//Begin Personal Log
//
//May 8th, 2559
//
//19:22 Local Time
So my meeting with the Princesses was... not what I had expected. I was expecting to show up, talk a bit about the UNSC, try to get a better understanding of their culture, try to get them interested in pursuing further relations, and then get to know the Princesses better. Well I succeeded. Except what happened and what I wanted to happen are two very different things.
The whole meeting was less of a diplomatic meeting and more of a trip to a grief counselor. I have no idea how they did it, but they got me to talk about the Great War and how I lost my friends and family on Reach. It felt good... to just let it all out. It was far from a professional meeting. Hell, the whole thing took place in what looked like a living room. My personal conduct was appalling; given that you aren't supposed to cry rivers into the shoulder of the foreign leader you are meeting with. I can just picture countless UNSC diplomats committing mass suicide if they ever found out what happened in our meeting.
All that being said, the meeting went great. Both Princesses have agreed to let me and my crew stay in their country. They are even interested in pursuing more advanced diplomatic relations with the UNSC. I have yet to contact the Director about what happened, but will likely do so later this week.
I also learned that both Celestia and Luna will be traveling to Gryfopolis next week to meet with the gryphon emperor, so we will have to wait a week before we can have another talk. Anyway, the supply request for our engines has been approved and a ship is on the way. I wonder if they will have the same issue as us?
Also, more fun from the various science labs. Astrophysics continues to study the strange occurrences in this system. The microbiology lab continues their search for new pathogens that could potentially harm humans, nothing has been found yet. The geology department have begun looking at rock sample from around the ship. I have yet to read their full report. Meteorology continues to throw a temper tantrum over the fact that Pegasi seem to be able to make their weather in a type of cloud factory. The xenobilogy lab has been pouring over the books brought by Princess Twilight. They have reported some very interesting things in regards to pony anatomy. Specifically in regards to skeletal structures and the like.
//End Log
Both Princesses left the room with Captain Ryan as they concluded their short meeting. As the Captain turned right and left the castle through the throne room, Luna and Celestia made a right and walked to the dining room. They continued up a long spiral staircase to Celestia’s room. The two alicorns walked past a pair of guards at the doors as they silently entered. The pair then sat on a set of opulent cushions, set in front of a fireplace. Luna was the first to speak up.
“So Tia, what do you think?”
Celestia thought back on the last fifteen minutes following Daniel’s emotional collapse. She had been the one to comfort him as he talked about his family on Reach.
“I think we are looking at a new age for Equestria.”
“I mean, what do you think about Daniel?”
“He is... different, but he seems lost in his feelings. There is a lot of sadness within him, but he has managed to turn that sadness into ambition and determination. However, it isn't healthy that he repressed most of his sadness.”
Luna just stared at her sister, slightly slack-jawed. “You came up with all that in half an hour?”
“Years of practice Lulu.” Celestia looked to the fireplace and watched the flames for a moment. “What was your impression?”
Luna thought for a moment. “He seemed nice. I didn’t feel like he was trying to be deceptive or even withhold information. I kinda like him to be honest. I think he could be a great ally and a great friend.”
“I agree. However, we do need to remember to be cautious. They are a very advanced alien race. While Daniel is a nice example of his people, I want to reserve judgment until I can meet more of them. One individual does not set the standard for the masses.”
“I suppose.” Luna looked at her sister and then to the fire. “So what do you think is happening in Grifopolis?”
Celestia sighed. “I hope that the demonstrations will not interfere with our meeting with Emperor Coalfeather.”
“And if they do?”
“Then we will have to make our way out of the city as quickly as possible. We are taking two groups of guards with us. I’m sure we will be fine.”
“I suppose. Still...”
“There is no point worrying about it, Lulu. I would recommend you get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”
Luna nodded at her sister. “Alright. I’ll see you in the morning, Tia.” Luna got up and made her way to the door after nuzzling her sister.
“Tia?”
“Yes Luna?”
“Please give them a chance.”
“I will Luna. I certainly will.”
The Princess of the Night then walked out of her sister’s room, closing the door silently behind her.
~~~
Captain Ryan looked at his screen and sighed as he reflected on the previous night. What was supposed to be a by-the-book diplomatic meet and greet, turned into a therapy session involving him spilling emotional baggage onto the two Princesses. To his surprise, the two alicorns reacted very well to his outburst of emotion. The group had sat for a few silent minutes as Daniel emptied his eyes into Celestia’s fur. The solar Princess sat with a warm smile as she embraced the distraught human.
The three of them then talked a bit about Daniel’s family and more about the Great War. He talked a bit about his career, starting with his enlistment and ODST training. He then went on to describe some of the missions he had been a part of and the places he had been. He finished his story by telling them about his ONI commission and his first starship command.
