Chapter 7 - Interim: Battle Preparations
The flight back to the Solus Invictus was quiet and somber, punctuated only by the rapid staccato of the engines as they were pulsed to slow the lander down before they touched down in the hangars. Zero-gravity maneuvering was difficult, but Rainbow seemed to have learned it far more effectively than the other pilots. A few were muttering about getting MIS-device implants, but were worried about the more invasive procedures. Twilight was staring off into the blackness of space, her mind elsewhere as she hummed and licked her lips. They had 5 days until the official beginning of their first match, and the Cloning Labs, while fully staffed and finally fully functional, were running behind with the clones needed. Dormant systems were being brought online once more as Applejack’s area in Engineering began to churn out Coalition Armaments CA-LR5 rifles, the semi-automatic action the best they could produce in the short time they had.
Rarity’s own department was more interested in outfitting the Clone Avatars with her special new suits, many of which may have been originally designed by humans, but were quickly refitted and redesigned by the former fashionista. She had taken to her duties like a fish to water, after the whole debut of the Icarus Suit and her breakdown in the cafeteria.
Fluttershy was determined to increase production of her own Labs, and while she had been clearing out an area of debris that had not been reached – her own clone, Tiny, was instrumental, though it would never let her say it – she had discovered a secondary Cloning Lab. The official schematics offered up six more such labs, which made the formerly shy pegasus squeal in happiness whenever Twilight decided to inquire as to why certain materials had started popping up in the ship’s manifest. The clone output had remained steady, including the introduction of the Minotaur DNA to appropriately designate the ‘Shocktrooper’ variant that was prevalent in the database on the ship.
“Every time I look around, I swear something new is being wheeled around the halls,” Starlight stated, watching the carts of weapons and armour being wheeled by as she and Twilight made their rounds of the departments. The Solus Invictus had TD’d almost immediately after they left the planet of Crag-Rock, where an Honor Guard had been left behind with a beacon stating the intent of the small colony. She had been loathe to admit it, but the funeral and last rites performed had been a bit of a relief to her. Her mind was fully on her task at hand, even if Starlight had to occasionally push her back on track when she inevitably wandered from the main purpose of her ‘making the rounds.’ Her student in friendship, and her second-in-command, followed her around closely, only stopping to check small parts to confirm their quality as they briskly walked through Engineering. Racks upon racks of firearms dotted the area, with the automatic factories of the ship churning out new weapon harnesses with the quality of a master craftspony, but the speed of an assembly line. Clones marched in groups of 10, each group standing quietly as they got outfitted in turn. Starlight spun around, looking at everything as Twilight sighed, glancing over at Applejack, who was busy berating one of the Minotaur clones.
“If’n I got to tell you again to grab the heavy weapon, I’ll buck you so hard your donor will feel it! Take the armor, and the machine gun, and we won’t be having no problems! Howdy Twilight!” The clone grunted as it lifted a suit of basic plated armor over itself, hoisting the heavy firearm and letting a machine arm swing out and attach an automatic feed system to the rear of the suit it now wore. Reaching behind, it grasped the strip of ammunition, dragged it forward, and loaded the weapon successfully. With a heavy sigh, Applejack motioned it past as four regular pony clones were outfitted with plated armor and their CA-LR5’s, the long rifles being carefully inserted into the weapon harness before the harness itself was wired directly into a control implant at the back of each clone’s neck. A battery of short tests, and she nodded as they trotted away in formation.
“Applejack, you’re doing a fantastic job. A few days ago, and we would have been on the brink of disaster if Engineering had not been ready.” Another group of clones was outfitted and sent away in the time it took for Twilight to speak, and Applejack was motioning another group of Minotaurs forward, sighing as the clones stared at her stupidly.
“Pick. Up. The. Dang. Gun. Do it now, ya big lumbering oaf! Twi, as you can see, I’m a little busy here- no, pick up the machine gun! Put on your armor first you- I think you might wanna get going, Commander. A lot of work to- that’s the same rifle you picked up before!” Twilight backed away as she watched Applejack’s face grow ever more red as she kept screaming at the clones, moving towards another Engineer who sat in front of the automatic factory producing the CA-LR5 long rifles. Each one was quickly taken off the assembly line and locked into a gun-rack awaiting the mass-produced weapons. Somewhere else was the tell-tale magical burn-off smell that was the hallmark of the gunpowder used in the ammunition that the long rifles especially used. A minotaur lifted a rifle and loaded a shell into the chamber, checking the slide and the barrel before tossing it into a device with multiple spinning jaws, each tossed weapon being chewed to scrap and broken down into component atoms in a furnace deep below them.
