• Published 24th Jan 2015
  • 2,982 Views, 57 Comments

Fallout: Equestria - Empty Quiver - thefurryrailfan



Far away from home and with nothing but the things in their saddlebags, two lifelong friends work for a way back home, but may find more than they expected.

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Calling the Cavalry


-----

We all stood in relative silence, myself closing my mouth to glance about awkwardly between the others. “Okay… okay, well, before everyone starts freaking out, we need to remember we do have at least some advantages here. They don’t have plans on our towns, or other places that we might come at them from… assuming they really need them… uh… well, the Valkyrie can probably take down any of their Harriers no problem, right? And all we really need to do is try to make another fly over and some Hail-Luna drop and we’ll be fine. The base looked prety well fortified, but it can’t be -that- megaspell proof, right?” I said, trying to inject some positivity into the others. It didn’t really have the intended effect, all of us just grimacing more as we tried to think up some plan of attack.

Crash Dive shook her head, the first to truly regain her composure. Standing tall, she marched to the center of the room, her power armor stomping loudly as she did. “Alright, we have even less time now than we’d like, if we don’t formulate a plan now to take down whatever Project Cerberus actually is, this whole country’s likely to go right back down the shitter,” she barked, putting on her best drill sergeant voice. “We have the plans, we have the resources, we can get the backup, it’s now or never. Scouring, bring up the schematics of the base, give us all the details you can.” Scouring nodded, following Crash Dive’s orders and bringing up a map from the holotape.

“We’ve got most of the floors, maps o' the lowest two're too corrupted to use, but everythin' else seems good. Five levels deep, top level’s security is mostly those anti-aircraft guns and any of their robots still on duty. Let’s see…” He punched a few buttons on the terminal, bringing up a map of the next floor down. “Looks like the deeper you get the more they rely on mounted turrets… there’s a security hub on the third floor for most of those, but that’d require getting somepony in to hack their computers, and I doubt they’re going to be running something like Edge’s baby’s daddy’s firewall. A manufacturin' room… elevators to the lower floors… I’m willing to bet that any sort of main control hub or launch station is going to be in the lowest floors. Not sure how to get there though, all the elevators only seem to go to floor 4, nothing below that.”

“So we take the stairs, they’ll have something. Any useful data outside the maps? Repair reports, extensions to the fortifications, low ammunition counts? What about the railway cannons?” Scouring began to search through some of the data in the holotape, his eyes sweeping across the screen. Backing out of the map, he switched through a few more lists, scrolling down each one.

"Hm... Looks like they have made a few extensions into the mountains, basic trenches, some pillboxes and stuff like that. Nothin' we can't fly over, but would give a frontal assault, even with a load o' steel rangers, one hell of a headache. Far as the guns..." More scrolling through menus, along with a bit of keyboard-tapping as he searched through things directly. Scouring blunk a few times, letting off a small grunt. "Dunno what they've done exactly with 'em, but there is some talk about mountain turrets along the northern passage. Could be pre-war fortifications, could be new. Bad news is they definitely do have 'em, Clopp K5 28-centimeter railway guns. Nasty pieces to get hit with."

I caught a grimace from Night Strike as Scouring looked back to us, myself joining her. What was it she said that those guns were also used as? Megaspell artillery cannons? Oh, Celestia... Aerith waved a hoof to catch my attention, pointing at both myself and her, before back to Scouring. It took me a moment to catch on... oh, I hope she heals up soon, I'm not great at charades. "Uh, are you sure all we got about the base itself was their maps? Nothing like headcounts, or, uh, damage reports?" Scanning roughly over a few more menus and walls of text, he frowned, shaking his head before looking back over his shoulder at us.

“Nothin' that I think will help us. They’ve got patrol routes, but every square inch of the interior seems t' be monitored by cameras or robots, that’s not going to help much. Says there’s a vault somewhere too, no info on what’s in it. Could be money, could be tech, could just be some storage bay now.” Crash Dive nodded, pacing back and forth for a moment.

“Okay, still is a good start, so long as we aren’t going in completely blind. The next step is going to be materials. We’re going to need weapons, ammunition, explosives; there’s no way we’re going to be able to bring more to the fight than these guys already have, so we need our first strike to be a big one. And we’re going to need ponies to operate those things, too. Our next move should be to head to each town, get as many ponies together as we can, we’re going to need to build ourselves an army... The trouble is going to be doing that without drawing attention. If they get wind of what we’re up to, they’re going to start bombing the hell out of every place that they can to cripple any morale the towns will have.”

“Well, there’s the HMS Cadence to start with, maybe.” I suggested. “We can send out a distress signal, some kind of call to arms. Aerith killed off the robo-dragons running the comms station, they might not be able to listen into the radio signals for a bit.” Crash Dive thought for a moment, pausing in her pacing.

“I wouldn’t count on it, they’ll get something in there as soon as possible, intel is one of the most important aspects in war. Besides, heading to the towns will let us get more specific information on what services they can provide and let us stock back up on ammo. Still, the Cadence and her radio station would be useful for timing our attack and relaying information in the middle of the battle, if nothing else.” Crash Dive looked back over Scouring’s shoulder at the files on the terminal. The stallion merely shook his head, motioning for Night Strike to hand over her Pip-Buck.

She unclipped it and tossed it over to her, Scouring connecting it with a few wires. “I think I’ve got all the info recovered that will be most useful t' us right now. Will get a better chance to look over all the data when we aren't on a hospital terminal... Any more plans we want to make should probably wait until we’ve got confirmation from the other towns with how they can help. Then we’ll have a better idea of what sort of troops we’ll have on our side.” He leaned back in the chair as Night Strike’s Pip-Buck downloaded some of the info off the storage drive.

“Hey, would the Steel Rangers be able to help out? If we tell them about all the tech in that place, they’ve gotta want in!” Night Strike said as she leaned back against her hospital pillow. Scouring frowned, scratching at his unshaven scruff as he pondered the idea.

“Well… you’re no' wrong that they’ll want in. The problem would be stopping the Elder ordering the Knights to turn right around and start opening fire on everypony else if they even look at the stuff there wrong. And if he does agree, any talk of bombing that place with a megaspell goes out the window, unless you want a whole chapter o' the Rangers out for your blood, lass.” Scouring said. Night Strike grimaced, clearly not happy about the prospect of an explosives-free attack. Scouring unplugged Night Strike’s Pip-Buck, and I placed mine on the table to download the stolen schematics next.

“Their tech and support will be invaluable, though. I think you should radio to your Company when you can. That tank of theirs would be useful too, you were providing fire support well away from the Battered-Sea monster with it, think it might actually be artillery. All else fails, could work as a battering ram.” Crash Dive responded. Scouring tried to look amused at Crash Dive’s comment, though I wasn’t entirely sure she was joking. Scouring looked back down, giving a small awkward cough before unplugging my Pip-Buck. “Well, if you think what you've got off the drive for now will help, we should head out now. The sooner we can get an attack together, the less we’ll need to worry about them regaining their forces and trying to bomb out another one of the cities.” Crash Dive turned to head out of the hospital room as Night Strike refitted her Pip-Buck.

I watched as she trotted out into the hallway before turning back to Night Strike and Aerith. “Uh, are you sure you guys are going to be alright getting up? I really doubt I can fly the Valkyrie on my own, but at the same time I don’t want to drag you out of recovery, either.” Night waved a hoof, pushing back the covers to climb out of bed, grimacing a little as she felt the weight of her wing brace.

“Naaah, I’m fine to fly. Just a bit roughed up from the dragons, nothing a few more bottles of RAD won’t fix. Aerith... ahm, she's gonna stay here, with Hispano. It's for the better, really.” The alicorn grimaced, nodding her head solemnly. Watching her for a moment, and letting off a sigh of her own, Night Strike tried to cheer her up. “Ah, don’t worry about it too much. You went through a lot, I’d say it’s a pretty good sign you’re awake at all after yesterday. You get some rest, I’m sure you’ll be fine before we get back. You make sure she doesn’t fry her horn again, alright Hispano?” Night Strike smirked at the Griffon, giving her wings an awkward flap. Hispano just rolled her eyes in response as she looked back to the alicorn, Aerith grinning in return. Scouring unplugged the drive and passed me back my pip-buck, standing up from the terminal and heading back out of the hospital room with the rest of us.

The hospital was just as busy as it always was since the first attack, with nurses and doctors rushing back and forth between the rooms, tending to the patients. As we were trotting to the exit, Pearl floated out one of the rooms, turning her screens in our direction. “Hey guys! Heading out already? I was hoping to get some research done on that mutation of yours, Night Strike! Who knows what kind of healing we could do if we could replicate it!” Night Strike looked at the array of sharp tools dangling from Pearl’s chassis, her face going a little white.

“Ah, haha, no, no, I’m good, we’re just heading out for a bit. Though…” She thought for a moment, before letting off a small sigh. “Look, Pearl, there’s going to be a battle soon. A big one. We’re going to need a lot of medics, anything the Triage could offer would be a huge amount of help.” Pearl’s screen swapped to the thinking animation as she hovered up and down slowly in the air.

“Well, depending on when this little tussle is going to be, and the probability of Hopeville being under another attack, and the fact that a lot of ponies have evacuated already… I think we can offer a few of our doctors, and some medical supplies. If you can find more supplies from somewhere, though, we’ll be in better shape. I bet you couldn’t find a better doctor in the wasteland than those here, and that’s not just my loyalty program talking there! The trouble is going to be having enough healing potions, blood packs, med-x, all that stuff for our doctors to work with.”

I thought for a moment, scratching my head. “The Vanhoover Air Force Base probably has a lot of meds. You can’t live in an old military outpost and have their reckless kind of attitude without at least something to patch yourself back together. Ooh, not to mention if Serene and Sharpwing got that walker back up and running, that thing’s going to be an absolute beast on the battleground...” My own grin was widening. Night Strike grinned a little too as we started to head back to the lobby, Pearl getting on with her work.