It was then Celestia and Luna’s turn to talk. Celestia began by talking about their life with their parents. Luna remained silent during this period, claiming that she remembered little before her fall to madness. Celestia then went on to talk a bit about her time as Equestria’s leader. Captain Ryan could only sit and listen in wonder as the solar Princess covered the past fifteen hundred years of her rule. As Celestia finished, Luna recounted her difficulties of adjusting to a modern Equestria after her banishment. Daniel couldn’t help but chuckle at a few of Luna’s mishaps with modern technology. He was ultimately impressed by how quickly, and how well, she had adopted the new technologies of her world.
Eventually the night came to an end as Celestia and Luna had a trip to the gryphon capital of Grifopolis the following afternoon. Daniel said his farewells and boarded a carriage back to his ship. He left the castle feeling he had accomplished his goal and had lifted some of the emotional weight that plagued him.
His concentration was broken as the ship’s AI materialized on the corner of his desk.
“Sorry, sir. Am I interrupting something?”
“Not at all Tommy. Just thinking.”
“About your meeting last night?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you feel it went well?”
“I feel it was successful. I’m not sure I would say it went well.”
“I see. Well, I have finished transmitting your report to ONI. Director Burr has asked you to call him in two days.”
“Will do.” The Captain closed his log before turning to the AI. “Do you have any further information on our shipment?”
“I do. The frigate Grafton is leaving tomorrow morning for Equestria. Their cargo manifest has been uploaded to your email.”
“They’re sending a frigate on a delivery run?”
“It would seem so, sir.”
“Wow, I wonder who drew the short straw there?”
“It would seem Captain Daviston did.”
“Yeah, I gathered that.”
“Is there anything else you need, sir?”
“Yeah, can you tell me the distance to Grifopolis?”
“I am unsure of where that is.”
“Twilight said it was north west of Canterlot, in the high mountains.”
“One moment...” The AI seemed to stare at the wall as topographic data was processed at lightning speed. “I believe I have found the place you mentioned. Is this it?” Daniel’s computer screen lit up as it displayed a map of the region, highlighting the area in question.
“Yup, that looks like it.”
“Marking on map. The distance is nine hundred and forty four point three miles. At our top speed of three hundred and fourteen miles per hour in atmosphere, we could reach the city in three hours. May I ask why sir?”
“Just wondering. The Princesses went there this afternoon, or at least they left this afternoon, not sure how long it would take.”
“I might be able to fix that. Judging that your carriage departed at a speed of fifty six point nine miles per hour, it would take them sixteen and a half hours to reach the city.”
“Good to know.”
“Well then, is there anything else, sir?”
“No Tommy, that will be all.”
“Goodnight Captain.” The AI then disappeared from view, leaving the Captain alone once more.
With a sigh and a grunt, Daniel pulled himself up from his chair and walked to his bathroom. A hot shower would do him good. The Princesses had said they would only be gone for two days. Something about meeting with the gryphon emperor about some kind of insurrection. He hadn’t asked many questions as it was none of his business.
~~~
The next morning, Daniel woke up the same way he had the past few days. He was beginning to enjoy waking up with the sun. He then remembered that the UNSC Grafton would be leaving for Equestria today. The astrophysics lab had sent their recommendation for navigating the gravitational distortions, hopefully it would work.
Daniel then went about the rest of his morning routine, eventually ending on the bridge. There wasn’t a whole lot to do around the ship at the moment. Most personnel were carrying out preventative maintenance or running department drills. Only the science labs were really occupied. A report from the xenobiology lab was waiting for him at his console. With nothing more pressing to attend to he picked up the report and read.
The report was a detailed comparison of the ponies of Equestria to the less evolved equines of Earth. There were many similarities and even more differences. The most notable difference was their contrasting body sizes. The other notable difference was the more developed brain of Equestrian ponies. Daniel then skimmed over some of the information that he already knew. To his surprise, the biology lab had already assigned a classification to the ponies of Equestria; Equus Nobilis. It was a stark contrast to the Equus Ferus Caballus of Earth.
He then began reading the next portion of the report. The medical books borrowed from Twilight revealed that the ponies of Equestria had a similar reproductive cycle to that of horses from Earth, being that every female would experience a single estrous cycle during the spring months. The only difference was that the Equestrian ponies only had a single three week cycle, whereas Earth horses had multiple cycles during the spring and summer months. It was an interesting fact, one that the Captain promptly pushed to the back of his mind.
It wasn’t long before the communications officer spoke up.
“Captain! Incoming transmission from the UNSC Grafton.”
“Thank you Chief. Put it through to my station.”
“Aye sir. Patching through.”
The screen in front of the Captain lit up as the Captain of the Grafton appeared.
“Captain Ryan, glad to see you guys are okay. How’s your world of magical talking ponies?” Dovaston asked with a chuckle.
“It’s really neat. I think I’ll take my next leave here.”
“Sounds nice from the reports I have read.”
“They don’t so the place enough justice.”
“So, you need some spare parts?”
“Yup. I’m wondering though, why did they send you on a delivery run?”
“ONI wanted to make absolute sure that you received the shipment. Guess that translates to sending a warship to make the drop. Speaking of which, where are we dropping this?”
“As close to my ship without hitting it.”
“Alright, I’ll have the crate sent to your front door.”
“Thanks Dovaston.”
“Don’t mention it. We’re also putting some satellites in orbit, part of a request from ONI.”
“Any idea what for?”
“Eh, a few navigation satellites, a communications one, a navigation beacon, and two observation satellites.”
“So basic orbital infrastructure?”
“Pretty much.”
“Neat. Are you guys heading home right away, or are you sticking around for a few?”
“I was planning on sticking around for a few days, make sure all the equipment works.”
There was a thunderous boom as the supply pod impacted the ground in front of the Tuscany.
“Oh would you look at that, my box is here. It’s like Christmas came early”
“Well damn, they might as well start calling me Santa Claus. Ho ho ho motherfuckers.”
Daniel couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll put a request in with the Director. See if we can make that permanent.”
“You do that. Now I expect you boys at ONI aren’t causing too much trouble on alien worlds.”
“Trouble? Me? Never.”
“Yeah, I’m convinced.”
The two men shared a brief laugh. “Well I gotta go Daniel. I’ll talk to you when we are heading out.”
“Alright, good hearing from ya Dovaston.”
The line then went black. Engineers had already gone out to collect the cargo pod, eager to complete the engine repair.
~~~
It was five hours later that Andrew had finally given the all clear on the engines. Captain Ryan was in his quarters when he received the news. While he was pleased that the engines were finally repaired, he secretly wished that something would happen. He contemplated running the crew through a nuclear launch drill or maybe a damage control drill. This train of thought was interrupted as a scroll seemed to flash into existence and drop onto his desk. Daniel was perplexed as to how the scroll had just popped into existence in his cabin. Deciding it wasn’t all that important he picked it up and broke the seal holding it closed.
It was a letter from Twilight. She explained to Daniel that a letter from Celestia was received that morning, stating that the situation in Grifopolis had become dire as the insurrectionist movement began to consume the city. While the Princesses had a guard escort, it wasn’t nearly sufficient to hold off an army of angry gryphons. Twilight then went on to state that she wanted to send a contingent of guards to assist the Princesses, but was worried that they wouldn’t make it in time. Daniel thought about this, it would take the guards sixteen hours to reach the city. By then they might be too late. He, however, had a craft capable of reaching the city in only three hours. What better way to relieve boredom than to rescue two Princesses. He then went to open his computer to call Twilight when it hit him; he had no way of directly contacting her.
With no time to spare, the Captain grabbed his comm unit. “Commander Dior, Commander Zerom, please meet me on the bridge.”
The Captain then briskly made his way to the bridge. Once there, he noticed both commanders waiting at the display table.
“So Captain, what’s this about?” Zerom asked.
“We have a developing situation in the gryphon capital. Reports say that insurrectionist forces have stormed the city and have completely blocked it off to all means of escape. We don’t have any information past that.”
“Well that’s sketchy.” The SPARTAN commander added.
“I agree, but it would take a better part of the day for Equestrian reinforcements to reach the city. We can make it there in a few hours.”
“So you want to attempt a rescue?” Zerom asked, slightly astonished at how quickly the situation had deteriorated.
“Yes.”
“Correct me if I am wrong, but we are on a diplomatic mission, not a combat one.” Dior said with concern.
“I understand that, Commander, but diplomacy is difficult if the person you are trying to conduct diplomacy with is dead.”
“Alright, so then what’s the plan?”
“Well I need to confirm this with Princess Twilight. Unfortunately she doesn’t have any way for us to contact her. So I was going to grab a pelican and just fly to the castle.”
“Won’t that raise some questions among the population?”
“Their bound to find out about us eventually.”
“Still...”
“Look, this is what’s happening. We are going to confirm the report with Twilight and then we are going to Grifopolis to evac the Princesses. Okay?”
“Aye sir.” Zerom and Dior said in unison.
“Dior, with me.”
Captain Ryan and Commander Dior headed to the armory for their armor and sidearms. Dior was always wearing her armor, so she needed only a weapon. Eventually the two made their way to the lower launch bay where a pelican drop ship was waiting. The two officers quickly boarded the craft and signaled the pilot to take off.
~~~
The flight to Canterlot lasted only fifteen minutes as the pelican roared through the sky. Neither Ryan nor Dior said a word as they flew. Eventually the aircraft touched down in the same courtyard that Daniel’s carriage had used the day prior. The SPARTAN and Captain both quickly disembarked, leaving every guard in the area to wonder what was happening, none of them tried to stop the two humans.
Daniel was the first to enter the throne room, followed shortly by the Commander. Twilight sat atop the throne usually occupied by Celestia, her face furrowed into a frown as she read multiple scrolls about the recent incident in Grifopolis. She lowered the scrolls as both humans entered the room.
“Captain Ryan! I take it you got my message?”
“I did. Twilight, this is Commander Dior, she is in charge of our SPARTAN team on the Tuscany. Commander, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
“It’s a pleasure ma’am.” The SPARTAN said with a salute.
“Please Commander, call me Twilight. So Daniel, why didn’t you just write back? You didn’t have to come here in person.”
“Well I don’t exactly have a speedy way of getting in contact with you.”
“Oh... right... I didn’t think of that. Sorry.”
“No worries. Now, what do you plan on doing?”
“I am planning on sending a group of guards to the gryphon capital to aid the Princesses.”
“Okay, then why contact me? You seem to already have a plan.”
“Well... I figured you might have some expertise in this kind of situation. I wanted to see what you thought.”
“I think you are going to be too late. It’s a sixteen hour flight to the gryphon capital. A lot can happen in that time.”
“Do you have a better suggestion?” Twilight asked with interest and concern.
“Send me. My ship can make it there in only three hours. Plus we have the firepower to easily overwhelm any resistance.”
“You have a good point. Alright, do it.”
The Captain nodded before turning and nearly sprinting out of the throne room. The sound of metal boots resonated through the hall as the ODST and SPARTAN made their way back to the pelican.
Another short fifteen minute flight later, both officers were back aboard the Tuscany. Daniel ran to the nearest console and summoned the AI.
“Tommy, get the ship ready for take off and set course for Grifopolis.”
“Aye sir.”
The Captain and Commander made their way back to the bridge as the sounds of the engines coming to life filled the ship.The bridge was a scene of controlled chaos as everyone got their stations ready for flight. In a matter of minutes, the hull of the Tuscany lifted off the ground for the first time since landing in Equestria. For the first part of the flight, the ship would operate with it’s optical cloak powered on. There was a loud mechanical sound as the landing gear locked in place. The ship then banked to the left and quickly gained speed as it flew over the Everfree Forest.
“Tommy, time to destination?”
“Two hours and fifty one minutes, Captain.”
“See if you can shave that down a bit.”
“Aye sir. I’ll see what we can do.”
“Commander Dior, I want your team ready to go. If we have to fight our way through the city then I want a team ready to drop as soon as we get there.”
“Aye sir.” The SPARTAN did an about face as she quickly left to gather her SPARTANs.
Commander Zerom looked at the holographic display table before looking to Daniel.
“So Captain, do we have a plan?”
“I’m thinking shock and awe. See if we can use our presence alone to scare them into retreating.”
“And if that fails?”
“Well then we motivate them to vacate the area.”
“And by motivate you really mean a display of superior force?”
“Exactly. We have two mass drivers capable of launching thirty ton projectiles at thirty thousand meters per second. I’m sure those will have quite the impact.” Daniel laughed at his own sentence. Zerom just shook his head. “Well Commander, if you need me, I will be in my quarters for the next two hours. Notify me when we get close.
“Aye sir.”
~~~
The next two hours passed quickly. Daniel was actually down in the armory getting into his armor when a call came over the intercom.
“Captain, we are ten minutes from our target. Orders?”
“Stand by, I’m on my way up.” He grabbed his helmet from the rack and ran back up to the bridge. Commander Dior and Zerom were already waiting for him at the display table. “Alright Tommy, show me the goods.”
The table shimmered as the image transformed into a topographical representation of the mountain city. Six red dots appeared in the air around the city, and seemed to be moving in slow circles.
“Captain, I am tracking six unknown radar contacts. Each of them are a bit smaller than our ship, but seem to be moving at a very leisurely pace.” The AI reported.
“Alright, good to know. How long until visual range?”
“Six minutes sir.”
“Very good. Sound battle stations. Bring all weapons online.”
“Does this include nuclear ordnance sir?”
“Yes, arm missiles one and two.”
“Aye sir.” Alarms began to blare across the ship, signalling the crew that it was time to fight. Not four minutes later, the crew were ready. All stations had reported ready status and two nuclear missiles had been armed. Each Shiva class nuclear missile had a payload of three hundred megatons. Daniel prayed that he would not need such destructive weapons, but was glad he had them just in case.
Soon the city was beginning to come into view. The bridge crew was soon able to see plumes of smoke rising from various sections of the city, as well as what looked like six airships circling overhead.
“Helm, bring us in at one third.”
“Aye sir, ahead on third.”
Daniel was soon able to make out features of the airships. They all looked like normal wooden sailing ships except they were suspended from a large balloon. They also seemed to hold a number of air to ground weapons as all six were bombing what looked like a palace.
“Tommy, mark targets as hostile and make ready to fire.”
“Aye sir. Targets marked.”
“Weapons control, bring the forward mass drivers online and prep Archer missiles.”
“Yes sir! Archer pods ready, mass drivers are charging.”
“Very good. Standby for orders. Commander Dior, is your team in position in the launch bay?”
“Yes sir. Medical teams are standing by down here as well.”
“Excellent. Tommy, prepare to drop cloak. Weapons, prepare to fire on my mark. Target the two closest airships with the mass drivers and split the Archers among the remaining four.”
“Aye sir.” The weapons officer replied.
“Ahead slow!”
“Ahead slow, aye sir.” Lieutenant Vezina replied.
“Tommy, drop cloak.”
“Aye sir. Cloak is offline.”
This was it. He was about to open fire on an alien world. He out-teched his opponent by easily a millenium. While they seemed to rely on rudimentary cannons, he had access to the most powerful coil guns and nuclear missiles. He almost felt bad.
“Open fire.”
~~~
Celestia and Luna stood with their guards in the emperors office. Emperor Coalfeather himself stood with his two personal bodyguards, the sounds of battle were getting closer as the insurrectionists fought their way through his fortress. Both alicorns looked at him, expecting him to do something.
“So this is it?! We’re just going to stay here until they come to slaughter us!?” Luna asked with fury in her voice.
“They have the entire palace surrounded and the air covered. There is no way out. All we can do now is make a final stand.” The emperor replied.
“This is absurd. Tia, we need to do something!” Celestia looked to her sister and sighed.
“Quite frankly, I do not wish to stay here and fight. However, if we can make a hole in their aerial defences then we may be able to escape that way.”
“Alright, lets do it then. All we have to do is fight our way past six airships.” Luna the turned and glanced out the large windows. The airships were in plain view as their cannons continued to bombard the fortress.
“Perhaps we can-” Luna was cut off as the world seemed to stop in front of her.
The lunar Princess watched as a black craft seemed to shimmer into existence where only clouds seemed to exist just moments before. Before she could say anything there were two massive bangs as two streaks of light seemed to shoot from the craft, impacting the nearest airships. Both craft instantly exploded in a shower of flaming wood debris, the balloons floating away as the weight below them was removed. Now all eyes were on the strange craft as it pulled into a wide turn over the city. Dozens of glowing smoke trails seemed to leave the craft at incredible speed as they shot toward the remaining four airships. The sky was soon filled with flashes of light followed by an equal number of explosions.
The airspace over the city was soon filled with the burning wreckage of four airships, each taking only seconds to plummet to the ground below.Soon the sky became clear, save for the single black craft. On the side of the craft, painted in white block letter and accompanied by a familiar insignia, were the words UNSC Tuscany.
“Huh, well how about that.” Luna said with a slight chuckle.
~~~
Captain Ryan watched as all six airships were promptly demolished, leaving him to rule the skies over Grifopolis. He ordered the ship to come to a hover just above the burning palace and to open the ship’s lower docking bay. Hopefully the Princesses and their escorts were alright.
“Sir, I have an update. Scans are showing large numbers of enemy combatants retreating from the area. It seems your shock and awe plan is working.” The AI reported.
“Well I’m glad to hear that. Any word on our Princesses?”
“Negative sir, I’ll keep looking.”
Daniel didn’t have to wait long for an answer. “Captain, targets found. They are on the uppermost tower to our port side. They seem to also have a single gryphon with them.”
“Good find Tommy. Vezina, bring us in slowly.”
“You got it Captain.” The pilot replied with a cheerful voice.
The ship slowly moved toward the tower that the alicorn sisters were standing on. The smoke from the burning city occasionally obstructing their view.
“Sir, I am tracking multiple contacts heading for us. Recommend bringing point defence online.” Tommy said with concern.
“Agreed.”
A series of mechanical sounds announced the activation of the dozen or so point defence turrets onboard the Tuscany. Each turret was capable of firing seventy rounds per second, making for a lethal wall of lead. The only part that had the captain worried was the open bay doors. While there was a fully armed SPARTAN team down below, he still worried for his other crew members. Still, he had a mission to complete.
Down below in the launch bay, Commander Dior and her SPARTANs were standing on the edge of the lowered ramp, weapons at the ready. The Princesses and gryphon were not more than fifty feet away on the nearby tower balcony. Dior was beckoning them to fly across to her. Princess Luna was the first to take to the sky. She began flying furiously through thick smoke as countless gryphons began to close in on either side. Her hearing was soon overwhelmed as the loud buzzing of ten Gatling cannons filled the air. Only seconds later she was caught by Commander Dior, helping her slow down and avoid crashing into the bulkhead. The SPARTAN then moved back to the ramp’s edge as she waited for the others.
Fueled by Luna’s success, Celestia and both contingent of pegasus guards lept into the air and flew quickly to the open bay. The point defence cannons were keeping a majority of the advancing gryphons at bay. Unfortunately a handful were making it through and were trying to intercept Celestia. The SPARTANs, however, were ready. The sounds of automatic rifle fire soon joined the chorus of cannon fire as more lead was flung into the air. Celestia and the guards were able to touch down with a bit more precision and grace than Luna had managed.
All that was left were the gryphon emperor and his two guards. The three shared worried looks before taking to the sky. All three flew as quickly as possible and hordes of angry fighters tried to reach the escaping emperor. All were promptly shot down by the ships cannons or the SPARTANs rifles. Even with this covering fire, the gryphon emperor flew as fast as possible to the ship. So fast in fact, that before he knew it he had already flown right over the SPARTANs and into the bay. Unfortunately, the launch bay of the Tuscany was only one hundred and twenty feet long. This did not provide ample room for the gryphon to stop in time as he barreled toward a suspended catwalk and the lone sailor standing at his console in the middle.
~~~
Petty Officer Jung was excited. He had been ordered by Commander Dior to man the launch bay door controls. She had also brought an entire SPARTAN team into the bay. He had seen both Princesses and their guards fly into the launch bay. The sounds of cannon fire heightened his adrenaline fueled state. He knew something big was coming. Jung never thought that something big would literally be coming for him in the form of an out of control gryphon.
He audibly gulped. This was going to really suck.
Well i think this is a good demonstration of the Humans. Kind of IMBA
I'm sure the Tia and Lulu happy for the rescue as well have an some what better grasp of how strong the humans are, and if they follow through the process, how strong the enemy had to be to almost wipe them out, The Covenent.
Now what i am more curious about is exactly why the riot, beside the Celestial sisters not something welcomed by most Gryphon's.
Was it really necessary to arm two 300 megaton nuclear missiles when the best weaponry the griffons have are crossbows and blimps, a little over kill if you ask me. An explosion from somthing 9 times bigger than tzar bomba would be very devastating not just to the griffons, but the whole planet. The amount of nuclear fallout would go across the planet and poison everybody. The fireball from that would cause third degree burns from 558 miles away the fireball from the explosion would be 45 miles wide*. Those class of missiles are really meant as a last resort against covenant capital ships or extreme situations that demand it.
*The fireball of Tzar Bomba was 5 miles wide and could third degree burns from 62 miles, just multiply that by nine and you got a shiva class warhead.
2571771
It was a situation of "Having it ready, but not needing it." A leftover protocol from the Great War.
2571765
Spoilers.
Woo! MAC cannons!
Only slightly disturbed at the evident slaughter of griffons, oh well.
2571825
Dirty insurrectionists shall get no mercy.
if it is possible could you go into more detail about the SPARTAN team? it would be nice to see their personalitys. also (for the fun of some specific Halo fan) could atleast ONE SPARTAN have GUNGNIR armour? along with a GUNGNIR rifle A.K.A SPARTAN LAZER? PS loving the story so far, its like im addicted
2571842
I might be able to something like that.
Nothing better than a show of force, but two nuclear missiles is a bit overkill.
2571849
BADASS
also just another quick question why didnt the commander direct the attack using tommy? then he could have beem in the action! also reading ealier posts, it would be a surprise (a confusing one at that) if the elites appeared, and fun to see the princesses reaction to the fact the Humans saved everyone! not just themselfs. anyway gettycarried away here. but yeah all in all more indepth SPARTANS possible twists and the such tha make us confused but i have full confidence in you that you can make it work
PS if you stop writing im coming
Not quite as ludicrous overkill as the Shivas, but that's still 3 kilotons worth of fuck you. I hope nothing important was behind those two airships because those slugs should have passed clear through and annihilated anything unlucky enough to be in the way. Like, say, the city of Grifopolis.
Sir Isaac Newton, fillies and gentlecolts, still the deadliest son of a bitch in space (and atmosphere).
2571966
Yeah, they kinda just went flying off. No one really cared where they would land.
Wouldn't it had been easier to teleport into the ship?
2572167
yes, but no one thought of it in the heat of the moment.
2572271 Fair enough. I'm glad you aren't going with the route of the Princesses being invincible warrior goddesses.
2572278
Just wait until later chapters. That idea will be launched into deep space, never to be found again.
2572295 Yes, yes, excellent.
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Ha! Rail guns and machine guns verses flying boats... Talk about killing an ant with a granade.
The Firing of two 3-ton coil rounds in atmosphere above a city, would have decimated it from the shock-wave. They would make the meteor that exploded over Russia in February and caused so much damage seem tame by comparison (The difference in altitude more than making up for the difference in mass). The shock-wave would have also likely ruptured the soft-membranes of any not lucky enough to have been killed outright by falling debris and collapsing buildings, leaving them to drown in their own blood within an hour or so if left untreated, with medical attention this time could be extended to a day at best.
This does not take into account any potential damage and destruction caused by these rounds as they complete their ballistic trajectory and eventually impact the ground. As should be obvious the effects caused by the shock-wave from these rounds passage will follow this same trajectory causing similar devastation.
Rail/coil/Mass driver weapons at scales above 500kg moving at multiple kilometers per second in atmosphere far exceed the damage potential of nuclear weapons.
Sir Isaac Newton is not the deadliest motherfucker in space, he is the deadliest motherfucker period.
TLDR: Accurately depicted those coil rounds would have been more devastating than the nukes.
2574174
The Mass drivers on Tuscany are the Onager style of those found in the Aszod ship breaking yard. Not the Orbital MAC.
2574263
Given a purely tungsten round with a 15cm diameter it would have to be 888.43 cm long to weigh three metric tonnes, I don't think the Onager can launch rounds that long effectively.
2574318
I'll need to go back and take another look.
A few Pelicans and Hornets would have been able to handle most of this encounter, but bringing in the Tuscany would certainly make quite the impression.
2572621 There's no better kill than overkill. It makes sure it was quick and painless.
I wonder what effect this will have on the UNSC's potential relationships with the other nations of this planet. Some may not like the UNSC throwing its weight around like this.
Also: possible magical augmentations to UNSC tech. Magitech armor, energy cannons, magically augmented mass drivers and bubble shields. Telekinesis modules for Spartan/Marine armor. The possibilities are endless!
2574784
Nothing gets your point across like thirty tons of "Fuck You" launched from a Mass Driver.
2574812 Imagine if they had contact, proximity or timed-detonation nuclear payload rounds.
2574898
The whole city would have been vaporized. Kinda counterproductive to the whole "rescue" mission.
2574909
I meant if they had access to them; If they existed. That would get your point across better than just 30 tons of magnetically-accelerated ferrous material, since it's 30 tons of thermonuclear magnetically-accelerated ferrous material. A MAC cannon that fires nukes.
2575166
Fun fact: Prowlers carry nuclear mines. Some mines even have their own optical cloaking field. While a full MAC would be way to big for a Prowler, a Mass Driver could easily be mounted.
2575174 Ah. So the mass drivers aren't full MACs. Gotcha. The orbital super MACs are pretty beastly, though. 2m diameter projectiles. Them be world-crackers.
2575224
Mass Drivers are safe to use in atmosphere, as they are much smaller.
Cries about alien invasion, Blast country's millitary without warning(which could be considered as invasion) even knowing they are waaaay stronger then them... I think captain of huge,heavely armed,capable of near light speed travel, has more than 3000 crews spaceship should think more logically. I can assume that there is no diplomat at this huuuge ship.
2576198
Tuscany is actually tiny. 90 crew maximum, only 530 feet long, and very lightly armed and armored. Prowlers are for gathering intelligence, they suck at actual fighting. However, when pitted against airships she is an unstoppable steamroller.
"I dont believe in overkill." - Howard Tayler
So at what point did
Turn into
And then
Without any warning or lead into it? Because right now I'm starting to feel like this Captain fellow is a bit of a tool.
Yes Petty Officer Jung, it is going to suck and hurt a lot, hopefully he's not dead because of it!
3037727
Same here. I'm beginning to think the UNSC knew exactly what would happen when the Tuscany entered the slipspace around the planet and was hoping he'd crash and die. The man has gone from annoying but tolerable to batshit fucking retarded in four short chapters. In what universe is "charge into the situation totally uninformed and start killing the locals" considered diplomatic? The fucking Huns look like the Asari by comparison. Armed extraction would have been one thing. What he just did, however, is frankly no better than the Covenant. There is literally no justification in existence for even considering the use of nuclear weapons in this situation.
Well, at some point Luna and Celestia seemed to have forgotten they are akin to physical gods at best, and more than capable of mass teleport at worst. Right, like Mrs "I move the fucking sun" is going to care about air ships. Gryphons don't let her through? Then she manually alters the outcome of the Gryphon Empire's next census. Seriously, even if you don't want to portray Celestia/Luna as unstoppable gods, the fact that they didn't just teleport themselves and their guard contingents to safety is pretty ridiculous. Freaking Twilight could have done that, and HAS done such before.
