• Published 9th Jul 2014
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The Conversion Bureau: Tiberium Wars - Jack of Tales

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GDI-Evacuation of Santa Cruz 2/2

"Incoming transmission" ATHENA said above all the noise of battle.

Andrew looked away from the holographic map and turned to the screen in front of him, which buzzed for a minute displaying a call. He could hear someone's disoriented voice but the interference was so thick it made it difficult. "He..*buzz*..o. Can....*buzz*..hea...*buzz*....me?"

"This is Commander Andrew, respond!" He shouted. The screen buzzed for a second, showing static until it returned to normal, a miniature vid-screen which showed Barron taking cover behind a large newsstand. The background was filled with flashes of light and explosions. Infantry men were engaging what looked like ponies in the background and dropping them one by one, but the ponies were obviously outmaneuvering the Humans.

'How could they have gotten past us?' Andrew though. Surely he had fortified the beaches and the harbor. ‘Unless the Pegasus ponies carried their comrades behind their lines, then we are in serious trouble.’ "Barron, what's going on?"


"Commander?! Oh thank god I finally reached you." He desperately answered. Another explosion messes with the screen for a second before returning to normal. "We're under attack. They came out of nowhere and attacked us. We're holed up in a building with the last of the evacuees and need help immediately. I don't think we can....*buzz*" The feed was cut before he could finish and static replaced it.


Andrew turned to one of the GDI officers in the command center. "Assemble a small strike force and tell them to take the pressure off of Barron and to keep the evacuees safe at all cost."


"Yes sir." The officer saluted before running back to his station. Andrew looked back at the holographic map, which was covered in red dots on both the beach and the site of the ambush being fought my small blue squares.


"No one converts the innocent on my watch."


Commander Alex rallied a small force to deal with the ponies attacking Barron. One company of regular infantry and one company of Zone Troopers. The Zone Troopers were equipped with advanced, self-sufficient power suits made from the same material used in the Mammoth Tanks armor. Its advanced life support systems allowed the wearer to survive in heavily Tiberium contaminated areas like the Red Zones. They were also equipped with a portable railguns based off of the same design employed on the Mammoth Tanks and the new Predator Tank MKII. During the battle at the beach, they learned that the railguns could smash through a shield produced by a unicorn and even vaporize the unicorn sometimes. With that being said, they now knew that the aliens weren't invincible as they had first thought.


Zone Operations Command, or ZOCOM for short, is a high tech, specialized task force created by C. Elena Renteria, one of the GDI's first female generals. The primary use of ZOCOM is to deploy to Red Zones, for aggressive reclamation operations against Tiberium and hostile mutant or Nod controlled areas. Equipped with sonic weaponry and extreme training, they were the most lethal fighting force in the GDI arsenal.


Derek Green was a Zone Trooper, he always felt it was something he could be proud of. He once lived in peace in a Blue Zone somewhere in Greenland. When the Third Tiberium War began he signed up with the new ZOCOM branch, going from Red Zone to Red Zone, clearing out Tiberium and any hostile elements there that tried to stop them. He was in what was once Colorado when ZOCOM got a call from command saying that ponies were invading and Santa Cruz needed to be evacuated. At first they all laughed at the concept of ponies invading, but when they found out what happened at No Man's Land, they're laugher turned into fear and then anger. The soon rapped up the mission they were on and went to Santa Cruz in the fastest transport available.

After looking over his weapon, Derek joined the other troopers assigned to the mission. It was a small force consisting of only a company of infantry, himself and a company of Zone Troopers along with a Goliath APC. He made his way over to a gathering of other troopers where a Zone Trooper sergeant was giving a prep talk.

"All right, listen up." Sgt. Alexander began. "The evacuation center is under attack by a small group of ponies. We have reason to believe that they were carried here by some pegasi somehow, or were teleported in though we don’t know how far a range they have. Our mission is simple thought, we just need to get down to the evacuation zone and save the civies before staying around to provide support." Alexander loaded in a clip to his railgun and felt it whine and hum with energy.

"Let's get this shit done people." With that the small force moved out from the base, with Derek close behind them. The Infantry men loaded into the APC. The Zone Troopers, with their heavy advanced armor, can move at the same pace as the APC and ran alongside is, partially using the vehicle to provide cover.