“Hah, since when have you been a fan of the explosive entry, Sparky? I doubt that walker is going to be able to turn invisible and not sound like an earthquake when it walks everywhere.” I only rolled my eyes, jumping a little as I heard a scream of pain from one of the patient rooms. Pearl leaned out of the door, waving her bonesaw around nonchalantly.

“Hehe, don’t worry, he’s fine! Just a bit of a jumper!” She floated back into the room, only for a few more whimpers of pain to echo down the hall. Cringing, I slowly started back after the others. How in Equestria did I ever manage to trust her enough to install that implant? We headed out of the Triage, the Clydesdale sitting up on the curb outside the door. I spotted a large dent in the fender that most certainly had not been there the last time I’d driven it.

Climbing onto the driver's bench, I started up the engine of the massive half-track as Night Strike slid in beside me and the others climbed onto the back. “The Valkyrie’s just outside the town. You guys can drive this back to the Lighthouse while Static and I fly to the Cadence to get their help, right?” Night Strike looked over her shoulder to Scouring and Crash Dive. The power armored pegasus nodded in response, and I did my best to stifle a snort of disbelief. From that dent, it sure seems like I’m the only one who knows how to drive this thing... The Clydesdale trundled through the streets, quickly making its way to the edge of town. I pulled up beside the Valkyrie, hopping back out along with Night Strike to head into the plane.

“Alright, we’ll see you back at the Lighthouse once Aerith’s feeling better. We’ll see about talking to the gunsmith here about munitions too, if we can find him. There might be a few ponies still around here who’re willing to help out.” Scouring responded. Night Strike gave a wave as Crash Dive shifted it back into gear and turn away, heading back into town. She narrowly missed a streetlamp as she turned the corner towards the gunsmith’s building, seeming a little uncomfortable at the wheel. Shaking my head, I followed Night Strike up into the cockpit, sliding into the seat behind hers as usual. Night Strike began to fire up the engines as I looked down at my Pip-Buck, flipping over to the radio station. The music was just audible over the roar of the motors as Night Strike began to roll forward, preparing for take-off.

"I’m am in a conventional dither
With a conventional star in my eye
And you will know there’s a lump in my throat
When I speak of that wonderful guy!"

---

“Alright, Valkyrie, you are clear for landing. Fowler says to try not to scare away the doves this time.” White Noise's voice came over the headset as we approached the island, the large warship with her four twin-gun turrets clear in my camera as Night Strike throttled back.

“Uuuhh, not sure if that’s entirely possible, but we’ll try our best.” Night Strike began to push down on the controls, slowing the Valkyrie down considerably as we passed over the busy deck of the Cadence and firing up the vertical engine. The engines' humming quieted a little as we lowered down onto the concrete parking lot below, Night Strike easing about with the controls. The wheels of the Valkyrie touched down comfortably with the cracked asphalt, and I let loose a long breath. Okay, yeah, if I was meant to fly, I would've been born a pegasus, dangit... never gonna get used to it.

The whine from the turbines died down as Night Strike shut them all off, myself undoing my buckles and stepping up from the seat to undo the access door. Night Strike followed close behind as we both headed over for the warship, trotting up the long gangway and onto the maze of corridors that was the ship. Sense of direction, don't fail us now... "Hm... you think that this thing could actually fight still? I mean, it was turned into a museum ship, yeah, but it's still got loads of ammo aboard, and I'm willing to bet that includes a few of the shells for the eight-inch guns." Night Strike piped up ahead of me, looking around, as we pressed on through the interior to find the broadcast center for Radio KAOS.

I let off a small sigh in response, looking at the walkways and whatever signs I could find. At least this place was better labeled than Cerberus' base, even if it felt more maze-like. "Well... maybe. With how Fowler reacted to us taking the guns off of it, though, I say we better ask him first. Might want to see how well you handle doing an imitation of an eight-inch shell just for suggesting it." The pegasus ahead of me shot me a glare as I let off a small chuckle, following her as she headed up a flight of steep stairs. I suppose, if these guns did have the range to reach over to that base, the extra firepower wouldn't hurt at all...

Eventually we managed to find our way to a familiar portion of the ship, heading up the stairs that pointed the way to Radio KAOS' broadcast center. As we approached the comms room of the warship, we were met by the flashing red light of the ‘on air’ sign above, and Jim chuckling into the microphone. Night Strike tapped lightly on the door, the DJ looking up from the desk for a moment before nodding and raising a hoof. He gave a small send-off to wrap up the bulletin, before sliding a holotape into the player and switching off the sign, beckoning us in. Night Strike opened up the door and lead us in, as the DJ rested back in his seat. “Hey, long time no see, guys. Wasn’t expecting you to show up here, what's up?”

Night Strike and I sat down across from him, a smooth jazz song playing softly. The pegasus beside me rubbed at the back of her head, thinking for a moment. “Okay, um… so, this is probably going to sound... well more than a bit crazy, but we’re going to need the Cadence up in full working condition. We’ve discovered the source of the robo-dragons, it’s a pretty heavily fortified military base with only Celestia knows how many tactical megaspells at their disposal. We need you for firepower and information coordination, the radio station is the best means we have of that.” The DJ’s jaw dropped as he looked back and forth between us.

“You… uh… goddesses, you’re serious about this? Jeez that’s… uh… well, a tall order, to put it lightly.” He leaned back in his chair, rubbing the back of his head and chewing at his lip. Okay... thinking about it, the fact that we passed a mess hall and sleping quarters to get here probably should've been an indication that three ponies can not run a whole warship. “You sure you don’t just need the radio, because that’s definitely going strong! I mean, as far as Vanhoover and Maple Station, anyways... ahem.” He gave a weak chuckle, but it quickly died down as he thought. We sat in silence for a moment, the DJ stallion looking around the room at the electronics, his mouth moving a little as he spoke silently to himself during his thought. “…okay, well, uh… I suppose we can help out, as far as the radio and coordination goes, but you’re going to need to talk with Fowler about getting the whole shipp going. I really don't know about the practicality of that request, I was just signed on here after the last DJ kicked the bucket. All I can guarantee is you’ll have the station at your disposal.”

“Okay, we’ll make sure to send some kind of signal for when the attack should begin, the Valkyrie can access a fair few channels that should be secure. We also have a few maps and stuff that should help out, if you need to help with coordinating any attacks directly.” I lifted up my Pip-Buck, the DJ pulling over a blank holotape to burn the information onto as he looked back to the broadcast equipment, checking the runtime of the tape he'd put in. Grabbing a third tape off of a rack, he slipped it into a second slot, ejecting the first as it came to a stop and starting the second. My pip-buck dinged as the file transfer finished, and I ejected the tape to pass it back over to Jim, the stallion grabbing another bottle of wild pegasus from the fridge nearby. As the DJ watered himself, I looked over to Night Strike, passing on a shrug. “I think that’s all he'll be able to help with for now. We better find and ask Fowler about the ship.” She nodded in agreement, and after a short goodbye we headed back out of the recording room.

Making our way back through the body of the ship, we somehow managed to find ourselves out onto the seaward side of the upper deck, trotting along it's length. After a while, we eventually spotted Fowler sitting on the edge of one of the launch rails that extended over the side of the deck, a small collection of birds gathered around him. His head turned to see us coming closer, putting a hoof up before we could get too close. “Aye, slow down! You already scared ‘em off once with that fly-over, do it again and they’ll never come back. Nasty buggers, but, yanno, makes the days go by a little easier...” I resisted rolling my eyes as we stepped slowly up to him, watching as he spread a few more seeds on the deck for the collection of small birds.

“Right... so, uh, Petty Officer Fowler? We've got a... severe situation on the horizon, and we wanted to ask you about getting the Cadence back up and running, if that's possible at all.” Night Strike said. Fowler paused, his hoof halfway into the seed bag. He turned in place on the rail, a few of the birds jumping back from his hooves swinging around. “We need the Cadence to sail again, and beyond that be able to use all of her guns to full effect. You think she can do that?” He just stared at us, frozen in place with jaw slack, before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted... Right off the end of the launch rail and over the edge of the ship. Rushing to the railing, we watched as he fell into the water, only for his head to break moments later, a crazed laugh reaching our ears. I let out a sigh of relief, dropping my head down as Fowler floated in the waves, starting to swim around the outside of the warship.

Well, at least he’s excited.


-----

"You know, it's been two centuries and damn well near forty years since Cadence last sailed under her own power, and for the last twenty-five decades she's been kept under my close watch and care. When I saw that missile hit Vanhoover, well, was just mad as hell that most of my old mates were shoreside and pretty unlikely t' be coming over to bring 'er over to zebra lands and blast the ever-loving hell outta everything forty kilometers inland..." Fowler gleefully trotted ahead of us as we made way back through the innards of the HMS Cadence, at least a little thankful that we had someone who knew where he was going on this thing. Seriously, half the time it feels like this place changes on us... "But, if she's got a calling to arms a bit closer to home now, you can be damn well sure she'll take it! You're in luck, actually, was chatting up a couple of the old lads yesterday. They live a little ways away nowadays, but Captain Marigold and her Seaddler oughta be able to get 'em here well in time for the fight. After that, just need some recruits for handling the rest of Cadence's other operations, we can have her up and going again in under a week if they're willing..."

"Erm, when you say some recruits, how many would that be? I mean, I know you, Jim, and White Noise can't run her by yourselves, but, well... how many ponies does a ship like this need?" Static tapped his hoof against the railing as we ascended a steep staircase, heading up towards the KAOS broadcast room... I think. Really still dunno how these corridors are put together. Sheesh, at least those old ghouls ought to be able to make sense of this when it comes time for the push. "I-I mean, it's gotta be at least, what, fifty? A hundred crew, maybe?"

Fowler gave off a little scoff as he turned a corner, myself stumbling over a bulkhead and hearing the wing brace clatter off the metal wall slightly. Just another day or so, Strikey, keep drinking that RAD... "Try seven-hundred fifty, lad, a Heavy Cruiser is a far cry from a Destroyer. We'll have to run her light, aye, but if we can get something close to that then we'll be in good shape. Ammo shouldn't be much an issue, one of the things in storage in the island was this old ammunition duplicator. Haven't used it in a while, but it should still be alright to work if we need it. Ah..."

