*Everfree Forward Outpost, War Room, 0730. I load a digital map of the Legion base onto the central display table, then dim the lights.*

"Alright, everypony, we sent some surveillance UAVs over the location mentioned in Nexus' intel, and we've been able to compile this map of the Legion base. We have two objectives here: first, acquire the experimental directed-solar-energy weapon the Legion has developed, codename GoldenEye. Second, level the base to protect both Ponyville and Canterlot from the threat of invasion. Intel says that the weapon is being developed here, in these labs."

*I tap on a building in the map, and a 3D holographic model of it rises from the table.*

"We need to get our hooves on one and its design specs. The rest is your standard layout: airfield, barracks, armory, pretty much what we saw during Operation: Preemptive Strike. We'll need two groups, one for each objective. Once the first group has retrieved the GoldenEye, the second can move in to destroy the base. So, who wants to do what, and how shall we go about doing it?"

3107400 "I'll lead the team through the south. Once we've airdropped in we should be fine."

3107400 I know the device we're looking for very well. I can help on that team.

3107559 3107817 "Excellent. Obviously, transporting the tech specs won't be too much of an issue, though this would be a great opportunity for cyber-sabotage or -espionage, if we have a hacker who's up to it. The problem is going to be that the device itself is rather unwieldy. Barring the usual option of teleporting it out, let's see what we can do."

*I create a new browsing tab on the table, then enter in a few search parameters and peruse the results.*

"A-ha! This looks promising. A few decades before the war, the Royal Intelligence Bureau found itself with a similar need to our own, for one Operation: Coldfeet. The details are unimportant, but the extraction system they used is fascinating. Skyhook... Sounds fun."

3107400

"I take it this is a ground mission sir? If so we could also use air support like the last time to make sure we dont lose anypony and suppress there big guns and MG's"

3109444 "Half of it. I expect destroying the base will be an aerial operation; once we have the GoldenEye secure, we can bring in the heaviest guns we have to pound the base into the ground. I'm talking A-10s and AC-130s, my friend. And with drone technology, we can multiply our assault forces."

3109992

"Well then. I suggest we pound out the main defenses first before going in with a airborne assault with Merlin HC3's and UH-60's to deploy the ground forces sir"

3110014 "That's the plan."

3110014 "We're going to need the advantage of stealth here; as soon as the Legion sees NLRAF aircraft on the attack, they're going to lock the whole base down, especially the experimental weapons lab. Right now my plan is for the ground team to HALO jump south of the base, then advance onto the base and acquire the GoldenEye. Once they're out safely, I'll call in the aerial assault. Speaking of which, I need to upgrade my control software to better handle multiple aircraft."

3111628 There's experimental software we've been working on that should do just that. I might be able to get you access to it, but I'm not entirely sure.

3111628

"Sir with all due respect they cant technically lock down a base if the wall has been breached and their defences pounded. AC-130 gunships could wreak havoc way above the base and with enough cloud cover and fighter support should be kept safe. As for the team on the ground if they enter as the attacks begin at the first breach it should make it easy to get to the lab and snatch and grab as they would be distracted by the ariel assault."

3112939 "It's a possibility, I'll give you that. But the ground team will need to carry some heavy explosives to get past the weapons lab's security doors. And once they see we're going for the GoldenEye, Legion forces are going to descend on us like parasprites. We'll then need to emplace ourselves in the lab while we wait for air support to arrive. Close-air support craft will give us cover while we make our escape, but we're talking serious danger close, zero margin for error. And unless we can teleport/shrink the GoldenEye itself, Skyhooking it out is another problem entirely."

3111764 "Excellent, if you can get it to me, I'll integrate into my control system. We'll need at least 2 A-10s, 2 X-37B drone bombers, and an AC-130 gunship. I can install autopilot and a firing program for the Vulcan cannons on the AC-130, but we'll need at least one or two airponies (redshirts) in it to operate the M102 and Bofors 40mm guns. Would you happen to know if we have any cyber-warfare specialists around? Ripping the tech specs for the GoldenEye may take their expertise, and it's also a great opportunity to exploit access to the Legion network, since the evidence will be destroyed minutes after we access it."

*i enter the room and read the mission briefing.* I can infiltrate and get the plans of the weapon and destroy it as well. if we have any other stealth units to cover my back.

3114150 Just give me a few minutes and I should be able to hook everything up. *works on the computer and sets up the software*
We won't need the explosives to get in, though. Those doors may be big and strong, but the computer mainframe they're connected to isn't. I can hack it in a matter of seconds to get in. And we can just take the files. They've been stored on an external hard drive specifically for quick movement in the case of an attack.

3112939 "Ya, know, before he left, Nexus was working on a grappling hook launcher. If one of you can modify it to launch a hook with det-cord instead, we can make this easier."

3114150

"Aye good point. So another HALO insertion then?"

3114492 "We need the weapon itself as well. And even though I'm probably the worst pony in the NLRAF to be saying this, no hot-shot going in alone. Not with all those Legion forces a stone's throw away."

3114890 "Fantastic. Please do so, and if you're that good, maybe there are some other tech specs we could benefit from in the Legion mainframe. If you're up for it, we could wreck some real havoc on their systems with access from inside."

3114945 "I'll see what I can do, once I've finished modifying the aircraft, of course. Though I rarely get to use it around here, my crossbow has bolts designed to carry lines of paracord, sort of like a grappling hook. I could thread detcord in with the paracord and have pretty much the same thing. But if det-cord is a fuse, what would it be setting off tethered to a grappling hook?"

3115134 "I expect so, just to decrease our visibility and vulnerability to ground fire during descent."

3115572 "You're a smart pony. And you have a stolen knife. Just put an oz of C4 every few feet, cut the line when it's caught and the det-cord will help you blast through anything. Just a line against the seems of a panel of the wall and it should come down like a burning plane."