They continued to walk down the road to the outskirts of Santa Cruz, where the evacuation was being held. They came to a full stop in the base. Infantry poured out of the Goliath, raising their guns at anything that could be a threat. The Zone Troopers, along with Derek, followed the riflemen down to the GDI Evacuation Center. Once they were outside the center, they saw ponies assaulting the GDI held building. Derek inspected them and took note. Six unicorns and two pegasi. A few earth ponies still stood, if barely, from the assault which consisted of them running forth only to be cut down by GDI weapons.

Sgt. Alexander signaled the men. "On my mark." He said over the radio. Derek readied his railgun while the riflemen checked their magazines.

"GO GO GO!!!!" He shouted. Derek activated his jetpack and jumped across to the middle of the ambush. The ponies were stunned for a second, which was all the time the riflemen need to kill two or three of them. The unicorns erected a shield for themselves while the earth and Pegasus ponies charged at the group. The Earth ponies were easy to kill, but one pegasi kept maneuvering the bullets until it closed in on one of the men. It's armored claw-hooves stabbed into him and ripped out a pound of flesh before a three round burst from a rifle killed him.


*BUZZ*

*BOOM*


With the mighty roar of a railgun, another unicorn shield was down, leaving the infantry to mow the ponies down. Derek reloaded his rail gun, inserting a new magazine before checking the area. The other Zone Troopers finished what they were doing and formed up on the infantry. Once all opposition was eliminated, everyone evacuated the building, along with Barron who had been on his last magazine by the time the help had arrived. Derek walked up to Barron.

"Sir, all ponies have been destroyed."

"Thanks, trooper. Now we can continue with the evacuation." With that, everyone made their way to the transports, with Barron leading them.


Sgt. Alexander contacted the Commander. "Sir, all ponies have been eliminated and the evacuation is under way."


"Glad to hear it. Have your men stay here and guard them in case they attack again. We're holding off just fine here. Andrew out." The voice of Commander Andrew responded.


Alexander relayed his orders to everyone. "Alright men. We hunker down here until the Evacuation is complete."


Everyone let out a faint 'huurah' before hunkering down and digging in for the long haul of what was to be a hard day.


The battle was taking the turn for the worse as GDI lost the beachhead under the endless onslaught of ponies overwhelming them and retreated to the Boardwalk. It did not help that the pony ships were bombarding them with canon shots and even killing their own just to weaken the human defenses. It was primitive and crude, but effective.

Though the loss of the beachhead wasn't without heavy casualties from the Equine side. Half of their invasion force was wiped out, leaving only 30 ships with ponies in them left as the others settled for just firing their weapons. Ponies continued to charge at the Boardwalk, with cannon fire either supporting them or killing them. Some held ranged weapons like crossbows while other had melee weapons. A few unicorns erected shields for their comrades while other unicorns fired spells at GDI troops or vehicles.

Juggernauts fired their armament at the ponies, scattering them and sending a few running back with their courage and morale broken. As the assault continued the Vulcan towers mowed down any earth pony unfortunate enough to be within it's range. AA towers shot at any Pegasus that has taken to the skies. Infantry garrisoned inside buildings shot at the ponies while snipers took pot shots at enemy commanders, officers or unicorns that were causing a lot of trouble for the other GDI soldiers.


Sgt. Connor and his men, along with the commando, moved from the rooftop of the Haunted Castle and continued running through the Boardwalk. All around them the battle raged on in a constant back and forth motion, with ponies almost gaining the advantage before GDI men pushed them back before having to retreat again under a pony assault. Connor narrowly dodged a falling Titan that took too much damage from the battle. Anderson just jet jumped over the Titan. They were soon however caught in a firefight between GDI infantry and a couple of ponies with crossbows. While the ponies were taking cover inside a shield created by a unicorn, the GDI riflemen took cover inside the Speedway ride. Sgt. Connor vaulted over the railing inside the ride and regrouped with the other men.

"Glad to see you show up." A GDI Rflemen said. "Sergeant Zale." He said, holding out a glove hand and shaking Connor's hand.


"Sergeant Connor, at your service." Connor replied. "And this is my friend, Lieutenant Anderson." He gestured towards the commando, who was now busy shooting the ponies behind the shield with his minigun. "What's the situation?"