Myself and Static shared a long look as we stopped in the hallway, him sharing my expression. Seven-hundred fifty... I don't even know if there are that many ponies living in Maple Creek and Hopeville combined. -Maybe- there are that many in Vanhoover. Oh, hell... this might be a larger undertaking than we hoped. Fowler had gone ahead and was fighting with something in one of the rooms, us both eventually finding him sat at an old, more military-looking radio. "Nngh... hell, forgot to crank the broadcast range. Always turn it down when that idiot upstairs is broadcasting. 'We can just share the antenna, you don't use it anyways', gnh, I should've never agreed with that jockey seventy years back..."

"Crank the broadcast... Radio KAOS doesn't transmit at full power?" Fowler passed on a small glare as he continued fiddling with the radio, myself scratching at the back of my head. You'd think a radio station would want to reach as many people as possible...

"Hasn't a reason to, you're not gonna find many functioning HC2MWT reactors out in the wild nowadays, let alone four of 'em. Even then, only run Reactor 2 at quarter-power usually, just enough for that blasted station to be satisfied. Half-power for when I wanna reach the boys a bit farther away, some shacked up in Merritt, Vanderhoof, Terrace, you know, places well out there. Would have to up the reactor's power manually, but sometimes I can piggyback through Maple Station..." The radio whined for a moment, the earth pony sailor holding the headset to his ear. "Besides, all that music he broadcasts during the day is rubbish, anyways... Maple Station? Come in, Maple Station. HMS Cadence looking for a signal boost to Hope, Vanhoover Five's looking for our help."

The radio whined for a moment, some of the needles hopping and swaying as someone broadcasted over the other line, Fowler seeming confused for a moment. He glanced back to us, a look of confusion clear on his face, before disconnecting the headset and letting the voice play out over the speaker. "-that one story that landed me the Celestial Cross back during the Tobuck campaign. Anyways, ah, what's the trouble, HMS Cadence?"

I blunk a few times, trying to think - that voice... wasn't Mad Jack, wasn't Rheinmetall, sure as hell wasn't Caution Tape or Sensha... but it still soundd familiar. Think, Strikey, how many ghouls would/ve earned what's probably some sort of important medal? "Well, just need a station-to-station up the coast to a few of my old navy mates, though could I ask who's on the line right now first? Don't believe we've met."

"Ah, where're my manners, Captain Poppy Gardener of Her Majesty's 4th Royal Tank Regiment, pleasure to hear from a Royal Navy ship still in fighting condition. I'll have Jack on the line to patch you through north soon enough, we're just having a little reunion down here first, heh." Poppy Gardener... I leapt for the radio console as the memory hit me, Fowler stumbling on his hooves as we both tried to occupy the same space and my momentum won. Scaning over the controls, eventually I managed to find the microphone, and the transmit button. "HMS Cadence? Are you there?"

"Ah, yeah, we're fine here, uh, you-you had a message, that you were sending north to our dads, right? Did they get it yet? Did they reply? Are they alright?" The radio was silent save for static for a moment, before I lifted my hoof off of the button. Fowler seemed to be wearing a bit of a glare beside me as he picked himself back to his hooves, myself looking to him and letting off a weak chuckle - eheheh, sorry.

It took another moment, but eventually Poppy Gardener came back over the radio. "Ah, right, I remember! Can't say that we've heard any response back yet, but the message is waiting for them at Cordite. Have some patience, lass, it's a big wasteland and their tank is far from fast, heh." The ghoul sailor next to me tapped on my shoulder, myslef moving aside and giving him back control of the radio, myself chewing at my lip. Okay, so I might've ben a little overexcited, it's our dads, for Luna's sake, though! "Hm, if you've the time, wouldn't mind getting a proper meeting with you sooner or later. From what Jack's told me, you're nearly as crazy as my driver, heh..."

"Aye, they'll be headin' over to you soon, just need to get outta my hair first. Since they've got their message over and I'll need to be sent through to Hope first, anyways, I'm hopin' they'll take the hint..." The sailor ghoul turned to look towards us both as I trotted back beside Static, wearing a weak grin all the while. Well, I mean, I guess it's something, and if he can't get anything else done right now, well... yeah, maybe we should just go. Static passed on a light nod to Fowler as we both turned about, heading out of the doorway and down the hall a few steps... and then turned back around, heads low, and knocked on the radio room door again.

"Eheheh, um... how do we get back to the island from here?"

---

"How many ponies do you think we'll be able to get from Hopeville? I mean, with the attack, and the fact that it's a pretty small town already... and the fact that some poies are probably gonna have to stay behind to run the AA armaments, too, thinking about it... oh, boy, this is just gonna be a logistical nightmare. Let alone trying to figure out how many trips Ripple and Trout'll have to make to get everypony over there..." Static rubbed at his head as we trotted back into Hopeville to find Scouring and Crash Dive, the Valkyrie landed in the usual clearing on the eastern side of town. I guess, maybe in the pre-war days, 750 ponies would've been considered a good size for a small town, or something. Nowadays? You'd probably be lucky to find 750 ponies in an entire county of Equestria. "Hm... well, I guess the Seaddler could help, too. You think the Vanhoover Air Base would have any air craft for carrying passengers?"

"Pff... maybe. I guess if they did have any, they could at least take off from there... problem then is the fact that Deadstallion's island doesn't have a runway, and I doubt Fowler's gonna go and plow one out himself." I rubbed at the back of my head, both of us entering the long shadow of the Triage. Trotting along the road that ran along shoreside, I looked out across the calm waters of the lake, thinking for a bit. "They do have the Seaddler's sister aircraft in storage, maybe we could convince them to build some more flying boats or something. You could make them into amphibious aircraft if you added regular landing gear to 'em, I think."

Static let off a chuckle as we neared the intersection that led to the front of the Triage, giving his head a shake. "An aircraft that can land on water and earth, that's like a, I dunno, sea pony with wings, or something. Probably actually exists, thinking about it, somewhere in this crazy world... hopefully already blown to smithereens along with the rest of Shady Shores." Giving an eye roll, I looked back over to him as we passed the intersection, and just in time to see somepony being rather forcefully thrown out of the triage doors, along with her notepad and pen. Static stopped to look as well, myself also seeing who it was that decided to give that familiar unicorn reporter an impromptu flying lesson - oh, Hispano, what's going on now?...

"Friends and family only, ya cunt! By my count, you're neither, so buzz off before I have to get Suiza involved..." Extra Edition was picking herself back up to her hooves as we rushed over, Hispano turning to head back into the hospital building. She caught herself, or, well, caught sight of us, pausing to pass on a wave as we drew nearer. Static went over to help the reporter as I headed over to Hispano. "Hey, just in time, I was just escorting little miss nosy here out of Aerith's room. Wouldn't take the hint that she's not really in the mood for an interview right now..."

A weak chuckle escaped me as I looked back to see Extra holding a hoof to her head, Static helping to steady her. Well, at least we're right outside the Triage, anyways... "Eheh, well, don't blame you for that... just, uh, you aren't serious about introducing her to Suiza, are you?" Hispano wore a smile as she gave her head a shake, leaning on the outside of the hospital doors. I get that Extra can be pretty annoying when she wants to be, but, well, I also know what happens when a soft, fleshy pony is introduced to a 20mm bullet traveling at supersonic velocities, and the results are really far from pretty...

"Eeeeh... depends on how much she values the use of her legs over getting a story out of Aerith. She'd probably understand it after losing a hoof, ponies can still function fine without one." She craned her neck to look past me, myself moving to the side and looking back towards Static and Extra Edition, the reporter answering the earth pony with a nod and trotting off to somewhere else in the town. Hispano let off a small chuff into the air, watching Static as he trotted over to join us. "Pegasi have a harder time adjusting at first than earth ponies or unicorns, sudden weight loss and all, but eventually they get used to it, too. Hell, some even benefit from it."

Just as I was about to ask her what she meant by that - I mean, I get it, losing a hoof isn't pretty in any sense, but a pegasus actually benefitting from it? Really? - Static made his way over to us, a grimace clear on his face. "I don't think she's alright, I might not know too much about medecine but that looked like a concussion. Guess we should be glad there wasn't a log for her to land on, but did you really have to throw her that hard, Hispano?"

The gryphon answered with a shrug, looking back through the door glass and turning to head back into the hospital, myself and Static following. "She was trying to get Aerith to talk and otherwise annoying the hell out of me, I'd say I went easy on her. Anyways, how'd things go with getting the guys on the ship on side? That radio station gonna be any use besides playing more old music?"

We followed her up through the building, heading for the floor that mine and Aerith's bedroom was on, myself letting off a small chuckle. "Well... yeah, and then some... maybe. You wouldn't happen to know where we could find around seven hundred and fifty people to help run a giant warship, would you?" The gryphon stopped in her tracks in the middle of the hallway as the words met her ears, turning to stare back at us, wide-eyed. Well, it's -almost- the look we get when we tell people about our dads... almost. I rubbed at the back of my head, wearing a weak grin. "We went for help, and what's more helpful than a mostly intact Heavy Cruiser, right? I mean, eight 203 millimeter guns and ten... well, eight 40mm twin AA batteries, plus a few more secondary guns, and... a couple of aircraft, I think, maybe, that's helpful."

Hispano was quiet for a moment, just turning back to face forwards and carry on walking, before trying to hold in a laugh. She rubbed at her forehead as we reached the doorway, the gryphon supporting herself in the doorframe as she shook her head. "Man, whenever I think I'm one of the people in this wasteland that considers overkill a usual standard, you guys go and just blast those feelings clear out of the water, don't you?" She continued on with a chuckle, Aerith looking over at us all in a bit of confusion, a small meal tray placed in front of her. Well... I mean, the Cadence isn't a Battleship, at least, it's not as crazy as it could be! "Heh, yeah, there is one place I know of that could lend a few hooves, Enclave remnants camp. I... think they might still have a few functional vertibucks, too. They're nice enough."