3115623 "Point taken, I'll see what I can do."

3115572 *grins* With pleasure. When do we leave?

3115975 "We'll need a few days to prep. I already have the 2 A-10s ready, the X-37Bs are linked into our system, and we can get crews to fly the C130 that drops us and picks us up and the AC130 gunship. What I need is a stronger transmission antenna for my Toughbook, so we don't have a drone go haywire like during Clipped Wings. I'll requisition that, and in the meantime start researching this Skyhook extraction system, then build us some extraction kits and make the necessary modifications to the C130. And for the record, since we have drones for air support, I'd like everypony present to be part of the ground team, unless anypony can think of a reason to do otherwise."

3115572
"I'm not some idiot who would waltz in alone. Me and a team can get in, secure the weapons blueprints and the weapons holding room for extraction. All I need is the team and a distraction. If the legions forces are distracted in a firefight outside me and a team can get to the target undetected."

3115572

"Aye but for the noise of those turbines we'd needed to be much much higher up. And by that i mean way way way above the cloud layer....We might need to be packing anti freeze as well at that altitude" i finish with a small grin

3119527 "You've got your team right here, and we'll use the drones to distract the Legion. The A-10s will open up with a strafe run, then once we're in, the X-37Bs will drop their payload and the AC-130 will start pounding them. But I want minimal ground contact with enemy forces; we'll be outnumbered in the worst possible way, and I don't want to risk getting pinned down and slaughtered in a firefight."

3119717 "We'll do what we did during Clipped Wings. Legion couldn't detect us then, I doubt they'll be able to now."

3120106

"That wasnt too long ago. if we do the same were gonna have to drop further away than last time and no doubt the legion is either listening in watching us or is waiting for us"

3120106
"Right." *i move over beside the base floor plan. take a look at it and turn back to midnight* (For anyone here who has played CoD ghosts you'll know this plan.) "what if we were able to get legion uniforms we could walk right in, get a remote override on the power grind. Once at golden eye we could cut the power and airhook it out of the base and carry out the rest of the plan."

3121246 "That might work but It's unlikely that it'll work without a body count. We need to avoid that at all costs."

3121489
*got a point. Still it would be safer then sneaking around with a bigger chance of getting caught. But you guys are more experienced."

3122011 (also. that idea is MUCH older than Call of Duty as a franchise.)

3118036 I might be able to help with that transmission signal.

3121246
3122611

"Power shortage's. They could easily work in our advantage and we'd only need one set of boots to do it. Then send in the team. Hard and Fast. Quick and efficient Brutal and effective is what we need"

3121240 "You know, when I was digging around to figure out how to get the GoldenEye out, I glanced at another file that just might have a solution for us."

*I call up a new tab on the display table, then flip through the history until I open a new file. At the head of it is this picture: *

"Here we are, the PHASST. Programmable High-Altitude Single-Soldier Transport, otherwise known as the Switchblade. Kind of like a personal glider, it's disposable, low-profile, and undetectable by radar. You drop it out the back of a C130, then glide over your target, jump off and freefall the rest of the way. Until you open your chute, of course. With some of these, we could deploy well out of Legion radar range, then glide to the base."

3122011 3122017 "Besides, at least a few ponies at the Legion know our faces. And it would be too hard to get the specialized equipment we need into the base undercover."

3122777

"We need those. We need those stat. We could easily conduct recon missions and assault missions without the fuckers ever knowing till we hit em!"

3122777 It looks like our best shot to get in. Where are these things?

3122611 "Just get me the strongest antenna you can that's still field-portable."

3122712 "I take it you mean cutting the power to the base. They'll have internal emergency generators for sure, but we'll need that to hack our way through the lab's security doors and get access to their mainframe. The issue is that the one pony who cuts the power is going to have a very unpleasant time getting back to the rest of us. If we're still going in guns a'blazing, I'd recommend we use a guided missile to do the job instead of a pony."

3122819 3122836 "Let's see... there are six of them still in operating condition, but they're at the Boneyard (sort of like the NLRAF's airplane graveyard. The US Air Force has one in Arizona). It's a ways deeper in the Everfree, but I'll make a call down there and have them trucked up here ASAP. A bit of incidental maintenance here and there, and they'll be ready to fly."

3122883 I can get that to you in a few hours. Now all we need is a clear path into the base and straight to the lab.

3124341 (let's keep going. I don't think it matters that much. It's not like we're doing anything NSFW here. I think that's where they drawl the line anyways)

3125284 (It's not that, it's all RPs in general. Like a fucking nuke.)

3126297 (We got 12 hours! Come on! I'm not letting this die with a fucking whimper! Let's go out with a fucking sonic rainboom of awesome destruction.)

3126338 (Hell yeah, game on.)

*We skippeth a few days ahead.*

"Alright, everypony, the PHASSTs have arrived and I have them tuned up and ready to drop. In addition, I've modified a C130 so that it can Skyhook us and the GoldenEye out of there. We'll have four quick-inflating balloons with flashing LEDs inside, one for the GoldenEye and for every two of us. Once we inflate them, we'll hook the other end of the lines to our HALO harnesses and the weapon, then the C130 will snatch us up and out of there. They'll open up their cargo bay and pull us inside, then we bug out and level the base. Let's go!"

(Starting new thread now)

3126338 (If you can get TachyonicBow out of his shell, I think it would be appropriate for all our OCs to stand together in a gallant final stand in the name of roleplay on FiMFiction.)

3126338 (So now knighty's said he's not going to delete groups, but just clean up problem threads. We live to RP another day.)

3126746 (Now you're getting the mentality. Let's RP like it's-Well it is our last day on earth doing this!)