"We're trying to keep them away from the GDI base, but we're pinned down by the ponies." Zale explained. "We can't even move cause their unicorn snipers keep teleporting every time we get a fix on one of them." He gestured to the unicorns on the rooftop of some old store. They stood there with their horns glowing and shooting straight laser shots at the commando, which had no effect beyond slightly damaging the paintjob.


Before a plan could be formed, a rumbling in the ground distracted the ponies as they looked to the source. There at the entrance, and crushing several cars beneath it at top speed, a Predator Tank MKII rolled towards them. This tank was a step up from the original one, with a modified railgun and a minigun turret that was currently being manned by one of the tankers who was keeping the pegasi away, along with a new design that puts the original to shame. The ponies focused their fire on the metal behemoth that was attacking them now, shooting crossbow bolts and magic at it.

The bolts had no effect and just bounced off of the armor while the spells just sizzled out on it, painting its armor black and ruining the paint while the turret of the railgun soon rotated to position and fired. The tanker manning the mini-gun turret at the unicorns on the roof, killing them instantly before they could produce a shield. Then it rotated its gun again at the ponies behind the shield. The railgun fired, breaking the unicorn shield as if it was butter and sending some of the unicorns behind it flying or in pieces. Connor and his men took this as a change and fired their rifles at the ponies before they could retreat.


After all opposition had be eliminated, Connor and Zale, along with their men and Anderson, rush out of their position and out of the entrance to the boardwalk.


Connor and Zale arrived at the new base of operations, which was behind Neptune's Kingdom. The base consisted of concrete walls that, thanks to GDI technology, could be constructed in seconds. Vulcan and RPG Towers stood behind the walls, constantly turning and scanning for any enemies. A gate was at the center of the GDI base, which was lowered. Connor and Zale entered the base, along with their men and the commando. Once they were all inside, the gate closed themselves just before the ponies came charging in. The base was thankfully out of range for the cannons, but that didn't stop the ponies from charging in like Nod fanatic's. Vulcan towers mowed down anypony within range, along with the RPG Towers.


"How's the evacuation?" Commander Andrew said to Lieutenant Barron on the screen. Andrew was currently inside the command post at the base, his own forces currently guarding the base. He didn't know how they were beaten back from the boardwalk so quickly. After he sent a small force to help in the defense of the evacuation, an alarm went off inside the command post. He looked at the holo-map and found out that an artillery strike from one of the ships are bearing down on the men, obliterating any and all defenses. When the artillery strike was cleared, half of the defenses were destroyed and the ponies we're throwing everything they had at GDI. They did even had time to muster a defense before the ponies charged again. Although they cut a good size in the invasion force, GDI still suffered casualties, either killed or converted.


While this was all happening, he got a report from a scout team that ZOCOM troopers have entered the area and have aided in the evacuation, sending half their forces to his base.

"The evacuation is going well." Barron replied. "We need a few more minutes before it's complete and the city will be completely empty."

"Well you need to hurry up. We just got pushed back from the Boardwalk and they’re closing in fast."

"Roger that. I'll do what I can." With that, the screen changed back to normal. Andrew slumped in his chair. “This is it. It's all or nothing.” He sat up at his regular position, turning the holo-map on. Right now his forces were fortifying his base for the next attack. Turning the console on, he issued several commands to units and selected several structures to be produced or researched.


"Shit never gets easy."


The base was on full alert. Troopers were rearming themselves with ammunition. War Factories produced some vehicles, including a Tempest MLRS. Two Juggernaut units stood behind the gate, acting as cannons for the assault. Slingshot vehicles kept their turrets aimed to the skies, looking for any pesky Pegasi. Infantry took cover in wrecked vehicles or behind sandbags and bunkers. Vulcan turrets were also constructed behind the sandbags. They we're ready for anything that was coming to them, and they did come, like a swarm of angry ants attempting to devour an elephant. They came and the sound of their hooves thundering down road and causing faint vibrations that shook the ground.

A war cry echoed around the boardwalk, followed by several others and even the sound of a warhorn being played. Out of the ruined buildings, a swarm of Equestrians charged at the GDI base, expecting it to fall easily since they killed or converted half of the human's forces. However, they were soon proven wrong when they saw the human fortified base and the defenders in tip-top-shape. Some were actually considering retreating and forget this whole thing but they were pushed forward by the many ponies behind them, it didn’t hurt that they all knew what would happen if they retreated.