Myself and Static both shared a long, uneasy look as Hispano sat next to Aerith, making herself comfortable. Enclave remnants... well, if they can make up a good bulk of what we need for the Cadence, then, I guess it's the best we've got. We'll probably have to let Crash Dive know, just to see how she feels about it, though. And then, there's the matter of what they'd be shooting at... "Aheh, ahm, yeah, slight, slightest of issues there, uh, the bad guys operating under Cerberus? Yeah... they're kinda remnants of the Enclave, too. Specifically Crash Dive's old squadron, or, wing, or whatever the term is. They won't have any problem shooting them down, or dropping an eight inch shell on their heads, would they?"

"Let's see, around a city's worth of well-meaning former members of the Enclave, civilians and military, that would love a chance to prove to the wasteland that they aren't the bad guys anymore, against three pretty much obviously bad Enclave remnants that I'm willing to guess already wouldn't have any issues with opening fire on anything and everything on the ground or water. Doesn't take a mercenary's education to guess whose side they'd be more likely to support, missile-flanks." The gryphon let off a chuckle as she pulled a glass bottle from her duffel bag, popping the cap off with her beak and passing a bottle of Sparkle-Cola over to Aerith. Well... guess that works, then. Heh, who knows, maybe they'd actually idolize Crash Dive once they learn about her... We'll tell her soon as we can find her. "We've got some pull with 'em, I... know a guy, who's former Enclave. Most should at least be kinda familiar with working onboard a ship, cloud ones aren't too different from the water-based ones."

"I suppose we just need to take all we can get right now. If they're willing and able to help out, call them in and send them to Deadstallion's Island, just off the coast from Glowing-Sea. A ghoul named Fowler will be waiting for them there." Hispano answered Static with a nod, myself rifling through my own duffel bag to pull a bottle of RAD out and begin drinking it down. That wing isn't gonna heal itself... quickly, anyways. Maybe I can just see about having the brace taken off before we head out of here, I've been drinking plenty of RAD and I'm pretty sure there's less that has to be pulled together in the wing bones compared to a shoulderblade, anyways. Static looked towards me for a moment, before letting off a sheepish chuckle. "Eheh, uh, they won't have problems working under ghouls, right? I think Fowler's also bringing in some of his old shipmates to get the Cadence running."

The gryphon thought for a moment, before answering with a shrug, finishing another sip of her bottle. "Long as they aren't ferals or incompetent, shouldn't be an issue. They might voice some concerns, some might let a 'zombie' slip here and there, but if they're actually pre-war navy then they'll learn to listen." Static gave a nod, myself already having drained half of the bottle of glowing soda and continuing on. Mmh, well, long as they don't try taking control of the Cadence for themselves, I guess it'll work out.

I gasped for breath following that last long gulp, Hispano letting off a chuckle as I wiped my lips with the sleeve of my jacket. "Heh, speaking of things acting out of the ordinary, how's your mutation workin' for ya? Wing almost healed up?" Blinking a few times I looked down towards my braced left wing, moving it around as much as I could. Well, it's not making me scream in agony, and the brace is really just feeling uncomfortable now, so... guess we just need to find a doctor to check and see. The gryphon smirked as she gave her head a shake, looking down to the bottle in her talons. "You drinking Sparkle-Cola RAD equals instant broken bone healing, still can't believe that's true. You both are some crazy ponies in general, y'know that?"

I passed on a grin as I finished off my bottle of Sparkle-Cola RAD, rummaging through my duffel bag for a moment before tossing another bottle over to Aerith, the alicorn managing to just about catch it in her hooves. She let off a silent chuckle, myself passing a nod on to them both and turning about to exit the room. "I prefer to say that we just keep things interesting for everyone else..."

---

"Tank firing range looks clear again, can bring us down there. Bring her around to 270 and let's touch down." The day had grown well on into evening as we finally got underway to Maple Station, mercifully lighter one wing brace. Once again, Sparkle-Cola RAD has saved us a lot of time waiting around doing a whole lotta nothing... still shouldn't fly on it for a day, but it's better than it still being broken a week from now. Picking up Scouring and Crash Dive went as smoothly as usual, as did the flight over - actually kept her from nearing trans-sonic speeds for once. See, Static, I'm a good pilot!... now, anyways. Shuddap.

The landing gear compressed under the Valkyrie's weight, the turbines shutting off as we gathered our things together and prepared to exit the cockpit into the fading light. The bomb bay doors hissed open behind us as I opened up the cockpit access door, the short ladder falling into place and allowing me to climb down, Static eventually following behind. Scouring and Crash Dive both trotted out from underneath the bomb bay, the doors shutting behind them as they joined up. "Ach, aye, well, still not eactly a vertibuck in terms of comfort, but not much you can do fer it. Least the flight was smoother than last time..."

Giving my eyes a roll - like I said, at least ordinance doesn't complain about my flying - I turned to start heading in towards the town, Crash Dive pulling up alongside me as Scouring and Static took up the rear. She seemed... a little anxious, to say the least. "So... a big chunk of the ponies running the warship off the coast are going to be Enclave remnants. Are you sure that that's a good idea, putting them all in charge of something like that? I mean... you are aware who it is we're fighting, right?"

"I know, Crash Dive. Thing is, they... your old squad, they're not like that group. Hispano trusts them enough to've suggested it, and both myself and Aerith trust her. We need what help we can get." The power armored pegasus looked at the ground as we walked, a light snow starting to fall as we soon reached the town limits. A sigh escaped my lips, myself resting a hoof on her shoulder. "A lot of the remnants from this place want to show that the Enclave aren't something to fear anymore, that they want to do good and help everypony. They'd probably really look up to you, you know."

She passed on a momentary smile, the blue lights from the railyard ahead catching the flakes as they fell through the air. The sound of snow crunching underhoof filled the air for a moment, before it was joined by Crash Dive's... laughter. Yeah, that's something you don't hear too often... we'll work on fixing that. "A few hundred fully-able pegasi looking up to a washed-up old Private with two useless wings and a set of power armor better suited for diving than flying, and I thought I'd heard it all when you said you had two fathers. What makes you think they would?"

"Well, to start with, the fact that you're one of the founding members of the Vanhoover Five does help. C'mon, they're literally gonna be working onboard the radio station, it's pretty likely they'll learn about all of us. We've helped plenty of ponies all around, and your armor is pretty distinctive..." She wore a small grin as we caught sight of the familiar service shed, stepping over some fresh sets of tank tracks left in the snow and mud. Huh, pretty thin ones... well, compared to most of the other tanks. No deep trough like what Sensha's tank leaves, either, and I'm pretty sure hers is a bit wider than whatever left these, anyways... huh.

"Correction, YOU'VE been helping plenty of ponies all around, I've just been dragged along with you. Will give you that it has been more fun than sitting back home and drowning myself in wild pegasus, though..." The large doors of the rail shed drew near, and as we got closer the sound of laughter, music, and some glass bottles clinking about met our ears. Crash Dive looked up at the doors for a moment, before truning back to me. "So, who's this new tank ghoul that came down here? Said it was a friend of your fathers, or something?"

A weak chuckle escaped me as I took hold of the handle, Scouring and Static joining us. "Eheh, nah, no, he just... sent along a message, to them. Actually one of Mad Jack's old friends, I think..." The heavy door swung open with a loud creak, us all filtering inside to a few cheers and sounds of excitement. I pulled the door shut behind us, before turning about and being greeted by a proud-looking stallion adorned in some rather well-maintained pre-war military khakis, as well as a burgundy beret. A smile lifted the small mustache on his muzzle, and he raised a hoof up between us.

"I do believe you must be the mare I've chatted with over the radio. Captain Poppy Gardener, 4th RTR, now serving with Cordite, pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Taking his hoof and giving it a firm shake, he turned to look towards the usual lineup of tanks, Scouring and Crash Dive having already pressed on ahead towards them. As I looked over them... well, guess we know what made those tracks. Parked neatly between Porshcia and Avery, almost dwarfed by both if not for it's almost comically oversized turret, sat a small tank with a somewhat pointed front and a ridiculously large gun. Well, relatively large, anyways - was a far cry from Avery's dustbin mortar, but I'm pretty sure I could still fit my hoof down the barrel without getting stuck. Poppy Gardener looked between myself and Static as we trotted back over with him, still wearing that smile. "So, as Jack thought it more appropriate you be the ones to do so, might I learn your names if we're due to be going off to war together?"

"Well, I'm Static Charge, and she's Night Strike. We're... out-of-towners, heh. Pleasure to meet you, ah, Poppy Gardener." The earth pony on the other side of the tank commander piped up as we drew nearer to the tank, myself torn between looking at Poppy Gardener and looking over the ridiculous thing. The front driver's hatch was left open, giving a bit of an idea of how thick the armor was... namely, not very. Heck, War Crime could probably punch through armor as thin as that. Hardly could call it a tank... then again, not many people would have guns that fire War Crime's ammo, too.

The old ghoul let off a small chuckle, trotting to the side of his tank, myself reading off some faded paint on the turret's large side - 'BT-42 Cordite'. Huh, guess the tank must be a BT-42, then, I suppose. Why does Equestria have so many different ways for naming their tanks? "Ah, please, just call me Gardener, or 'Pip' if it takes your fancy. Been around long enough to know that life's too short to bother with full names... relatively speaking, anyways." He let off a short chuckle, before giving a few taps on the side of the turret, looking up towards it's high top. "Hey lads, c'mon out and meet the great white slug's kids!"

After a moment, the top hatch of the turret clattered open, a ghoul who looked quite appropriately dressed for the weather poking his head up out of it. He seeme to look about for a moment, before leaning over and settling his eyes on us, wearing a faint smile across his decaying muzzle. He ducked back down into the body of the tank, before reappearing out the back of the turret, trotting onto the back of the tank and hopping down to greet us. "Ah, hei. Sorry about that, don't really care much for commotion. I'm Quick Fire, the tank's gunner."