Also, who the hell gave this man a ship? FFS, he's using 26th century technology to take out a civilian uprising. But hey, whats a little mass murder between strangers, right? Sad part is, I'm pretty sure you're going to make up some reason that this mass slaughter was justified instead of violating essentially every principle of sovereignty ever. Funny that the main character just became one hell of a war criminal just days after being told to make nice with the locals. At this point, I'm reading on to see if every race on Equestria (other than the Ponies) is asking to see this man swinging from the gallows.
Oh, and he used Archer missiles? What the god damn fuck? Those are fusion warheads! Wow. He just NUKED the Gryphon capital. Only estimate I've seen on yield was 10 kilotons, so I suppose it isn't that bad. Assuming he wasn't so psychotic as to detail more than one per floating sail boat, that's only 40 kilotons of death across the capital. Or just a bit more than Nagasaki and Hiroshima combined. And he even air bursted them just as he was supposed to. Lets not even get into the fact that the archer missile, without warhead, is a kiloton class KE weapon just to be able to deliver a payload. I suppose we can ignore it's KE here since it probably didn't accelerate long enough to build up a KE component that would be relevant on top of it's fusion warhead.
2574784
The only thing keeping an immediate declaration of war from occurring will be the knowledge that if Celestia isn't throwing them into the sun, there isn't much they can do. Oh, and probably also a great deal of "well, they were just peasants getting uppity. We're willing to let this incident slide since you sided with the aristocracy". If everyone in position of power isn't a self serving douche bag though, then relations definitely won't be friendly. After all, that's one hell of an act of war. But hey, guess it could have been worse. The ordinance he threw was only in the low kiloton range (~3.22 kilotons per slug if I did my napkin math right, 10{ish} per archer). I'm sure everyone loves kiloton ordinance going off in their city. It's like the fourth of July mixed with a rave right? Awesome fireworks and everyone gets their own night lights >.>
" The whole meeting was less of a diplomatic meeting and more of a trip to a grief counselor. I have no idea how they did it, but they got me to talk about the Great War and how I lost my friends and family on Reach. It felt good... to just let it all out. It was far from a professional meeting. Hell, the whole thing took place in what looked like a living room. My personal conduct was appalling; given that you aren't supposed to cry rivers into the shoulder of the foreign leader you are meeting with. I can just picture countless UNSC diplomats committing mass suicide if they ever found out what happened in our meeting. "
My lord, I am disliking him more and more. Please, someone kill that guy before he is giving out free tech to ponies or telling secrets that aren't supposed to be known By alien species, just because.
EDIT: Alright, I outright hate him. Please, MURDER THAT RETARD!
EDIT: Why the fuck is he even siding with Ponies to take on against the griffons. Shouldn't he really stay neutral on this conflict, or at the very least not go commiting genocide.
EDIT: I would like to have an answer from the author, without getting insulted, if you'd be so kind.
2575243 I have question. While it may not be the orbital Mac the normal ones still fore 300 ton shells at 30,000 meters, which are the ones mounted in the ships and the Mac at the end of reach if I'm not mistaken
4366797 The diarchs can die, as well as Discord. Teleportation has its limits.
4405059 I have one made up word for you that will make a lot of people mad.
"murica"
Congratulations to the Captain and crew of the UNSC Tuscany, you're all war criminals. Go team.
samples
“I do. The frigate Grafton is leaving tomorrow morning for Equestria. Their cargo manifest has been uploaded to your email.”
The grafton was blown up in halo reach.
Well now, you just lost me. Using mass-drivers against airships would be like using a battleship against a trireme, and don't get me started about the Archer missiles. I mean how would they even lock on, let alone detonate? Why not just light up the sky with your PD guns? Hell, even a Gatling-gun would be overkill against those things...
I'm sorry, this fic needs some TLC before I can pick it back up. Suspension of disbelief = broken.
I like how we completely disregard all standard ROE's, all LoAC, and everything else that separates a soldier from a murderer to open fire on wooden airships with missiles with literally zero intel as to the situation. What if the palace was an INS holdout and the airships were military vessels purging the last vestiges of the uprising? What if one of those airships had evaced the rulers as the palace was overwhelmed before turning back to fire on the palace? Why are thousand year old effective god beings worried about pointy sticks when they have the power to manipulate astral bodies? Why don't they just, oh I dunno... Teleport? Why is the captain of a navy vessel on that pelican in the first place? That's like sending a colonel on a presence patrol. There's a reason every modern military follows a model of distributed leadership and it's so scenarios like that never happen.
Every single scene, it's just impossible to believe the characters hold the ranks you say they do. For the UNSC, if you want a character that gets invovled with actual groundwork then write a junior officer or NCO or something, but flag officer's don't do that. Also, don't write about multiple thousands of years old immensely powerful beings canonically capable of long range teleportation being stuck in a building because the doors are blocked.
6169007 Tell that to Captain Keyes.
Okay, the hydra would have been ultimate overkill, but the MAC cannons against a wooden airship? That's absolute overkill!
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