They would have to face Blueblood. Sure, he was a spoiled noble and before his ‘coronation’ had been nothing more than a pretty boy, but now he was ruthless and without mercy to anyone who disobeyed his orders. He no longer had a fear of getting dirty and almost seemed to delight in the tortures of his subordinates when they failed him.



The GDI troops opened fired all as one on the approaching Equestrians, bringing the first of them down and falling to the ground, knocking several others of them down to be crushed under the assault. A Disk Thrower threw a fragmentation disk at an approaching group of ponies and exploded, leaving behind a bloody mess. A Wolverine mowed down enemy infantry as they advanced along the sides, forcing the ponies to stay within the kill zone. A unicorn prepared a spell to melt the strange metal beast, only to be interrupted by a sniper shot in the head from up above. The two Juggernauts fired their rounds at the Equestrian, scattering them or killing them. Pegasus try to swarm the base, only for them to be shot down by AA guns or a Slingshot vehicle. An earth pony was attempting to hold his guts that had fallen out of his stomach, but a bullet to the brain killed him. Another earth pony held the flag of Equestria at his hooves, trying to get up until an artillery shell from a Juggernaut struck him, exploding into a million pieces.


Sgt. Connor and his men and the commando fired from their position behind the sandbags, spent shell casings and empty magazines all around them as they emptied round after round into the enemy. After returning to the base, they had very little time to relax when the next attack came. They stocked up on weapons and ammo for the coming assault and had finished resupplying right as the charge began.


Lt. Anderson wanted to 'borrow' a Mammoth tank for the coming assault, but apparently his suit actually could not fit in the hatch of the tank and gave up after the third try and a shout form an impatient tank driver.


One of the Nod soliders from before met up with them, blood covering his armor. The soldier’s name was Lawrence, born out of a Yellow Zone somewhere in Eastern Europe. He spoke English fluently thought, having used it most of his life while being part of Nod.


He was in Kaiden's army when the attack on France first began. He survived the ponies onslaught, getting a few kills out of it. He retreated in a random direction, since some Nod soldiers were going in the other direction. Before he knew it, he was on a GDI airship going to Santa Cruz. He decided that trying to escape from the airship was useless, so he decided to wing it for now and hopefully the GDI commander would keep his word and return him and the others back to Nod’s embrace.


After resupplying at a nearby Armory, they we're ready to kick those Equestrians back running to their princesses. Their mission was simple, hold out for as long as possible until the evacuation is complete.


But that was easier said than done despite the technological advantage the Humans had.


The front line was stable, to say the least. Ponies armed with medieval weaponry tried to swarm Sgt. Connor's position, but were affirmatively cut down by the commando's minigun. An earth pony got a drop on Lawrence from behind, but he dodged out of the way before the sword reached him and shot the pony before it could reorganize.




The ponies were beginning to learn, taking cover behind anything that would keep them alive. The earth ponies carried crossbows while unicorns casted some magic at the GDI troopers. Sgt. Zale ducked just in time when a magic beam almost struck him. He grunted when another beam grazed his shoulders. He slumped against the sandbag as his comrades returned fire. As he checked his injure there was a sudden loud impact and splat of something falling down, making Zale look up at the sky.


Pegasus were dropping like flies from the AA Towers and the Slingshot vehicles while Hammerheads did strafing runs against the enemy. He was shook out of his thoughts by a tap on the injured shoulder. He turned his head to see Connor right next to him. "I'm going to see if I can flank around them. Keep them suppressed." Zale nodded his head before he stood up and returned fire at the one that almost got him. His team followed his example, including the commando. Sgt. Connor signaled his men to follow him, leading them behind the cover the ponies were in. Once he was in position behind a ruined car, he peek above the vehicle, seeing the ponies focusing on Zale and his men. With some hand signals, the soldiers fired on the ponies position. The ponies didn't have time to react when they were hit from behind. Once all enemies were eliminated, They returned to their position.


"Commander, We loaded up the last of the transports and the civilians are out of the city. I'm sending reinforcements to you. They'll be there shortly." Barron said. He was residing in a Condor Transport with the rest of his units.