We both gave his well-insulated outstretched hoof a shake, Poppy Gardner looking about behind him. The old tank commander gave another pair of taps against the turret, only to be answered with by a loud snore from the front of the tank. Quick Fire let off a long sigh, shaking his head, Static moving out of his way as he pressed onwards to look through the open driver's port. "Tule, Short Shift, herata! Humalassa typerys..." We were only greeted with another bout of snoring, the tank gunner letting his head fall forwards in defeat for a moment, before regaining himself. "You'll have to excuse our driver, he's usually competent. Too much viski, not enough petroli, eh?"

Poppy Gardener gave off a small chuckle as he trotted forwards, myself passing Static a shrug. I'm... not sure what petrol has to do with anything here, or what language he was speaking for that matter, but, well, long as they know what they're doing, I guess. "Ah, Shifty was just getting into the spirit of things, he'll be fine come morning. Was a long drive down here anyways, give 'im a break Quick Fire."

The thickly-jacketed ghoul let off a soft chuckle, before lifting his foreleg and pushing back his jacket sleeve for a moment, trotting over to the other side of the tank. The tank's commander, meanwhile, looked around, rubbing at the back of his head. "Huh, wonder where Jack and Rheinmetall went off to... ah, well, suppose it was rather early to break out the fine scotch, anyways. Anyhow, nice to finally see the faces that Jack was raving about earlier, if your fathers are as absolutely mad as Jack's made you out to be it's little wonder they've been so persistent on finding you two. Hopefully they should be meeting with our friends back up in Cordite sometime in the next few days, last I heard they were-"

A loud clatter came from the other side of the tank, catching our attention, myself looking to see... the stock of a Gauss rifle? "Vittu! Agh... Short Shift, senkin huoran..." The whole gun was encased in an aura of magic, lifting up to show it's full size - okay, definitely NOT a gauss rifle. Quick Fire brought out a set of bipod... skids for it next, followed by one of the gun's magazines and a few rounds for it. Looking at the size of the things, I was just left dumbstruck.

"What... when did they turn a Gauss Rifle into a twenty-millimeter... well... anti-tank rifle?" Static glanced towards myself for a moment before looking at the gun with me, myself still examining the huge thing. Quick Fire set it on his back, letting off a small chuff as he trotted back around the front of the tank, a glare on his face - what? Did I say something I shouldn't have? It was a legitimate question!... I think.

"Voi hyvanen... This rifle came first, Lahti L-39. Your Gauss Rifles were made from these, and it's a shame that so many were gutted for that use. They're hardly an upgrade." Okay, note to self, never let Minty meet Quick Fire while he has Jolts out, otherwise I'm pretty sure he might just smash it to pieces right then and there. Also never have the burst-Gauss out in his presence, either, for that matter. The tank gunner let off a sigh, looking to the doors of the shed. "I'm going out hunting for a while. Need some time to relax."

"Alright, just be back before it gets too late, might have some plans drawn up by the time you get back. Try to not vaporize too much game, eh?" Gardener let off a small chuckle as Quick Fire responded with a nod, his rifle balanced on his back and magic encompassing the door's handles. As he was about to open them, though, the loud growl of an engine filled the air outside the shed, us all trotting forwards to see what was approaching. The unicorn opened up the doors, a flurry of fresh snow blowing in as a pair of headlights shone through, soon followed by a massive trundling beast of a landship, and a boat on tracks behind it. Huh, guess it's the changing of the guard, or something.

Gardener and Quick Fire both just watched on as Deathtrap and Sensha's boat-tank both moved towards their respective places in the shed, a look of surprise and faint recognition on both their faces. This was only accentuated as the deep, throaty rumble of Deathtrap's engine was quieted, and the zebra popped his head out of the top hatch, letting off a long sigh. He turned to look back at us, eyes going wide in surprise. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the unluckiest Equestrian-born zebra still on the planet. Sure have kept that leaky landship of yours going alright over the years, eh, Caution Tape?"

The ghoul zebra let off a small laugh as he climbed down from his tank, trotting over to the other tank commander. "Ah, Poppy Gardener, it's been quite a long while since I last saw you! Tell me, your little sturmhaubitzewagen still managing to remain upright? From ze looks of things, Short Shift's still no stranger to the bottom of a bottle." They both shared a laugh, followed by a quick hug, Sensha hopping down from her tank and starting the long walk over to join everyone else. Well, glad to know we're all still friends here. "It's good to see you again, kamerad. Vhat brings you all ze way down to Maple Station, though?"

"Answering a call for help, the lovely lady over there's said that there's a war brewing on the horizon down here and, well, you know how I can't resist a good challenge. Things've been a bit slow back home anyways, more new recruits getting in than we can handle and we've been low on work. Were on leave up by Mare's Lake when we got the signal." Myself and Static both trotted over to join up with them, Poppy Gardener wearing a grin as he continued. "Of course, would help if we knew just what we were due to be going up against. Mind clueing us in sometime later?"

Static gave off a chuckle, answering with a small nod. "I think that's what Scouring and Crash Dive are doing right now with Mad Jack and Rheinmetall, we've got a pretty good idea of what we'll be facing at their main base as it is. Ever killed a robotic dragon before?" Gardener gave off a small laugh, looking between us, before his eyes went a little wide. Well, he's the one who said he wanted a challenge. Static looked about the shed for a few moments, trying to see behind the tanks, before turning to face back forwards. "Scouring's got most of the data with him, would be nice if we knew where they went off to, though..."

As if on cue, the sound of four sets of hooves trotting back out from somewhere at the side of the shed could just be heard, two of them accentuated by the sound of power armor. We all trotted a little further along Deathtrap's side to see them, the group emerging from a short hallway behind Avery. Scouring took the lead, wearing a smile on his muzzle. "Ah, good, seems like everyone's here. So, we were goin' over a bit more o' the data, and, ah, did happen to occur to us that we missed a bit of intel that could be useful t' have... Ah, Rheinmetall?"

The tank ghoul unicorn stepped forwards, pulling out a few faded, old photographs from his pocket. Holding them up for us to see, the sight made me a little confused, understandably - that... looked like a warship turret, kinda, aside from the fact that it seemed to be buried in the ground... and this other photograph of a turret buried in a bunker seemed to be up the side of a mountain. Well, at least Gardener seemed to understand what we were looking at. "Back during ze war, one of the zings ve encountered vhile fighting during the Tobuck Campaign were these, zebra bunkers outfitted with large gun turrets, used for defending areas such as valleys und mountain passes, anyvhere that a fighting force could feasibly approach from vhen attacking a main fort. Equestria did copy the idea for her own fortified bases during ze latter parts of the war, and if ze base ve are to besiege is vhere you say it is, zhen it is -very- likely zhere are some of these in place already, possibly even as far up as Saddlebrook. We need to know vhere they are, these have guns vhich can tear a tank apart, let alone any unarmored forces."

A long sigh escaped me as this new info sunk in, myself bringing a hoof to my forehead. More recon duties... then more planning. This is gonna be a long war.


-----

“Well, I suppose we better get moving, then.” Night Strike said after she brought her hoof down from her face. “I swear this thing is going to be the death of me. And not the gunfire, explosion-y kind of death. You know, the fun kind.” I just rolled my eyes at her banter, shaking my head slightly. The war wasn't a case of everyone suddenly having these fancy machines and missiles either, Strikey, they had to do planning and recon too. Just hope this time it doesn't involve Aerith injuring herself as much, if the need for a hooves-on approach is required... Night Strike let off a sigh, looking around at the tank ghouls around us. “You guys can make sure everyone's all stocked up on ammo, right? We’re not really sure how soon we’re going to need you.”

Sensha gave a quick nod, trotting forwards beside Poppy Gardener and Caution Tape. “I'll get the ammunition replicator cart up and going. Assuming she hasn't been causing too much havoc down in Hopeville, Rangefinder should still be set for ammo from setting up Glowing-Sea, and I hardly use my tank's cannon anyways. Just leaves Porschia, Avery, and Deathtrap to tend to...” The zony trailed off for a moment, looking at the strange boxy-turreted tank parked between the two larger single-turreted ones. She blunk after a moment, letting off a weak chuckle. "O-oh! And, uh, of course your BT-42. Sorry, not used to accounting for six, heh..."

The moustached tank commander gave a small wave of his hoof, letting off a chuckle. "Ah, don't worry yourself my dear, didn't face much on the drive here. We've still got a healthy supply of HEAT and HESH for her gun, though if you know of anywhere that might stock 20mm rounds, I've a feeling Quick Fire would appreciate it. Those robo-dragons you mentioned probably wouldn't fare too well against an anti-tank rifle, right?" Poppy Gardener let off a chuckle that Night Strike joined him in, rubbing at the back of her own head uneasily. Oh, right, Hispano's gun is a 20mm, isn't it?... well, she did manage to kill one of the dragons by herself! I think.

“The guys up at Vanhoover Air Base might have something for ammo, 20mm was a pretty common aircraft round, I think. We have to go there next anyways, might as well see if they can pitch in. They’d probably be able to give us some intel on the valleys and stuff to the south, too.” I suggested. Night Strike nodded in agreement, putting her hoof up to her mouth as she thought, Rheinmetall putting the photographs back into his jacket's pocket. “Alright then, um, until we can get the HMS Cadence staffed and going, uh... I dunno, I guess just stay and wait for our signal, maybe. Unless your guns can point higher than I think, I dunno how effective you'll be against airborne dragons, but having some armor on side can't hurt.”

Mad Jack gave off a small cough, trotting forwards. "Well, having armor's all well and good, but if you're asking us to head somewhere all the way in the southeast from Maple Station that's an order in and of itself. Would be better if we had somewhere closer to the target for staging everything, you know, some sort of FOB. Some of us don't exactly have fast tanks, eheh..." Night Strike gave off another sigh, myself putting a hoof up to rub at my forehead. Well... okay, that is a good point. If Avery can only go as fast as the TOG, then there being some place for it to start from that's closer to the actual base would be better...

"Alright... we'll sort something out. Vanhoover Air Base, Saddlebrook, maybe that golf course B Company mentioned or something, or the ski lodge they got that one not-a-tank thing from..." The hoof rubbing at my forehead moved to my eyes, a soft grunt escaping me. It's already late, my brain can't logistics this time of night... let's just get to the hotel soner than later. I turned attention back to the group, letting off a small huff. "Okay, we aren't going to be moving on this anytime soon anyways, we need to get the HMS Cadence staffed and... I think your guys' tanks too, if I remember it right. For now, I think some sleep would help us more than anything."

Night Strike looked over to the others, a long yawn escaping herself as well, soft chuckles escaping Rheinmetall and Mad Jack. Poppy Gardener gave a gentle pat on my back with his hoof, getting my attention. "Ah, of course. Don't you worry about sorting crews for us, I've got a few friends heading down to lend hooves myself. Wish you would've told me that we're facing airbone foes earlier, but I can see if we've anything back at Cordite that could get down here in a hurry to help. You all get yourselves a good rest, we won't be going anywhere, heh."

The other tank ghouls gave nods of agreement, and after saying our goodbyes - and making sure they knew where we'd landed and that they wouldn't be heading out to test their guns anytime soon - we headed out into the frigid night air, the light snowfall from earlier having thickened noticeably. I gave a grimace as I moved up close beside Night Strike, the pegasus' breath making faint clouds in the blue-lit air. "For the best, I might be getting to be a decent pilot but I wouldn't risk flying the Valkyrie in a snowstorm that's getting this heavy. Let alone..." She paused to let off a long yawn, giving her head a shake. "Let alone while this tired. You're good for paying for our hotel rooms, right, Sparky?"

She passed on a sly grin as I answered with a roll of my eyes, looking towards the hotel in the distance. Our fault for getting here so late... hopefully we can get through the rest of this without spending all of our caps. Hopefully.

---

Night Strike pulled back on the controls of the Valkyrie as we descended towards the air base, peering ahead over the nose of the plane and towards the snowy runway beyond. I did the same, albeit with the benefit of the forward camera - o-kay, well, a standard horizontal landing isn't as bad as viewiing the ground while mid-flight, at least. The landing gear extended and locked into position with a clunk, the rear sets touching down first in the fresh snow before the front one did, Night Strike letting off an audible sigh. A few ponies watched from the sidelines as the Valkyrie slowed down, Night Strike pulling the throttle back as I looked out over the side of the cockpit. A mini-tank appeared alongside from one of the bunker-hangars, driving ahead of us and into Night Strike's vision. After a moment, we began to roll off of the runway and towards one of the open hangars, much unlike the last time alive with several ponies working on constructing more air craft.

Pulling up inside an empty section of the hangar, Night Strike flipped a few switches, the Valkyrie's engines powering down and systems shutting off easily, myself undoing my buckles. Hitting the button for the bomb bay doors, they fixed themselves open with a clunk, allowing Scouring and Crash Dive to disembark as Night Strike opened the cockpit door for both of us to make our own exit. As we stepped down onto the hard, cool concrete of the hangar, we were greeted by a crowd of ponies already swarming about the Valkyrie, all extremely eager to get a look at it. “Eheheh, guess they’re a bit more excited than I thought they’d be...” Night Strike said, trying to squeeze past them as they admired it.

“Nnf, well, seeing how the Dragon Mare is... was, probably the most advanced thing they’d have seen, I’m not really surprised. Let’s just hope one of them doesn’t try and take it out for a joyride.” I said, looking back over my shoulder through the crowd and catching the two ponies in power armor pushing through them as well. Night Strike gave a weak chuckle, also looking back towards the mass of ponies as we finally reached the end, appreciating the breathing space. As we looked about the hangar, a familiar voice echoed over the large group of ponies, and we spotted Sharpwing flying over to us.

“Ay, 's been a while! Wasn’t expectin' you to be stopping by.” She trotted up to us after landing, wearing a grin as her eyes moved from us to looking over the Valkyrie. “Ah, that thing’s a real beauty, innit? I can see why you were so eager to get her runnin' again. What I wouldn’t give to be able to fly like that thing can…” She stared whistfully, letting off a soft sigh before shaking her head and refocusing. “Ah, sorry, just daydreamin’ again. So, what brings you back here?” She began to lead us out of the large hangar and over towards the main complex, the crowd of ponies starting to slowly disperse as each individual got their fill of gawking.

“Oh, you know, just adventures, mass armed conflict, possible fate of Equestria at stake and such.” Night Strike responded somewhat sarcastically. Sharpwing gave her a quizzical look, about to open her mouth to speak. “No, no, I um… look, this is probably something better discussed once we’re with Serene too. It’s kind of a big deal, and we’re going to need the whole base’s help.” Sharpwing didn’t look any less confused, but she continued to head towards the old office complex.

Stepping inside, we were greeted by a guard in a flight jacket, who immediately stood at attention and saluted. Sharpwing returned the salute, speaking up. “At ease, I’m bringing the Vanhoover Five up to talk with Serene. They say it’s urgent business.” The guard stood down, giving a small grin before waving his hoof along.

“Aw, heck, I remember you guys. Beating out Turbine in that race was pretty impressive, that bastard got what was coming to him... Uh, apologies for my language, Air Marshal. Serene is in the command room, you can head on up.” We headed up the stairs he was standing post at, looping back and forth for what felt like ages as we climbed the control tower. Yeesh, I’m not even sure the Lighthouse was this tall... then again, I guess it would be kind of hard to see approaching aircraft from the bottom of a valley. It thankfully wasn’t too long before we finally reached the top room of the control tower, where we found Serene leaning over one of the old radio equipment, polishing his sword.

He looked up as we entered, giving an exasperated sigh. “For goodness sake, Sharpving. Ve agreed on svitching posts at exactly zhirteen-hundred hours and it’s already past two zhirty! I’m going to go mad if I have to stay up here while my Valker lies rusting in the vorkshop for anozher day! Wizout regular maintenance and training all of its gears are going to stick, und I’d be better off piloting a sled into combat!” He stood up, holstering his sword as Sharpwing rolled her eyes.

“Oh, stuff it, ya spoiled prince. Your walker isn’t going to rust just ‘cos you leave it unused for one extra hour. Besides, if you were too busy tendin' to your fancy show-sword to notice, we've got visitors.” She stepped aside, allowing all of us to enter the room. Thank you, standing on the stairway was starting to ache...

Serene’s eyes widened in surprise, and he stepped forward to shake all our hooves, Scouring looking about the well-kept tower and out the high windows overlooking the runways. Well... I guess that is fair, he wasn't here the first time around to see all this. “Vell, it’s good to see you two again. Why are you back here, zhough? I zhought you vould have been heading back to your home vonce you got your Valkyrie vorking again.”

Night Strike rubbed at the back of her head, sucking in some air through her teeth. “Yeah, about that… listen, I don’t know how long it takes for you guys to get info on stuff outside the base, but there’s a big war coming, and soon. You remember those guys that shot down Turbine mid-race? They shelled Hopeville after we got the Valkyrie airborne, and they’ve got some of Crash Dive’s old Enclave squad members helping them out with aircraft of their own, VTOL ones named Harriers. Worst of all, they’re sitting on a pretty massive supply of megaspell warheads, tactical ones that are part of some recoilless gun systems.” Both Serene and Sharpwing were dumbstruck, Serene’s face turning pale as he sat back down in his chair. Yeah, that's a fair reaction, honestly... "We need your help... and maybe a few pilots that would be willing to head over to the HMS Cadence, too."

Sharpwing stared intently between us, trying to comprehend what Night Strike had just said. “W-what? Are you serious? But… why’d they go after that place? What’re they trying to achieve?” Both Night Strike and I looked between ourselves before answering with a shrug, Sharpwing’s brow furrowing at our response. “There has to be bloody somethin'! Ponies don’ just go out an' bomb places 'cause they like the sounds of their kin screamin'. At least, nopony with access to such advanced tech and that knows how to use it. You really don’t have any idea on what they want?”

I lowered my eyes, trying to think about anything… the recording? No, that was just the flight of dragons, the place was hit by the mortar first. Ahm, uh, going after the dam, and the wind blew the shells off course, maybe? Agh, no, probably not... I shook my head, letting out a grunt of frustration. “I’m sorry, but we just don’t know. I’m not sure if they’re even trying to take over Vanhoover, or just want to try and kill out the wasteland. They’ve been pretty destructive if that’s the case.” Serene screwed up his face in concentration.

“Vhell, zat might be somezhing. If zhey vanted to take over ze Vanhoover area, zhey vould have done it already, ja? Zhey can’t be zhat new, not if zhey’re vorking viz ze Enclave. Zhey have to be vaiting for somezhing, or somevone.” Serene leaned down over the consoles, staring at nothing in particular as he wracked his brains to try and think of more clues. “Do you have any other intel on zhem? Some big veapon zhey’re vorking on, maybe? Or somepony zhey’re vaiting for?”

“Maybe... Wasn’t the shouty guy in the recording talking to some kind of robot researcher? Maybe they’re trying to develop some kind of mega death robot that can throw the megaspells around by itself? Or, uh, maybe they're using the railroad cannons to make some sort of super-tank, or something?” Night Strike suggested. I tilted my head in a noncommittal way. Well, I suppose it’s not impossible, though I’m not sure why they wouldn’t just use the dragons as is. Scouring did say that these bombs only weighed thirty-five kilograms or something, and I'm willing to bet that the barrel of a massive cannon weighs more than that.

Sharpwing sighed, flopping into one of the smaller chairs pushed up against the wall. “Well, not really much to go on. You guys got anything more concrete on this place? I think we’d be able to convince some of the ponies here to help out, but only if we can know what we’re up against. Least if they've got planes, we've got 128mm AA guns.” Scouring looked over from one of the windows with a grin, answering with a nod. He brought up the large storage drive from a compartment on his armor, plugging it into a nearby terminal and bringing it up onscreen. After it'd loaded in, he started to transfer some files over, Sharpwing and Serene watching him intently.

“Aye, we’ve got plans of the top level an' a few of the lower ones, along with a few bits an' pieces of jucier intel. Been sifting through the data the last few days to get all I can saved, will give ye copies of the important stuff. Seems like the main place is heavily fortified, but there's smaller stuff that's more freshly built, should be an easier nut to crack with bombs in the right places. Aside from that, well, if you've anything with some large guns on it, can help with shootin' down the dragons, too..." The power armored staiion wore a grin as he rested back in the chair, letting the file transfer complete. Well, they're all clued in now too... good.

I stepped forwards, watching as the transfer finished and Scouring ejected and then removed the drive, seeming to smirk at me as he did it. Oh, come on, I was kind of under a lot of pressure when I did that! Getting out of there alive was more important than getting out of there with every last bit of data uncorrupted. "I think the biggest threat you guys are going to have to worry about are the anti-aircraft guns they have themselves. They almost shot us down in the Valkyrie, I really doubt they’ll have much trouble trying to hit something as slow as Night Strike’s propeller-driven… thing.”

Night Strike gave a small huff. “Hey, that 'thing' won us the race, remember! It’s probably better than half the stuff they've got here still, being flightworthy for one.” I looked back over to her suspiciously, while Sharpwing and Serene were wearing small smirks of their own. She rolled her eyes in response, letting loose a sigh. “Okay, yeah, fair enough, I think I’d rather be flying over that place in the Valkyrie, but the Stork isn’t completely useless, either. Maybe somepony can fly a copy of it to spot for the Cadence's guns, or something. Maybe help with delivering messages or packages to the tanks once we get their forward base set up, or whatever...” Her eyes suddenly went wide as she turned back to Serene, a grin forming on her muzzle. “Heeeeeey, that walker of yours would be pretty good at storming the gates once we get those guns taken care of! It’s like wearing a set of power armor the size of a tank! And with it's own guns, too!”

Serene’s pupils shrank as she spoke, and he started trotting away from the terminal, shaking his head wildly. “Nein nein nein, absolutely not! I vill not let my valker come under such heavy fire! Besides, we need a team of four ponies, minimum, to operate it, and zhat’s not including a backup gunner or engineer! And if ve vere to fall in zhe middle of zhe battle, ve vould be sitting ducks!”

Sharpwing glared at Serene, who stood his ground. “Oh, for Luna’s sake, Serene! You keep moanin' and whinin' about how that big old thing is going to rust up without regular use, and then when you’ve got a chance to actually do something with it, you’re gonna just sit back at home? Barking spiders, and you keep trying to tell me those machines aren’t useless.” Serene returned the glare, Sharpwing letting of a frustrated sigh. “Unless you want to explain to the ponies we send out why you couldn’t bother to give them ground support and led to their inevitable demise, I really think you ought to think long and hard about this idea.”

Serene scowled, looking down at the airbase below through the control tower’s windows, and over towards the hangar where his massive walker was kept. Letting off another sigh, he shook his head, muttering something under his breath. “Scheisse… you’re going to get us boz killed, Sharpving.”

“Well, suppose I better start making funeral arrangements.” The Pegasus quipped. Scouring moved back to looking out the windows at the air base, as Sharpwing let off a sigh and moved over beside Serene, resting a hoof on his shoulder. "Come on, you won't be going it alone in the thing, anyways. You guys mentioned something about seting up a forward base for tanks, right?"

I answered with a nod, pausing to think. Eugh, well, we're probably heading back to Maple Station for something after this, anyways... maybe lunch. "Yeah, as a matter of fact we know somewhere that might be able to send along a few tank crewmen to help you out. If they're already familiar with working in a tank, how different would a walker be? Could you at least train them where it'd be needed?"

The red-coated unicorn let off a long huff, falling back into a nearby chair and starting to think. Well, I mean, tank, walker, they're both armored vehicles with guns, there's gotta be at least some overlap, right? Worst case, Serene just has to pilot the thing rather than being the one commanding it, probably. "Hm... ja, ja, I suppose zat could be a possibility. Ze guns' mechanisims probably aren't too different, und I'd assume zhey'd have experience vith at least some form of internal combustion engine far as vhat zhe engineer's skillset would have to be..." Serene trailed off, staring at the ceiling, as Sharpwing wore a triumphant smirk. "Still, I'm not exactly thrilled about zhis idea. Vhish my old instructor vere here, Clopp vhould be a far better sturmvalker instructor zhan I vould."

Sharpwing trotted over to rest a foreleg over Serene's shoulders, wearing a small smile herself. "Ah, c'mon ya barking prince, they've obviously got some sort of plan in the works already, we oughta trust 'em. If you're so bloody thick-headed about it you won't take her in for the big frontal assault, then maybe you can help them with setting up that base they were talking about, stamp out a few radroaches or bloatsprites for 'em, maybe." The pegasus wore a grin as Serene seemed to glare at her in mild disgust, both of them turning attention towards us. "So, since knowing where exactly Serene's thirty-ton pest extermination machine is needed would be useful, you've an idea of where that base's gonna be set up for us?"

I glanced between Night Strike and the others, the pegasus beside me breaking into some weak laughter as she rubbed at the back of her head, myself putting on a small grin. Oh, right, the other reason we came here... yeah, I wouldn't be looking quite as assured either, Serene and Sharpwing. Crash Dive let off a sigh as she brought a hoof to her forehead, myself clearing my throat and glancing around the control tower.

"Ahm... not exactly. You wouldn't happen to have a map of the area directly south from here, would you?"


-----

"Well, took some digging, but this seems like the most thorough map we have on offer of the southern mountains." Sharpwing spread out the old, rolled-up map on one of the tables in the control tower, Crash Dive moving to help hold down the eastern side as myself and Static looked it over from the bottom. Sharpwing trotted around Crash Dive to join us, attention moving to the relevant area. 'Valley of the Two Sisters', huh? Well, it seems to be the best passage straight south from Saddlebrook... guess that'd be as good a place as any for the staging area.

Crash Dive seemed to focus more on the area further towards the south in the corner of the map, which just seemed to be empty mountains for the most part. Yeah, probably a printing error, that... "This isn't a military map, there's definitely some sort of base that should be located right here. Still, it'll provide us with some way to better coordinate things now that we at least have an idea of the routes they'd have to take, so it's better than nothing. Not to mention easier to distribute with some work, no need to try and give the entire invasion force pip-bucks..."

I gave off a small nod, looking at the blank corner in the mountain ranges. Yeah, just have to try and get copies of this map done up for all the tanks, at least... and maybe the HMS Cadence. Then again, they can probably fire without necessarily seeing the target, warships could do that, right? Eh... I found my eyes falling off of the map and to my foreleg to the west, the legputer inside my baggy sleeve poking against the fabric here and there. Guh, brain, really don't need to be zoning out at a time like this, I know we're more of the 'just get in there and bomb it' kind of attitude but we should at least be paying attention... unless... my eyes glanced back towards Static, and his own legputer, something finally clicking. Brain, you're a genius!

"Static, you were actually in the base, wouldn't your legpu- pip-buck have a map marker for it?" The earth pony blunk at me a few times, before looking down at the screen and flicking through the options a few times. His eyes went wide as he scrolled to the corner of the map, scratching at his head and sticking it out for us to see. "Fort Maple... huh, well, it's a name at least. More importantly... uh, is there a pen or pencil around?"

Serene wore a grin as he came over to start marking down the location for reference, a pencil held in his magic, as Static let a weak chuckle escape his lips. "Gonna be honest, actually kinda slipped my mind that that popped up on the pip-buck... i-in my defense, I was kind of more concerned with getting the info and getting out in one piece!"

I let loose a small chuckle and gave a shake of my head in response, leaning over to give Static a quick peck on his cheek. Oh, ya silly pony... "Don't worry about it Sparky, important thing is that now we've got a definite location for the place. All that leaves now is to get some more info about the places we'll be coming in from... uh, the tank ghouls over in Maple Station mentioned one possible thing that could've been set up in the valleys, these bunkers outfitted with turret guns, would pose a very real threat to the tank forces." I leaned forwards, looking over the map and scanning the valleys that lead down to the base. Of course, with it just being a standard road map... "...and of course this map doesn't show them listed anywhere. Great..."

Serene seemed to study the valleys leading down a little more closely, the pencil he'd used to mark the base now moving to draw circles around some bits along the sides, where the lines were a bit wider apart. I leaned over to see a bit closer, while Static brought his foreleg back down from the table. After a few moments of marking, the unicorn looked towards us with a grin, lifting the pencil up. "Vhat, don't you know how to read a topographical map? I vill admit, zhese are not anywhere near exact, but... vell, you see how zhese portions of the valleys flatten off occasionally? If I vhere setting up defenses, I'd want zhem to be in places vhere it's already easy to build und have a good view of the valley as vell, especially if zhey vere glorified buried battleship turrets."

Sharpwing wore a smirk as she adjusted herself, Serene taking a step backwards. "Well, it's not much, but it's somethin'. Suppose all that time you spend playin' with your toy soldiers has a use after all." The unicorn passed on a glare as the pegasus gave him a pat on the back, eventually moving into an eyeroll and trotting aside. Sharpwing gave a nod to us as Crash Dive moved back, letting the map roll back up. "It'll take some doing, but we might be able to convince a few o' the pilots here to have a recce in the places he marked out, maybe take some pictures too, if needed. We'll get as much as we can for you."

That prompted a moment's relief from me - well, least we won't be dealing with more boring taking pictures ourselves, even if they might not come out quite as high-res as ours would. Yeah... it'll only involve someone else putting their life on the line in a likely dubiously flight-capable airframe that could collapse if they sneezed, let alone if any dragons are airborne at the time. Thanks for the reality-check, brain. Crash Dive seemed thoughtful about something, tapping a hoof against her chin, before looking out at the hangar near the far end of the runway.