“At least the regular clones are able to follow simple orders. I hope we have someone better on the construction team for the vehicles.” Twilight turned with a sheepish grin as she glanced away, trying desperately not to meet Starlight’s gaze before she broke down.
“It’s Iron Will. Let’s see if he’s at least better at vehicles than he is at self-help seminars.”
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Twilight sighed as she entered the Vehicle Bay, looking around at a large portion of unfinished vehicles. The Outrider Buggy compliment was almost ready, as she had predicted it would be, but the weapons stood laying around in pieces, and groups of mechanics stood around arguing while Iron Will sneaked off through a far door that slammed shut as he passed. Starlight rolled her eyes as she looked around, checking the vehicles as Twilight flew towards the far door. Each vehicle appeared to be in working order, but as Starlight passed a couple, armour plating on the sides – essential armour plating – clattered to the floor, their welds sub-par and poorly hidden.
Lifting each plate, she inspected it closely, noticing clumsy metalwork and shoddy tack welding. Keeping the poor workmanship in mind, she re-inspected the vehicles she had already passed, and began to notice the horrid excuse for work done on each vehicle. It appeared more like they had been rushed so that Iron Will could do whatever he was working on behind the door at the far end of the Vehicle Bay rather than make sure his quality of work was up to the standard she knew Twilight was attempting to set.
“Excuse me! Who was working on these vehicles?!” Starlight’s shouted question reverberated around the Vehicle Bay before scrambling from the other side signified a small response from a mechanic team that was shoving each other out of the way before they came to a stop in front of her. “Okay. Twilight, your commander, has enough on her plate without having workmanship this bad on the vehicles she needs for the upcoming match. I’m her second-in-command, which means that if you can’t do your jobs, I’ll find somepony who can. And you! You’re a Minotaur, one of the races on Equus gifted with natural engineering talents! I walked past this plating and it fell off! Explain yourself!”
The group of mechanics stood silent, stealing glances at each other until another from behind pushed forward. A Gryphon scooted past the imposing Minotaur and his two pony companions, kicking the others back before they could speak. One of the other ponies, a unicorn, tried to snatch up the Gryphon with their magic, only succeeding in watching their magic ebb away and falter as Starlight stared them down, her eyes smoldering with silent fury at each of them. The Gryphon, free of her compatriots, saluted, smiling as Starlight returned the gesture.
“Ma’am, Engineer Corporal Third Grade Killian Steelclaw, of Clan Steelclaw. My team was placed in charge of these vehicles by our main supervisor, Sergeant First Grade Iron Will. The equipment we were supplied with was of poor condition, and inadequate to do our duties with. Any attempts to gain new materials or equipment was met with zero response from the Logistics department, ma’am.” Starlight turned to the side to ponder when she heard a voice from elsewhere in the Bay chuckling.
“Well, now, isn’t that something? Iron Will trying to cut corners… where have I seen that before, hmm?” Starlight’s eyes were drawn to the source of the voice, a massive Minotaur perched on a nearby catwalk. The uniform designated her as a Warrant Officer, a fact which gave Starlight a small reason to smile. The Minotaur gripped the guard railing, lifting herself up and over as she jumped down to the deck below, landing fairly quietly for the bulk she exhibited. Pushing past an Outrider, she hefted one of the mounted machine guns, placing it heavily into the arms of the mechanic team’s Minotaur.
“Warrant.”
“Ma’am. I think-”
“You did what?!” A voice echoing from the far side of the Vehicle Bay was all the warning Starlight and the others received before a large, dull-grey Minotaur was forcibly launched across the Bay. Surprisingly, the Minotaur was still standing, though he was unsteady as Twilight hovered in front of him, her eyes almost burning with the ethereal fire licking at the corners. The female Minotaur, sighing, pushed around the mechanic team, putting herself in between Iron Will and Twilight.