Commander Andrew grinned and pressed a button on the holographic table. "This is Commander Andrew, the evacuation is complete and reinforcements are on their way. Just hang in there a few more minutes."


Andrew looked back at the holo-map, which now shows several blue arrows coming from the left side of his base.


"Just another day on the battlefield."


The ponies were disorganized and suffering heavy casualties at this point. They knew this was worthless to assault GDI's base when they still possession metal beasts, not to mention the reinforcements that came in and swarmed them. They soon fell back, one by one, with their morale broken. Some ponies were killed while they were retreating, resulting in only a third of their entire invasion force making it back to the boats, past piles and piles of bodies. It was almost as if it were one giant carpet. A few didn’t even make it that far before falling down and sobbing or laughing, losing a grip on reality either momentarily, or permanently.


The GDI troopers cheered, a few firing a round or two into the air in celebration, knowing that this day was theirs. Through trial by fire and much bloodshed they emerged victorious.


"Go back to Mars, or where ever the hell you came from!" One of them yelled before hollering in joy.


The Pacific Ocean, Blueblood’s personal ship.

To say Blueblood was furious, was an understatement of the century. He was outraged by the outcome of the battle, nearly all of his invasion forces were cut down and the remainders had retreated back to their ships. An invasion had never once failed this badly back on Equus, from the Crusades in the Griffon Lands to the Battle of Bearlin or the conquest of the Minotaurs. These humans were different, they possessed no magic but were still able to almost completely obliterate his forces.


At the moment the enraged prince was currently inside his cabin aboard his ship, The Princesses Glory, inbound to Equestria with less than half of his forces. The ponies on the ship worked on the ship, from polishing the cannons to hoisting the sails, anything to keep from thinking of what tortures Blueblood was thinking of or going to inflict on the ponies who failed to take the human city.


Inside Blueblood’s cabin one of the four generals in charge of the invasion in Santa Cruz was on his knees. The three other general lay dead on the ground, their throats torn open by the prince’s magic, which was as painful as having your throat torn open by bare hands.


Blueblood approached the pony, his face was neutral, devoid of any emotion, almost as if he were folding laundry or opening a letter from the bank. The general was scared to the point he wished he had been fed to the sharks instead, it took what little will power he had left not to soil himself at how his life was soon to end horribly.


"P-p-please h-have m-m-m-mercy Blueblood. We t-t-tried everything we c-c-could, but t-t-they were too m-m-much." By this point, he was crawling on his hind legs backing up into a wall and pressing himself into it, wishing he could shrink to the size of an atom.


"I know you have a heart somewhere in there. Please, for the sake of Celestia, show some compassion."


Blueblood stop right in front of the pony he was about to punish and smiled. The pony noticed this and had a soft smile on him, letting out a soft chuckle and thinking perhaps he had reached something good inside of the prince.


‘Maybe he wasn't as bad as some would say. Maybe he just needs to learn how to love anypony for who they are. May they—-‘


He felt something sharp pierced his throat. He saw a golden aurora surrounding Blueblood's horn. He then looked down at this body to see a knife surrounded by the same golden aurora. He looked at Blueblood with a horrified expression while his eyes begged and pleaded for mercy. Blueblood leaned close, his lips almost touching the other pony’s ear as he whispered softly to him.


“You are as worthless as a two bit whore I plan to buck when I have some free time." He whispered before pulling back and with a vertical slice, the stallion was left clutching and trying to hold his bleeding neck. The last thing he ever seen was Blueblood putting away the knife after wiping it with a cloth. Then there was blackness and a terrible numbness.


Blueblood turned to his guards. "Throw these pathetic excuses for generals overboard and have the chef prepare my dinner, I feel hungry." The guards obeyed and dragged the bodies out of the cabin.

Blueblood returned to his chair with a sadistic smile, his eyes flashed green for a second as his inner emotions and inner self was suppressed and kept locked away despite his screams to be released and to stop this madness.


Blueblood simply looked out the window at the ocean and leaned back in a chair, wondering what wine to have.

"Oh It's so good to be a prince." He said and hummed to himself as he pulled out some paperwork to request more units to replenish his depleted ranks.


Victory

Author's Note:

Handsome Jack here,

50 likes? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!?!?!?:flutterrage:

Next time,
Nod's defense of Temple Prime


Stay classy, readers:ajsmug: