Mercs on a Mission

by Gairenard

Abrupt Abduction

Chapter 5 - Abrupt Abduction

“Who ever it was took the barrels of explosive powder from the armory and used it to create a grid of explosives around the sleeping houses.”
“Did they do the same with the towers?”
“I don't know, that would've been a lot of work if they did. We haven't found any traces of explosive powder in the wreckage of the hospital or the towers.”
“Well? What do you think?”

“Human explosives, that’s the best answer I’ve got. They had portable explosives and used them to demolish the towers.”
“Is highly unlikely that humans were responsible. The inscription would be different.” Inside a private talking tent, Investigator Clue and was chatting with a Royal Guardian sent to check-up on his investigation progress. Clue had reason to believe that the attack was caused by humans. “A equine surgical glove was found at the base of the inscripted wall and it has a small black smudge that matches the material on the wall. If a pony wrote it the glove would be covered in the stuff and the text would be bigger.”

“A unicorn could have done i-”
“There are no traces of magic found anywhere.”
“There are ways around that, you should very well know.”
“That is high level magic. Not many can pull that off.”
“The pony could’ve used the tip of the hoof, or even the horn itself.”
“We found traces of biological oil inside the glove. Stuff skin makes.”
The expression of the guard lifted, “Now that's more solid evidence. Does it check out with anything on humans?”
“No,-We don't know. It-We don't have that information on humans.”

His face fell into its original strait state, “There's the kicker.”
Clue’s patience was growing short, this royal guard wasn't exactly being very helpful, and he was trying his best to find the killers, “Damn it Shining Armor!”
The royal captain shrugged in response, “Look I want this to be caused by humans, really I do, but there is way too much against you to make a proper claim!”
“But-”
“Even if your right then what?” His voice rasped as he hammered at a delicate matter. "If the public finds out then the whole country would go bananas! Thinking they could be killed in their sleep!”

“We found bullets in the bodies!” It was clear from the look on his face that that he thought the statement was enough to prove the accusation. The face of Shining Armor suddenly grew deep in thought as he silently toiled the gathered evidence. “Thats evidence,” He put his hoof to his head, “but its still not enough. These ponies could be X-humans, they could have smuggled the weapons in.”

“Humans are the only creatures we know to possibly stoop this low this quick into the war.”
“We haven't declared war yet.”
Clue leaned back in his seat,“Yeah, but everypony knows it will happen, it just matters when!”
It was Shining’s turn to lose patience, “Celestia doesn't want to pull the trigger. It would be bad for the equine image and support the claims of this terrorist group!”
“It would also show that the ponies aren't cowards like they believe us to be!”

“No more of this!” As the captain shouted, a soft breeze wandered into the tent as both stallions stared at one another with poker faces. “This is why I chose you.” Shining’s face turned friendly, “You're putting the puzzle together even without all the pieces.” Shining Armor smirked, “You're one of the best investigators we have Clue.” Clue smirked in return, he always appreciated how ‘chill’ the captain of the royal guard acted sometimes. “Expect a visit from my sister.”

“What? Princess Twilight?!” This was most unexpected.

The captain nodded, “As dim the scenario is, Celestia did not overlook this as a rare learning opportunity. You will help her and vise versa through future investigations. Be gentle and patient with her.” Clue nodded, not denying the fact that dealing with a Nation crisis is a big part of the job. Shining Armor prepared to depart, “Oh, don't be surprised if she has her friends tag along. She rarely does anything without two or five of them lying around. And if you see a bright pink one then be prepared to have your mind blown multiple times.”

-Meanwhile, in the Cave of Smokey Mountain-

“Fascinating! I never knew magic could be in powder form!” Medic was having a whale of a time learning about magic with his college, Soldier of Oz. “Oh yeah! Marasmus has some powder that heals surface wounds and rashes in a matter of seconds. He stores it in a bin labeled ‘baby powder’ ”
“Now vhat are zese?” Medic opened a small box and pulled out an array of gems. “Oh! those are soul gems! Real good stuff you got here Medic. I've seen them used for all sorts of things, enchantments, spell casting, cough drops, magic batteries, but most of the time they are used in summoning.”
“Zummoning?”
“Yeah, he uses them to summon demons to throw me out of his room sometimes.”
“V--Vhy vere you in his room?”
“Maggot thats private.”
"OK... vhy vould zis be in za hospital?"
"If you're in an emergency and someone needs immediate attention, one of these babies can pump life back into the body until more help arrives.”
"In zat case," Medic pulled out the pulsating gem. "Zis is a soul gem too ya?" Soldier took the box and examined the orange-red gem. The glow seemed to twitch, as if it were alive. "This is a flawless soul gem, one of the most powerful components in the world of magic!" Soldier seemed to be frozen in aw.

"Vhat makes them so special?"
Putting the object down he began to explain with minor hand gestures, "During the soul transfer process from body to the gem, the soul loses some power and overall quality, rendering it ‘mundane’ for lack of a better term, and dimming it's glow. A flawless transfer retains the soul in its original state and contains quality's of the person it belonged to. For example, If a powerful wizard has his soul flawlessly transferred then someone else could summon a shadow of the wizard who would fight for him." Medic's pencil steamed across his notebook as he furiously wrote down what Soldier was saying. "Another use is to channel the wizard into one's self and temporary posses his powers combined with your own. Very useful.” His head turned to the box, “The big question now is, who do we have in here?" Solly gestured to the beating gem.

Medic looked at the gem with a fiery sense of fascination. "Ve must find out who this is! Is there any vay to find out?"
"The only way we can is if we cast an identification spell. I can perform it but I would need some magical juice." Derpy chose that moment to fly into the cavern and land in front of the duo, “New orders from the mysterious man?”
“Yep.”

“This message is for the TF-S. Thanks to correspondence from Derpy we learned that there is a large train carrying goods, troops, and supplies to Tall Tale to speed up recovery. The mission is plainly obvious: Eliminate the train with as much prejudice as you can muster. We’ll leave more details of the trains actual description to Derpy. Remember, subtly and surprise is both your friend and enemy, use it while you can.” Silence followed but the recording picked itself back up again. “Things have been difficult here.” The voice became tired and frustrated, “Ponies are very dutiful when it comes to complying with human law and therefore it hasn't been easy to drive them off our turf without provoking combat. Fortunately, we have the majority of public support and very little resistance from pro-pony human groups. The war will come soon however, just wait a little longer...” And with that, static noise filled the air.

The meeting had been called and the team had gathered to listen. Soldier looked towards Derpy with a visage of expectations as a signal to start talking. She complied, "The train will be long, very long, so it can haul all the supplies at once. Ponies haven't developed trains that can link together yet, but we have designed a type of caboose with an engine in it for pushing. This said the locomotive will be a hybrid of steam and magic for maximum horsepower." Reaching into her saddlebag, she pulled out a small device in the shape of a half cylinder. "This is a small version of the caboose motor. It is purely powered by magic energy, and yes, you can keep it." Derpy saw it coming and gave Engineer a straight face when a goofy-creepy grin grew on the mechanic’s face before tossing it to him.

“Magical engines, of all varieties, are extremely violent if there is any sort of major failure. So when you guys pop the front or back, you’ll get a big explosion.”
Spy lit another cigarette before asking, “Do you know the details of where and when we do this?”
“Yes, give me your map and I’ll mark it for you.” She continued to talk as she marked the map. “We can intercept it here, at about 9:30 at night.” Derpy looked up as Demoman started to chuckle to himself. Then he got laughed louder, and louder, and even more so in a fit of giddiness when he began to chant and dance, “I get ta blow up a tra-ain! I get ta blow up a tra-ain!”

The group wasted no time preparing themselves after Derpy left to fetch the carriage. It was a mission so simple that it would be a breeze under normal circumstances. Arrive early, set up explosives, watch fireworks. Simplicity in itself, but just as they were ready to aboard the transport again Derpy halted the party in their tracks in a wave of panic.

“I was just told that the Generous element of harmony will be on that train!” The team needed not be briefed as to why this was bad. They had been briefed on the plane of this important detail. The Elements of Harmony were to be kept alive at all costs because it is well believed that they are the only way to return the ponies to their rightful place in their universe. This said however, the Elements are also speculated to be a last ditch weapon in the long run of the war that hasn't even begun. The mercs are to either avoid them or capture them, or even obtain the elemental gems themselves. If humans got control of the Elements, be it pony of rock, then the enemy would find themselves in a “pickle” to say the least.
Spy facepalmed at the dreadful news, things just got a lot more complicated. “Oh, merde.”

-Train-

Rarity sat inside the passenger car looking outside at the world through a window for the fifth time during a the one hour she was on this train to Tall Tale. She wore a red vest with a sky blue horseshoe sewn on the back. The clopping of hooves hereby caught her attention as she was glad to possibly break away from the dull atmosphere, “I'm sorry madam, but I have been removed from my seat as the result of a pegasus who flew in late and happened to reserve the seat I was using. Do you mind if I plant myself here?”
Rarity looked at the stallion before her. His coat was of a dark maroon red and a well kept black mane. His cute mark was of a small stack of bits. Being too polite to deny and having no good reason to say otherwise, she could only say, “Of course darling.” The stallion humbly took his new seat.

Then came the awkward silence that arises when both sides are unsure of what to say next. Rarity however, stuck with the basics. “What’s your name?” The stallion responded in a firm calm voice. “Bit Trick. And yours?”
“Rarity. Pleasure to meet you Mr.Bit.”
“Pleasure to meet you Miss Rarity, but please, just call me Bit.”
“In that case you only need to refer to me as Rarity. Nothing more.” Rarity’s gifted charm was already breaking up the awkward ice as she continued with simple questions, “What brings you out to Tall Tale?” Bit grew a solemn face, denting the once neutral mood, “I have a couple of friends there and they need support through mourning over loved ones.” Rarity felt empathetic towards him and gently put her hoof on his shoulder, “I understand, its important that you're there to support your friends when they need it most.” Bit was touched by her understanding.

Continuing the topic she added, “I’m part of the volunteer group,” she turned herself to that he could see the horseshoe, before innocently including, “if you couldn't tell by the obvious uniform.”
Bit chuckled, “Do you volunteer often?”
“No, but I do it out of my generous nature. What is it that you do?”
“I'm, what you could call a money manager for Fleur De Lis. I keep tabs on where her money is and what its doing.”
“My! That must be a privilege.”
“You're a fan of her then?”
“Well, you could say that.”

They mingled back and forth over the course of the day, and the two were quickly well acquainted, and forever destined to stick together during the trip like a pair of school buddies. However, a pair of eyes of another stallion, with a dark purple coat and black mane with a yellow knife outline as a cutie mark observed from a safe distance. Only glancing every now and then, and listening intently to every word and detail.

For the next coming hours the pair sat in their seats, either sleeping, talking, or quietly observing the world go by. At one period of time during Dinner, Bit excused himself from the table for some fresh air out on the caboose.
The caboose was loud, the engine was magically churning away, doing its part in pushing the train to the ending destination. The sound resembled a large electric motor with the clanking of mechanical parts. Fortunately, the back balcony had a door access so you could close it behind you to partly block out the sound.

There at the caboose balcony, smoking, was the mysterious stallion mentioned earlier. “You smoke as well?” Greeted Bit. Looking behind him in surprise, the purple pony responded with a refined voice that was deep and smooth, “Yes, that I do. Its one thing the humans have brought over that I can use to relax.”

“I concur, I go as far to say that we don't even have the same health risks.” As Bit lit his cigar, he did not see the purple stallion make a odd face, like when one is told absurdly false information. Evidently ponies did not fully understand the health risks of tobacco and nicotine. The pair stood at the back of the caboose, and observed the night sky while puffs of smoke leaked from their lungs with the caboose working away. “What brings you out here?” The stallion began.
“Supporting friends through losses.” Bit said casually. “You?”
“I'm part of the clean up crew.” Mr.Purple turned to Mr.Bit with a questioning face, “Aren't you Fleur De Lis’s money manager?”
“Yes, how did you-”
Purple lied, “I met her once over coffee and she told me about you, I was working in a restaurant stationed in Canterlot and was on my lunch break.”
“Ah."

Purple took another whiff from his cigarette, "Is the mare with you your wife?”
Bit coughed slightly as the question caused him to inhale the smoke improperly. “What?”
“White coat, fancy purple mane,-”
“Yeah, her. I wish, but no she is not my wife. But who knows, maybe she could be.”
“Well the context of why where on this train hardly classifies itself as romantic.”
“Perhaps not, but in this mare is easy.”
“Is she?”
“Yep, I’ve seen them before, the dramatic type who can easily be manipulated.”
“Really?” The stallion had finished his cigarette.
“Yeah, sad but true. I met her only an hour after I arrived and I already caught her sleeping on my shoulder."
"Must be lonely to be falling that fast."
"That's my best guess. Hey, I never did get your name.”
“Sneak Shiv.”
“Oh.” Finishing his cigar, Bit chose to stamp it out. He focused on the red burning ashes, “Thats an odd name for an-ACK!!” (thud)

Bit returned to his seat at the table where Rarity ordered some wine, this being much more expensive on this certain type of train. “Oh! You didn't have to do that.”
“Pleasure is all mine dear, you’ve been such a gentlepony, and gentleponies are hard to come by nowadays.” It was true, lately it was hard to find anypony to treat her like the proper lady she believes to be.
“How’s about this, I found a certain constellation while I was outside and I show you while we drink.” He picked up his glass. As did she, “Certainly! I love stargazing!”

