody cleared out from the area. "Initiating molecule transportation sequence." The facility's AI spoke as the lights dimmed. Moments later, the energy projector were pointed to them and yellowish energy particle surrounded the tank. Spinning around it like a swarm of fireflies at high speed. "Good luck, Wolfpack." Mark's voice was the last thing Wolfpack heard before being whisked away from Earth and into the unknown. Unknown place Unknown time Unknown date Operation Invisible Hands Alexandra woke up with an aching head and blurred vision. Brushing the sensation aside, she realized that she was still alive and made it to the other side in one piece with the Storm Fortress and her team all in prime conditions. The tank's power was out, as no lights were on, all computers were off, and no engine vibrations were felt. "Shit, this beats the hell out of any roller coaster rides I've ever been in." Victor commented while trying not to puke in his Juggernaut helm "You guys are good?" he asked the rest of his team who gave him thumbs up. "A bit dizzy, but we are ready for action Wolf Mother." Victor said to his commanding officer. "All systems should be back online in thirty seconds." MAMBA replied with a slow and heavy menacing tone. And true, thirty seconds later the tank came online. "All systems check green." Caroline said as she fiddled through the tank's computer system "IRENE? What's your status?" "Fully functional." the AI replied with a feminine voice "Incoming transmission." "Wolfpack, report! Over." Mark said as his face appeared on the main monitor. "Wolf Mother, reporting." "Herr Mauser, reporting." "Warhammer, reporting." "Ice, reporting." "MAMBA, reporting." "Monsoon, reporting." Said each team member one by one. "What's your status? Over." "Wolfpack and Storm Fortress are good to go, sir." Alexandra said. "Listen up! We have a situation on our hands. A malfunction happened during the transportation; that caused us to miss your intended coordinates; a large forest in the outskirts of Ponyville. Check your location and report immediately." "We might have a problem with that." Ice said as she switched the main monitor from communication to navigation "This is sure as hell not a forest." Instead of thick forest vegetation, the monitor displayed a large Victorian-style courtyard surrounded with sturdy walls of a massive fortress with a far massive castle located not far from there with the full moon night sky hanging above their heads. "Prophet, are you receiving this?" Alexandra asked. "Affirmative, Wolfpack. This not your destination--be advised! Multiple signatures inbound to your position!" As soon as those words were said, multiple half-eagle-half-lion creatures entered the courtyard in a coordinated military manner; at least three platoons strong, they were all wearing full sets of armor and equipment and brandishing their huge melee weapons at the Storm Fortress with archers, ballistas, and large ancient cannons as fire support. "Are these...griffons?!" Caroline wondered as they watched the growing numbers of the griffon army from inside the safety of their tank. "It looks like it." Heinrich replied. "Prophet, Wolfpack requesting advice." Alexandra said. "It appears they are communicating in some sort of language. Try to communicate and cooperate with them, do not engage unless you are attacked. We do not need anymore obstacles to our main objective. However, should things go wrong; you are cleared to take them out." "Understood." Alexandra said "MAMBA, Monsoon, you two are up. Activate the parabolic microphone and find out what kind of language they are using." she ordered. With a slight nod, the two sat on their stations,putting on their headsets before turning on their short-range optical microphone. "Zoom and focus over there. That big griffon with red heavy armor and a greatsword slung on its back. It looks like the commander." Alexandra said while pointing at the griffon in the monitor. MAMBA zoomed in on the aforementioned griffon and then... "Stay on guard, troops! Do not attack that metal beast but be ready for anything!" The commander barked his orders while brandishing his greatsword on the Storm Fortress. "They are speaking English! Wolfpack, your current orders are to establish a diplomatic relation with these griffons. Gather as many intel as you can and if possible, cooperate with them for your mission. Remember, we don't need more obstacles in our mission. Prophet, out." "You heard the man. Remember, only engage if you are attacked." Alexandra said before putting on her helmet and grabbing her widowmaker. Taking the initiative, Caroline opened the tank's entrance hatch and Wolfpack stepped out to confront the griffons. "Herr Mauser, put that LMG into good use. Do not endanger any of us. " Alexandra instructed her second in command before turning to Caroline "Ice, eyes on the scope. Stay here, if things go wrong you two have the higher ground." "Yes, ma'am." the two replied while deploying their weapons into support position. "Warhammer, Monsoon, MAMBA; come with me." Alexandra said before turning on her comms with IRENE "IRENE, should things go wrong you are cleared to engage." "Roger that, and be careful." the AI replied. Without delay, the four descended from the tank with their exo fall control and straight into the firing trajectories of the archers. "You! Creatures! That's far enough!" The griffon commander bellowed with a powerful masculine voice while brandishing his greatsword. The four did as they were told. "We are here to talk." Alexandra said boldly. As the griffon commander and his troops approached them, they realized how big the griffons were. The griffon commander raised his right talon to signal his troops to stop, before continuing on his own. The griffon commander towered from any Wolfpack personnel, but only a foot taller than Victor. His armor and the size of his over-sized greatsword slung on his back only caused him to appear even bigger...eyeing the newcomers with eyes of mixed curiosity and intimidation. Sensing no fear or hesitation, the griffon continued. "You, state your name and business." the commander said sternly while glaring at Alexandra. "My name is Wolf Mother, leader of this group." Alexandra said with an equally unflinching tone "We are on an errand, but we believe that we are lost." "Is that so? Where are you supposed to be right now?" the griffon inquired with a tone of sarcasm. "That's classified." she snapped back. The griffon chuckled with a dark tone, staring in a sinister way at the A.T.S.S commander. "So be it..." the griffon commander said before drawing his sword and swinging the massive sword with both talons at lightning speed. Before anything else could happen, Victor dropped his CEL-3 Cauterizer, drew his large battle ax from his back and blocked the incoming strike; creating a loud metallic clang echoing throughout courtyard. Everyone was astonished. Thanks to a combination of his steel physique, armor, and exo-suit the heavy impact of the strike was significantly decreased. "Easy pal! Just like she said before! We are here to talk!" Victor exclaimed while still locking weapons with the massive griffon. "Impressive. No other being at your size could block my strike. Now, this is how we talk!" The griffon bellowed before unleashing a fury of strikes against the demolitions expert who continued to block and evade his attacks. The griffon soldiers cheered at the fight. "Threat detected. Activating countermeasure." IRENE said while activating one grenade pod, arming a stunt grenade. "Hold that order!" Alexandra exclaimed. "Wolf Mother, I have a clear shot." "Hold that order!" Alexandra said. "Fuck! At this rate, I can't keep blocking and dodging forever!"Victor mentally cursed as he dodged an overhead strike from the griffon "Gotta push him back!" Suddenly, with a burst of strength; Victor dashed and struck the greatsword wielding griffon repeatedly with his titanium battle ax. Despite not dealing any damage, Victor managed to force the griffon back. Much to the astonishment of Wolfpack and the rest of the griffon soldiers. "He is good!" A griffon soldier said in astonishment. "He is forcing Commander Red Wing back! What is this creature?!" Another bellowed. "You've had your fun, creature!" Commander Red Wing roared before parrying the ax away and commenced a slicing counterattack, only to be dodged by Victor and the two clashed their weapons again. Seeing an opportunity, Victor mustered all of his strength on a single overhead strike. Red Wing blocked the strike, but Victor managed to crack and broke a small section of the greatsword with his battle ax. "You insolent scum!" the griffon bellowed before slamming his weapon in a diagonal strike. For Victor, this was his opportunity he had been waiting for. Everything seemed to go in a slow motion rate as Victor pivoted underneath the impact trajectory of the incoming attack. The greatsword narrowly swung passed Victor's head, so close that Red Wing actually managed to hit Victor's helmet; throwing the helmet from his head. And a split second later, Victor slammed his ax's large blade into the right side of Red Wing's torso. The momentum, the well crafted state-of-the-art large battle ax, and Victor's immense strength; pierced through the armor and created a powerful stream of gushing blood from the wound. With a pained roar, the griffon fell on his knees. "Wait! Please have mercy on me! I yield to the better sword! I am really amazed by your skills and--" *crack!* Red Wing received a powerful kick to his face from Victor with his steel tipped combat boot, breaking the griffon's beak in the process. Not even spending a second to talk, Victor raised his battle ax above his head; ready to split Red Wing's skull in half. The griffon saw his life flashing before his eyes as his unknown foe brought the ax down to his cranium. "Wait!" A masculine charismatic voice could be heard from the courtyard's entrance. Stopping Victor's ax just mere inches away from its target. There, descending from the castle's grand stairway were three large griffons wearing royal attires escorted with an additional three platoon of griffon troops. The three griffons stood up from the others because they were much larger than any griffons in the area. They quickly marched to the field; making way for the three large royal griffons. "What's this?" Monsoon inquired with a dark chuckle "More poultry to slaughter perhaps?" "And they've got royal dressings for that matter." MAMBA added. "I could use some Brathaenchen right now." Heinrich said while aiming his LMG at the griffons. As the three griffons moved in, the other two stayed with the soldiers while the largest one; standing three feet higher than Victor, wearing a royal crown and robe, matching his golden feather walked pass the dying Red Wing, only sparing a glance of disgust at the fallen commander. Victor stepped away from his fallen foe as an anticipation. "M-my E-emperor! b-be careful t-that t-thing i-is d-dangerous!" Red Wing stuttered as cold and numbness took over his body. Trying with every last strength he could muster to stand back up. "Silence!" The griffon emperor roared while slamming his subordinate's head to the ground with his massive talon "Do not soil me any longer with your tongue!" he said before turning his sights on Victor. "Great warrior, you are allowed to finish your fight." he said with a cold tone "Kill him. Make his blood rain on this very courtyard!" "Yes, sir!" Victor smiled sadistically before taking a lethal grenade from his grenade belt and setting it to fragmentation mode. "M-my Emperor please spare me!" Red Wing yelled weakly before Victor punched the griffon in his throat and shoving the grenade into his mouth. "You might want to get back for a bit. This is going to be very messy." Victor replied while running back to his teammates and collecting his helmet along the way. "You have failed me for the last time, commander." The emperor said before rejoining the other two griffons in the soldier lines. Only mere seconds later, a loud explosion was heard followed by a heavy rain of blood mixed with pieces of flesh and organs in the courtyard. "Now that...is a vork of art!" Heinrich complemented and smiled morbidly at the spectacle. "Oh, I think I am beginning to like this emperor." Monsoon mumbled. As the bloody fiasco subsided, the emperor stepped forward and stared at the remains of his former commander with satisfaction. He turned towards his soldiers... "Insubordination is an intolerable mistake, punishable by death." he said out loud "I gave clear orders to Commander Red Wing, but he disgraced me with his ego. For those of you who remained in line, you have my gratitude." "Thank you, Your Majesty!" The troops replied simultaneously. He whispered something to a pair of his adjutants and they carried the mangled remains away from view. "Come forth, do not be afraid!" The emperor said while gesturing Wolfpack to meet him in the middle of the field. "IRENE, keep monitoring the situation and be on guard." Alexandra said quietly on her gauntlet comms as she and the rest of Wolfpack advanced to meet the emperor. "Yes, Major." the AI replied. "Greetings!" The emperor greeted them "Welcome to the Empire of Gryphonia, I am Emperor Nofus. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am terribly sorry for the rough introduction. The late commander could be a nuisance sometimes." "The pleasure is ours your majesty." Wolfpack replied. "And I thought I'd never use this word again after that royal escort in London." Alexandra mentally sighed. "Don't worry your highness, we have been through worse." Alexandra replied. "Pardon me, but before we continue this conversation; can you please tell me what you are?" The emperor inquired. "We are called humans your majesty. We are sentient, civilized, and omnivorous." Ice stated "If you want to know more, you only need to ask." "I believe you are yet to introduce yourselves. It would be better for me to call you by your names." the emperor stated "I assume you are all soldiers?" Emperor Arcturus inquired while looking at Victor "Do not be afraid to tell the truth, even if you are all soldiers; you are all gladly welcomed here." "Major Alexandra Pearce. Call-sign Wolf Mother." "Captain Heinrich Heiddleburg. Call-sign Herr Mauser." "Lieutenant Victor Craig. Call-sign Warhammer." "Sergeant Caroline Wong. Call-sign Ice." "MAMBA" "Monsoon." "Ah, call-signs. Only elite soldiers usually use them." A voice from the soldier lines said. Two large griffons from earlier stepped out. The larger one had golden feathers with a royal red robe covering his body with a golden symbol of a griffon and two crossed swords in the background. While the smaller one had dark grey feathers with a royal white robe adorned by the same symbol. "These are my sons, Prince Solarwing." he said while gesturing at the large gold-feathered griffon who bowed his head in respect "And General Stormcrest." while gesturing at the dark grey griffon who simply nodded his head. "I am sorry for our apparent rudeness, but father told us to stay back. Can't question his orders." Solarwing said. Stormcrest remained silent, observing the newcomers. "Very good my son." The emperor stated "We are about to have dinner. Care to join us?" Wolfpack looked at each other before coming with a conclusion "Of course your majesty. We feel honored." Alexandra said. "Very well." With a simple twirl of his talon, his soldiers got into formation and started marching with the group to the castle. During their trip through the large and majestic castle of Gryphonia, Wolfpack observed pretty much everything. The endless hallways and corridors, windows, doors; quickly making a visual map to the fastest exit in case anything goes wrong. "Relax." Stormcrest said "You humans are looking very tense." "Fear of the unknown, I presume?" Nofus inquired "If you are worried about being harmed, put those thoughts aside." "Why? All I know you can cut our heads off any second now." Heinrich said. "What hogwash." Stormcrest said "That would be very dishonorable of us. If our honor's lost, everything is lost. Besides, you have done us a favor." he said while sneaking a peek at Victor who was fiddling with his cracked helmet. "The commander really put all of his strength to it didn't he?" Solarwing asked while walking beside Victor "Maybe you should let our blacksmiths to repair it." "Yeah, the dude whacked me real hard." Victor said "But it's nothing. Just a small crack, nothing I can't handle." "Where did you learn to fight like that?" Stormcrest asked "It's not usual for a creature at your size to be able to take down a griffon captain with one blow." "Rough childhood." Victor simply replied. "I see." Stormcrest replied "By the way, I believe you did not get here by your own will; yes?" he asked as they entered the royal dining hall and took their seats. "Yes, this is not our intended destination in the first place." Alexandra said. "If I may know, where is your destination exactly?" Nofus asked "Maybe we can help you to reach it." "Firstly, my apologies your majesty. I can't tell you the details yet, because our mission is classified. But I am sure our high command will allow us to disclose our mission to you for the sake of diplomatic relations. But we are supposed to be in Equestria, specifically on a small town called Ponyville." Alexandra explained. The griffons looked at each other as if they received a blessing from the gods. But before anything else could be discussed, one of Nofus' adjutants approached him and whispered something. "Good, let him in." The emperor declared. Soon, the large luxurious double-doors swung open. With that, a well-built unicorn stallion and a platoon of griffon troops escorting a wheeled steel cage containing an incapacitated griffon stepped into the room. The unicorn had an emerald green coat and tree bark brown mane and tail, with river blue eyes with a justice scale tattoo; on Wolfpack's perspective on his flank. While the griffon had a grey head fur, black body fur, green claws, golden eyes and approximately six feet tall. The unicorn scanned the room of it's occupants and noticed the humans. He observed them for a bit before bowing in respect. "Shadow Specter, I see you've accomplished your mission once again." Nofus said with a smile of satisfaction. "As always your majesty, as always." Shadow smiled ominously.