“Ma’am, I think it’s better if you let me handle this.”
“Bulwark! Iron Will has-”
“Shut up, Iron! I will not be responsible for what I do, and in regards to address, that’s Matriarch Bulwark to you!” Iron Will shrank away from Matriarch Bulwark’s irrepressible gaze, her stare metaphorically burning holes into his skull with the intensity she was displaying. He stood back up, brushed himself off, and then dropped to the floor, prostrating himself in front of the Matriarch.
“Iron Will has learned his lesson! Iron Will will not try to dupe anyone else!”
Twilight and the Matriarch exchanged a glance before galloping boots arrived from the direction she and Starlight had arrived into the Vehicle Bay from. 20 uniformed Solus Invictus Security ponies stood at attention, their combat harnesses activated and rifles aiming at Iron Will, keeping him covered as Twilight slowly lowered herself to the ground. The magic fire around her eyes died down as the Matriarch sighed, motioning to the pleading Minotaur in front of her.
“Ma’am, I do have to point out that we are understaffed in this department. Despite my clan-brother’s more… ulterior motives, we do not have a lot of the equipment we need. I know it’s due to him that a majority was not passed on to me for equipment requests, so I’ll be taking a personal investment in this endeavour now.” Twilight looked around, allowing the SIS ponies to restrain Iron Will and remove him from the area. There was a lot of work to do, and expecting a tiny team of 5 individuals to complete the task set before them was, indeed, an insurmountable endeavour. Consulting her implant, she pushed through the material and equipment requests from the Vehicle Bay, watching them enter the rotation of production. She could imagine how Applejack might feel about what Iron Will had done, but while the Minotaur was rather manipulative, the unauthorized project he had been working on was something to keep in mind. A note to herself to keep it under wraps until she could have it inspected was added to a digital memo book floating around in her vision.
“Very well, Warrant. Your requests for materials and equipment have been pushed through, and you are authorized to draw from the Engineers available on-board the Fortress. Hopefully you can at least get the Outriders finished. I would have preferred the Manticore AMR-1’s instead, but you ‘play the hand you’re dealt,’ right?”
“Ma’am?”
“Human expression. Means that you’ll do what you can, but no promises,” Twilight explained, watching Bulwark nod as she turned back to the mechanic team. The team stood ramrod stiff as Bulwark quietly berated them for not coming to her sooner with Iron Will’s deficiencies, nodding in silence as they agreed to her terms, returning to the Outriders with the knowledge that they were not alone in their work, but had more than themselves to rely on. Twilight sighed, biting her lip as she remembered a lesson one of her friends had learned through a horrible experience. Granted, the experience was nothing as horrible as some of the things she had read about that happened in human history – some of the wars the humans had been participants in made the border skirmishes with the Gryphon Hegemony and the United Minotaur Alliance appear like a schoolchild’s first schoolyard scuffle. The death counts alone were enough to make her eyes almost spin in their sockets like a slot machine, and it was unnerving the fact that humanity did not learn how to better cooperate, but simply how to destroy far more efficiently. The Equestrian parallel was not as simple as she had thought, and even the Seven Day War was merely a footnote in the history of war that she was aware of.
“Ma’am? Commander Sparkle?” Twilight shook her head, looking back up at the Matriarch. The Minotaur smiled as she looked around, motioning at an empty portion of the Vehicle Bay. “This may be what we have to work with right now, but I can assure you, we will be ready for the match, and rest assured that we will… figure out just what in the stars’ name Iron Will was building back there. I leave everything to you, Commander. Stars guide you.”
With that, the Matriarch leaped over an Outrider, the plating jostling in place as she moved almost like a cat over every one of her obstacles. The mechanic team following behind rushed quickly to weld the armour plating back into place before it tumbled to the floor, the weld much sturdier than it had been previously. Nodding in appreciation, Starlight turned back to Twilight, who was still watching the Matriarch as she continued to leap over Outrider after Outrider.
“Penny for your thoughts, Twilight?”
“I wish she’d been the genetic donor for the Minotaur clones, not this… Trainwreck.”
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The corridors were bustling, busy and crowded as Twilight and Starlight continued their rounds, their next stop in the Medical Department. Fluttershy had apparently been having some difficulties with the cloning technology, something about ‘improper gestation rates,’ and ‘unacceptable mutations in the baseline genome structure.’ While her implant successfully made the transition for her to understand what the terms meant, Starlight was still incredibly confused. As far as they were aware of, the growth acceleration gel did not dissipate, nor did it lose its cohesion, even over a millennium and a half after its last use. However, the situation in Medical, and especially in the Infirmary, had Twilight concerned, so Starlight was close behind.
“Twilight, I-” Starlight barely ducked, pulling Twilight down as well as a coffee mug sailed over their heads, slamming into the bulkhead nearby and shattering, its hot, brown contents splashed all over the wall’s plating. Turning their heads, they could see Chrysalis and Fluttershy staring each other down as neither wanted to back off from the other.
“You sabotaged my genome data! Admit it, you scrubbed part of the genetic sequence just so you wouldn’t have to worry about us using your genetic structure to enhance our weapons and armour! Admit it!” Fluttershy was hovering, almost directly in Chrysalis’ face as she pushed away the sputtering Pegasus and turned to Twilight.
“Please, Commander. She has been like this for over 5 hours. Something about the main system is causing an issue, but she believes that it’s the fault of myself and my changelings, because apparently trying to clean up a genetic sample that’s corrupted is ‘sabotaging a genetic strand sequence!’” She spat her words at Fluttershy, who simply stared her down. Both started to walk sideways, keeping their eyes on the other before they turned to their workstations, grumbling and complaining. Starlight raised an eyebrow, turning to Twilight, the latter shaking her head in disagreement.
“I have no idea what’s going on. Did you at least check the pumping systems?” Fluttershy was about to harshly reply when she stopped, looking back at Chrysalis. Both furiously began searching at their workstations, checking each individual pipe and its sensor. As they searched, Starlight and Twilight checked the cloning logs, noting each generation’s unique mutational characteristics. The initial generation of pony-based clones – Earth Ponies based around Applejack’s genetic data – were more suitable as ‘Basic Infantry’, their sturdy bodies and hardy endurance a fit for the combat harnesses and armor they wore. The fourth generation – Unicorns based off of Starlight – were more relegated into a ranged support role. Their magic was weak compared to the original, but they could cast combat-based spells that counted as ‘Artillery’ for their effectiveness in the simulations. Pegasi were somewhat harder to clone in rapid batches, as proven by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who only had a couple of Avatars apiece due to the complications in ‘teaching’ the clones how to fly. Certainly, there was enough of an issue translating muscle memory to what could constitute a freshly born Pegasus, but there had been a feedback issue between the Clone Control Chips and the main computers of the Infirmary.
Twilight flipped open another document, one that detailed out the more effective means that Chrysalis had been devising for her to be able to translate the genetic material of Equus’ races into usable data for the Labs to use. The scanning technique was something she was familiar with, but the usage of it was fairly foreign. A little voice somewhere in the back of her head was excited until she passed over the data about Changelings. Each little detail that she read made her heart sink a little bit more as she checked each individual portion. As far as the document was concerned, Changelings could not be cloned, as a good portion of them could be considered ‘clones’ due to how close their genetic material was.
“Looks like an issue in the secondary pumping units. Primaries are burnt out, and the secondaries are not engaging.” A voice echoed inside Twilight’s head for a moment before she stopped, looking around. Sighing, and making a mental note to train her crew on radio discipline, she looked over at Starlight, who raised an eyebrow.
“Twilight? I didn’t say anything. Are you okay?” Twilight looked around again, then tapped her chin for a minute.
“Check the secondaries. Primary pumps might be burned out.” Starlight flipped a screen around, checking through data before she raised an eyebrow back at Twilight. Swinging it back towards Twilight, she motioned at the red dots on the screen detailing out exactly what Twilight had mentioned. The secondary pumps were not engaging, the power conduits nearby appearing to have been without power for some time. The conduits near the primary pumps displayed no current running through them, an error displaying that an overload had occurred, citing ‘replacement materials required for continued operation.’
“That’s almost… creepy how quickly you knew that.”
“Try and see if you can patch through from another conduit. Secondaries aren’t clogged, so we should be able to pump through.” Twilight scratched her head, her implant’s HUD distorting for a few seconds as a communications signal patched through almost directly into her implant. Checking the diagrams, she consulted her implant again, realizing that the voice was a recording, from over a millennium and a half ago. The time-stamp had it as ten years before the Kepler’s crash on Equestria, which would put it ten years before its fateful battle with the Fortress that Unit 3 refused to talk about. She knew that the Sentient Integrated Program project utilized human brain-scans to form the neural pathways for its androids, but she was not sure if it was possible for such a machine to develop the reactions that Unit 3 was exhibiting. The SIP android had remained on Equus as assistant to Star Swirl, but Unit 17, the humanoid SIP, was wandering around the Fortress, and assuming circumstances were the same, she would have to have a discussion with the android before she completed anything else.
“Can we draw power from another conduit, maybe patch from Engineering directly? That pumping area’s not far from there, so we shouldn’t have an issue with that. Secondaries shouldn’t be clogged, so they should be pumping.” Starlight’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she checked the order of tasks Twilight had just described, detailing it out on a nearby dataslate. Double-checking as she finished, she transferred the simulated ‘patch’ to Twilight’s implant for examination, much to Starlight’s own chagrin.
“2 for 2, Commander. How-”
“It’s… something from the database. My implant link, I think? Something came up that I thought was a radio, but it’s a recording from… before the last flight.” Starlight raised her eyebrow again, sighing as she lifted the dataslate in her teeth and placed it in a side pouch on her uniform.
“Not going to lie, Twilight, but if we have recordings from the past, there’s a lot of ponies who would love to see what life was like day-to-day on an ancient Battle Fortress. Speaking of the Fortress, Fluttershy!” As Starlight called out, the Pegasus in question turned, her mouth set in a pout as Chrysalis started to laugh. Seating herself to watch, Twilight let her implant run through the recordings, before she came across a video file that was time-stamped for the day of the crash. As she watched, she saw the betrayal of the Commander of the Kepler, and the subsequent defensive measure taken by Unit 3. Each part of it made her skin crawl, as a Commander’s crew was their family. To have one decide that betraying their very relations with the men, women and children that they called family was something necessary, she could barely fathom the idea. However, she was well aware that such an issue had occurred once the proclamation about the Solus Invictus had been delivered. She wished she had been there herself, but she had more pressing duties on the Fortress, and while her own brother was incredibly proud of her, and so were her parents, there was a good portion of ponies who had discovered that their families had disowned them, making their shipmates the only family they had.
“Twilight, we’ve got a repair crew down at the Gel Containment Tanks. Two of the eight tanks have massive punctures, so the gel is unusable, but we still have the other two tanks.” Twilight’s head snapped around to focus on the voice as she stopped the playback of the recording she was watching. Starlight was holding a dataslate in her own magic while it floated in front of Twilight’s face, trying as much as possible to resist the urge to push it into her Commander’s nose.
“Thank you, Starlight, I-”
“Exciting news this year, fans of the War Games!” Twilight and Starlight looked at each other, realizing the voice was being broadcast through each speaker in the Infirmary, and as it echoed down the hall, they both came to the same realization.
“We have to get to the Command Bridge!”
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“Your number one entertainment package comes with something brand new this cycle! From a little-known planet here in our own Messier-83 Galaxy comes a race of enchanting Equines, dangerous Dragons, and even magnificent Minotaurs! I’m talking, of course, about the planet of Equus. Rich in selenium, they were able to build a new Battle Fortress, and take to the skies to compete in our galaxy-wide, number one sport, the War Games! Their first match comes in two days, and new viewers should know that they have abilities beyond anything we have ever seen before! That’s right, folks, these adorable creatures are able to tap into the fabric of reality, channeling their very own Etheric Waveform Signatures! We don’t know yet what this entails, but this announcer is very excited to see how everything works out! Godspeed, Solus Invictus! May the odds show mercy!”
Twilight and Starlight galloped into the Bridge, breathing heavily as they caught their breath, watching each screen as it displayed the same announcer human that had shown himself to them when the Solus Invictus had first launched from Equus. His face was still far too perfect to be real, and Twilight could have sworn she saw some kind of cord leading away from the back of his neck. However, it was more the fact that everyone on the Bridge was silent as the grave that made her start re-thinking her posture on a few things.
“I-Is that all we are? Some kind of entertainment?”
“Humans are sick! I don’t-” A voice piping up from near the Navigator’s area quieted everyone else down as it began to shout.
“Yes, we’re going to be a part of this ‘entertainment’ of the galaxy’s. Yes, we’re going to have to see combat, but you know what? The Equestrians I knew before may have had some issues with it, but we are not those Equestrians, not anymore! Minotaurs, Dragons, Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies, even Changelings and Gryphons! We all came together because we knew this had to be done! We don’t have a choice, and if we were to go against our agreement, we would lose our home! So, to hell with your opinion that we can be safe if we just hide our heads in the sand! To hell with your opinion that humans are sick! This isn’t a game, not to us! This is war, fillies and gentlecolts, and it’s about time we started acting like it!” Navigator Deadwood was shaking his hoof at everyone else, his eyes daring any to meet his steely gaze as Twilight and Starlight stared slack-jawed at him, their expressions all the approval he needed as he returned to his station, and continued working on drift calculations. A slow murmur echoed through the Bridge as every creature present started to think it more through. Of course, the Games were entertainment to the people who watched it, but to the ones fighting it, it was life, and it was death. It was destruction, and rebirth, and to everyone who fought, it was a memorial to the things that were lost and gained with every battle.
“Yeah, you know what? Deadwood’s right! We trained for this moment, this time in our history when we can stand up to others and finally say, in a united voice, ‘We are here!’ Forget the politics and the backstabbing of human culture, or of any number of the alien races out there. We. Are. Here. And I think I speak for everypony present that we’re all here to do a job, and I for one am going to do the job I was given without complaint! It is our duty to support our Commander in this situation, not undermine her efforts because you feel ‘offended’ that a race, which many of us have not met the majority of, turned war into a form of entertainment. Stand the hell up, wipe away your tears, and keep moving forward!” Twilight stared at Starlight, who finished her own shouting with the phrase she had once heard a particular human say to her, the one phrase she knew that was on record in the database. A slight smile crossed her visage as she chuckled, looking around at her crew. Each and every one of their eyes were on their Commander, who looked them up and down without so much as a word. Stopping in front of the main communications console, she lifted the radio headset, keying it to the main Personnel Address system. With a couple taps to make sure she was live and broadcasting, she sighed, centering herself before she spoke.
“Who aboard this ship knows about Captain Brightstone, hmm? The human that sacrificed his life so that peace could return? How many of you know why he did it? How many of you know that he did it not out of a selfish need, or some ulterior motive – he was doing it to protect those he cared about. His world had moved on, so he made ours his home. He set an example that even I follow, and I will make sure that I honour his memory in every action I take. You all swore an oath to defend Equestria, and Equus, from any threat that would dare decide to attack her. You swore an oath to Celestia and Luna, and you swore an oath to serve your Commander. All I see right now is cowards, cowards who want to find an easy way out because the way forward is so much harder. Of course it’s going to be harder! This is war, fillies and gentlecolts, plain and simple. We are soldiers, and we will do our duty!” Murmurs of agreement echoed around the Bridge as Twilight finished, gently returning the headset to its hanging hook before looking at the main viewing area. The colours shifted again and again through their never-ending march between purple and blue, the soft colours a stark contrast to the harsh grey and black of the interior of the ship. As she watched, the console in front of her sprang to life, displaying the Matriarch from the Vehicle Bay.
“Commander Sparkle, ma’am! I am sending you a report on the state of our mechanized forces at the moment. Our Outrider Buggies are all armed and armoured. I can tell that some of the others down here are itching to see how they perform in actual combat environments. Also,” the screen shifted as the Matriarch continued, displaying several contingents of cloned forces, “the main force of ‘Basic Infantry’ is equipped with CA-LR5s, the long rifles the Cradle was supplied with before we launched. I’ve been operating with Applejack down in Engineering on remodeling the UEC RK-9 that the human always carried around so that we can use and produce it. Anyways, your screen should show the different clone brigades you now have at your disposal. I should probably explain a few things, as well. Applejack would have loved to, but she’s dealing with those next-to-brain-dead Minotaur clones.
You’re already aware of how a conquest match works, but this also extends to our troop deployment and structures. Our soldiers are considered Tier 1 for the ‘Basic Infantry,’ and Tier 2 for our Unicorns and Minotaurs. We are not allowed to deploy our second Tier of clone units until we have the appropriate structures on the ground. It’s hard-coded into every part of a Battle Fortress.
A match always starts with the deployment of a command hub, and usually an infantry module and a basic refinery. The refinery processes minerals saturated with selenium into a usable material that will be shipped back up into orbit for our automated equipment factories to produce more effective weapons. As it stands, the majority of the match will be working on capturing these.” An image was enlarged on the screen, a massive tower with rotating solar panels denoted in its description as a ‘Mining Tower.’
“These ‘Towers’ form the basis of your match’s economy. The more resources you have, the more you can field. As it stands, we are a very infantry-heavy force, while our opponent is very mechanized in focus. We will need to be able to get to our second Tier of units before they can field their Powersuits. That will take time, and forces.
We have a command hub, an infantry module, the refinery and a basic vehicle ‘plant’ ready for the drop as soon as we exit from TD. I’ve made sure our preparations are as complete as we can make them, ma’am. Stars guide you.” With that, Bulwark signed off, the display going dark except for the display of the concentration of forces Twilight had at her disposal. Considering that regardless of anything else, she knew that they would be continuously creating forces during the match, she had the inkling that what was shown was not entirely representative of what was actually available. Her mechanized forces, on the other hand, were unfortunately not up to the standard she had designated they needed to be completed to. Most of that could be chalked up to Iron Will’s willful negligence, but she was also certain that the facilities they were working from onboard the Fortress may have also played a factor.
Pulling up a technical document on the automated manufacturing lines that the Wyvern-Class originally came with, she noted that a baseline Fortress of that class would have needed an extensive refit just to contain the manufacturing facilities that would allow her mechanics to build the larger vehicles on her forces list; specifically, she was still concerned over the lack of Manticore AMR-1 tanks, and the problems that had not been reported in their construction. The armor plating that was produced for them was, unfortunately, too thin to be able to classify the vehicles as a ‘Main Battle Tank,’ which brought her back to the refit problem. The Fortress had no credits to speak of, for the 30,000 or so crew that populated the vessel. However, Twilight was not even sure how the payout worked for each match-
“Twilight, are you okay? You look like you want to murder somepony.” Twilight stopped her pondering for a moment to look over at Starlight, her head cocked slightly to the side in concern. Sighing, she let her mind relax, looking over all the relevant data on the screen, and running her hoof over the data as it scrolled past.
“There’s a lot counting on this, Starlight. I can’t help but… well, I’m responsible for all of this. I have so much to consider that it’s almost overwhelming, in a way. But we’ve come so far in such a short time that I can’t help but think of the future. I mean, the closest Hub station to us is called Nexus, and that’s a little over three weeks away from the planet where we are having our first battle. There’s-” Twilight stopped as Starlight draped her hoof on her back, patting her lightly as she looked around. Her breathing slowed, Twilight having not even realized she was hyperventilating. Centering herself, she took a single glance at the automated listings for the clone forces she commanded, and admitted to herself that maybe some rest was in order.
“Twilight, you’re exhausted. We’ve been at this for almost 3 days straight. Go, get some rest. We’ll call you when we arrive.”
“Thank you, Starlight.” Twilight turned to leave, pausing outside the door as the familiar voice chimed, and smiled.
“Commander Sparkle has left the Bridge. XO Starlight is in command.”
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are there just humans in this story or are there other aliens I for one would love to see an asari battle fortress if possible
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There are alien races, but there won't be any races from known Sci-Fi franchises. To avoid having to end up going back through Mass Effect and other game/book/movie/television series (I'm thorough in research), each race is original. The Iiaynsin for one, the Thalrazyne for another, and a few others that will be introduced as we go.
But yes, considering how quickly human beings can reproduce, there's a LOT of humans.