Returning to the back of the train, Rarity and Bit trotted along mingling away as they passed through multiple cars. "You know dear, we should meet up again sometime. Under more positive circumstances." Bit looked at her with a smile, "Are you suggesting we have lunch?" She smiled in return as they approached the door to the caboose, "How's about you look me up at the local restaurant, we can talk more when we have some spare time from our services." The pair soon stood alone gazing up into the night sky. The light from which was astounding, not even Luna projected night light like this as the Milky Way had it’s holy glow for all to see. “You know you're in a new part of the universe when your sky looks like that.” Rarity nodded her head at Bit’s comment, “So this constellation, well, what does it look like first of all?”

“See that small cluster of stars to your left?” Spy only needed a split second, having the target’s full attention on something is unnecessary effort for something this trivial. He’s dealt with far more superstitious people before. This said, in the moment Rarity turned her head Spy performed a backstab maneuver using the blunt handle if the knife on a certain part of the spine that induced the mare into temporary paralysis. She wasn't permanently injured, but that's not to say that it wasn't painful. “Good lord he was right,” Spy lit a new cigar as she quickly fell, “She is easy.”

Taking hold of his captive over his shoulder, he stood at the back of the caboose and prepared to jump. In a feat of strength for a man his size, Spy threw himself and Rarity off the moving train, before they hit the cold short grass with near lethal force. The pair of bodies lay motionless on the ground before fading, as the dead ringer deactivated itself by Spy’s command, the man ever thankful for its presence in his pocket.

The pony-napper looked at his watch, “Excellent timing, an hour ahead of schedule.” He looked down to the unconscious mare at his feet and set to work. Removing her vest, he pulled out a sharpie marker, and began to draw the PHR symbol on her back, she wouldn't notice until someone pointed it out. As he wrote Spy took care to write with the grain of the fur as much as possible, in his mind this was vandalistic courtesy. In case she did remove the mark on her back, he placed a sheet of paper with the symbol drawn on it on a few hair pins and tucked the paper neatly folded into her tail.

Lastly, he did the only thing left to do, but to try on the volunteer vest. It was a bit big simply due to the fact that the was a slightly different shape than the typical horse, but he knew someone back in the cave would love it. For the time being he would continue to wear it. Spy activated his mic, “I'm clear of the train with the mare at my feet, by the time she’s awake it will be too late.”
Engineer answered, “Good work, Derpy said that she’ll send authorities in a search party when complaints about the trains whereabouts show up. She’ll be fine.”

“Naturally. “Well, I’ll be waiting back at base, have fun waiting for the train!” Spy produced a smug smile, and pushed the button to be teleported to.. “What?!”... The site where the rest of the team was waiting for the train. The site was atop a hill with a view of the tracks. The mercs were scattered, entertaining themselves to pass the time. He turned to Engie, who was relaxing beside him, “You wouldn't want to miss out on all the ‘fun’ Spy.” He could only laugh as Spy facepalmed in despair, only an hour of doing nothing left anyways, it could be worse.

Heavy then saw Spy’s arrival. “Spy! We are playing hide and seek. Come, play with us, and Heavy will give you time to hide.” Looking around him, Spy even noticed that even Engineer had disappeared. With a straight face he pressed his invisi-watch and vanished. Heavy chuckled in his own fashion, before closing his eyes and counting to five in russian, “ [Ah-DEEN], [dvah], [tree], [che-TYH-ree], [pyat']!”

He turned around and announced to the forest and land around him, the landscape was void of human life and almost all sound apart from a soft peaceful breeze and the soft hum of a deployed dispenser. Reaching into his back pocket, he produced his trusty sidekick, who had proven useful in these kind of scenarios time and again. It was also a perfect excuse to yell the triumphant cry, “READY OR NOT! SANDVICH AND I ARE COMING FOR YOU!”

Author's Note:

I'm noticing a pattern in that these chapters are getting longer, still my range is about 3000-to-3500 words per chapter so don't get your hopes up. I know some of you are waiting for the big action/warfare chapters, but that will come in about two or three chapters, depending on what I can manage to fit in each one.

As always I encourage constructive criticism, the words you may display in the comment section may prove useful to improve myself as a writer.

Comments

[Gairenard]

17,000 words in five weeks. This is proving to be quite a busy hobby I've developed, and I couldn't be happier. Of course the only thing that could make me happier is to get featured, but I digress. A dream we all wish to come true with every story we publish.

[Permanganate]

This is getting better. It's developing past the obvious pony-fights-TF2 tropes which have been done on other stories, sticking to a good tempo of updates, and becoming very interesting. Looking forward to more...

[commissar craner]

keep up the good work my friend