"Hm... you know, this might be a bit of a stretch, but I've got an idea. Think I remember hearing a broadcast over Radio KAOS that was talking about the Dragon Mare, a while back, some ghouls that saw it referred to it as an old surveillance aircraft..." A smirk came across her muzzle as Serene and Sharpwing shared a glance, along with myself and Static. Well, if it was supposed to be a surveillance aircraft, I dunno how much surveillance a burnt-out wreck could actually do... and that's before considering the kind of pilot that'd have to fly the thing, likely on a suicide mission considering what we're facing. "Tell me... Turbine's still locked up here somewhere, right?"

"Well, yeah, in the eastern sub-hangars, but... you're not suggestin' what I think you're suggestin', are ye?" Sharpwing wore an uneasy look as Crash Dive continued grinning that sly grin, Scouring... just seeming confused. Yeah, we're gonna have to bring him up to speed on a lot of things here, aren't we? The earthen-colored pegasus let off a sigh, turning for the stairs. "Wouldn't hurt if everyone could get to know just how that bumrag got his aircraft to go so fast, and... I guess... well. He isn't exactly being much help rotting away in an empty hangar. Alright."

As we started making way to head back down, Serene suddenly rushed ahead of us, eyes focusing on Sharpwing as he cleared his throat. The pegasus ahead of us seemed taken aback for the moment, before the red unicorn tapped against his foreleg a few times, prompting a sigh and facehoof from Sharpwing. "You had your off time, now it's mine, Sharpving. I can bring zhem to Turbine just as vhell as you can, in ze meantime it's your turn to be stuck up here."

"Oh, fine, whatever, ya barking prince. He's in the hangar in the north-west, the furthest one from the runway, over buried in the mountains. If you can convince 'im to help, or at least let us in on his design for the Dragon Mare, probably wouldn't hurt anythin'. I'll be up here if you need me." Sharpwing slumped back in one of the chairs, hooves crossed over her chest as she looked out the windows. Well, if being the Air Marshal or whatever meant spending half the day cooped up in the tower like a princess from an old fairy tale, gonna admit I'm really glad that none of us kept that position... least of all because of all the bloody stairs you have to climb to get up to it.

As we passed back out through the lobby behind Serene, and he passed a firm salute to the guard, we stepped out onto the snow-covered taxiway, the drone of a few engines filling the air to the south. As we looked over to try and find the source of the noise, the sight that we recieved... admittedly, was far from what we were expecting. Or, well, at least what I was expecting, anyways. Serene let off a small chuckle before the vehicle got too close, ushering us back a little ways. "Vhell, suppose we won't have to valk over to it, at least..."

The strange craft pulled up in front of the buildings, a great white cloud of snow being blown out from underneath it even as it came to a stop, a familiar stallion at the controls inside the seemingly spacious cabin, along with two others. Wait, wait, don't tell me... uh... okay, I know one of them's slow, and the other likes shouting a lot, and I think the third one was the one that crashed during the air race... right? The two ducted fans on the back of the strange craft stopped as it started shutting down, followed by the bizzare rubber skirt around the whole thing deflating flat. As the snow settled, and the craft came to a rest with a small shudder, I could just about make out what was printed on the side... "Hover-Van Grand Touring?"

Serene gave a nod beside me, trotting forwards, as the three stallions inside were gathering themselves together. "After zhe air race und Fast-Track's recovery, zhey started making zhese things instead of air craft. More useful und comfortable zhan driving around on ze back of ze Motorbugs, at least..." Scouring and Crash Dive both seemed to be trying to make sense of the craft themselves as the trio of stallions emerged, the pegasus - Fast Track, right? - getting out on the right... driver's side. Isn't it usually on the other side? "Guten morgen, Fast Track. Just making ze rounds? Mind if ve vhere to trouble you for a lift to zhe northvest hangar?"

He wore a grin as he hopped down from atop the craft... hover-van, I guess... looking back towards it. "Ah, well, would be glad to!... once we get the tanks topped off. Two eight-cylinder boxer multifuels from those Motorbugs tend to drink a lot, and we don't exactly have the largest of fuel tanks aboard. Still, the Vanhoover Air Base Hover-Van Grand Tour service is a rousing success so far, and we've even started work on a second Hover-Van!" The pegasus gave the side of the hover-van a satisfied little pat, as myself and Static moved a bit closer to examine it - if we had to wait for it to get fueled up, might as well.

Scouring and Crash Dive moved around the front as we headed towards the back, myself paying close attention to what mechanics I could see. Okay, so I guess the fans on the back provide the thrust, that's obvious enough, but the inflatable rubber bag-thing... that's more confusing. I guess it must have holes in the bottom or something, there was snow being kicked up even when the fans on the back had stopped, so... huh. I guess it blows air downwards, or something, then... Static moved a hoof to press against the rubber along the back, it seeming a bit more baggy than on the sides. A small chuckle escaped him as a smirk came to his muzzle, looking towards me. "Hey Strikey, does all this rubber at the back remind you of anything? You know, like something else that's rubber and inflatable, and found on the back of stuff that tends to stay near the ground~"

I'll admit, it did take me a second to understand what he was getting at... helpful as always, brain. The earth pony seemed to not be containing his laughter as well as it finally dawned on me, a firm glare shooting in his direction. Swear to Celestia above... "Static, I might be the pilot of the Valkyrie but I'm willing to bet that there's some sort of rear seat ejector system I could activate from my controls, and I'm willing to find it."

The earth pony stuck his tongue out towards me as I continued on to the opposite side of the hover-van, looking out across the airfield. "Oh, come on, Strikey, you've only had to wear it two or three times, and you can't deny it was at least kinda comfortable. It's not like I've tried getting you into a pair while you aren't looking..." I let off a small huff, giving my head a shake before looking up the valley sides. A small glint to the north caught my eyes, along with a pair of contrails in the frigid air. Huh, somepony's got a twin-engine design going already?... wait, I recognize that shape... "...well, yet, anyways."

Ignoring Static for the moment, I focused in on the aircraft on approach to the main runway, watching it's descent as the landing gear lowered from the fuselage... wing-bit. It's hard to tell what to call it when the whole thing is largely a circle, at least the Valkyrie has somewhat of an obvious main body. The strange pancake shape seemed to be flying almost frighteningly slow as it nosed up for landing, another mini-tank going out onto the runway to guide it followed by an emergency response one, the crowds either side watching it approach. Unbelievably slowly, the F/A-5U dropped onto the snowy tarmac, coming to a smooth stop in the middle of the runway. Static trotted up beside me as I let off a small chuckle, finally realizing just who was the pony piloting that particular pancake - We're really not that great as far as helping with getting people back home, are we?

The bizarre aircraft taxiied off of the tarmac and over to the main hangars, led by the motorbug, the two large repaired propellers spinning to a stop as it came to rest outside of the hangar we'd parked in earlier. I'd already started heading towards the craft, Static following behind, a door opening and ladder dropping down from the bottom, near the cockpit. A pony emerged, wearing a slightly singed flight jacket, pink mane poking out from under his thick winter cap and a grey muzzle being the only thing visible from under his flight gear. He grinned as we both approached, probably a little thankful most of the crowd in the hangar was still fawning over the Valkyrie. "Contrail! I... eheh, uh, sorry about leaving you in Hopeville for so long, we kinda ran into a lot of things that had to be taken care of first... sorta slipped our minds."

The pilot stallion gave his hoof a small wave, a grin holding on his muzzle. "Ah, don't fret about it, ah know y'all are the big heroes 'round here. Bein' honest, was for the better, was able to find somepony over in Maple Creek who could make new propellers fer the Pancake, and it only took a little bit of tweakin' to get the right-side gearbox back into shape with Marigold's help. Wasn't about t' leave this thing just layin' on the coast to rust away, yanno?" He gave the landing gear leg of the aircraft a few gentle pats, looking up at the flat fuselage above. Well, I guess that does make sense... wait... are those bomb bay doors up there?

Contrail looked back towards us as he seemed to remember something, myself still looking at the underside of the Pancake. If those are bomb bay doors... those slots look like they could be shell ejection ports... F/A-5U. If 'A' is for 'Attacker' like the Valkyrie, what would the 'F' be? "Actually, kinda a good thing ah caught y'all here. Was goin' over the radio bands on the flight over, sounded like somethin's coming in fast from over at Maple Station. Ah didn't catch much other than the words 'Vertibucks' and 'Enclave', sounds like somethin' you guys'd prolly wanna look into, though."

Well, that certainly caught my attention. Enclave Vertibucks... well, he doesn't sound too panicked about it, so maybe they're friendly Enclave Vertibucks? But who would... a hoof hit my head as I finally pieced it together, looking over to Static. "That must be the group Hispano said she'd call in, the ones that'll be working aboard the HMS Cadence. Thought she would just send them straight to Deadstallion's island, though..." Pausing to think for a moment, I gave my head a shake, getting myself back together. Okay, no, this is a good thing, we can coordinate some stuff with them better if they're heading through there. My eyes fell back on Contrail, who only seemed a bit confused. "Ahm, whatever. Do you know if they said how far out they were, when they might get there?"

The pilot stallion rubbed at the side of his head, seeming to think. "No, can't say that I do, but from the sounds'a things they were gettin' closer fast, their signal stuck around a little while after I passed outta range of Maple Station. Might be able to catch 'em before they land if ya head out now, maybe." I answered him with a nod, looking past Static and towards the parked Valkyrie, the crowds taht were around it having thinned some. With a supersonic bomber that can get from here to Maple Station in only twenty minutes, I'm sure we could probably outpace a few Vertibucks. Even if I might have to break the sound barrier a little...

Static seemed to read my mind as he turned and ran off to get Crash Dive and Scouring, myself darting over to the Valkyrie's cockpit door and climbing up the ladder to get into the cabin. The computers aboard hummed as they all came out of rest mode, myself puting her through her standard startup procedure. Hydro talismans one through four, on, primary igniters one through four, primed. Engine throttle at zero... alright. My hoof pressed and held the igniter switch, the sound of the four large turbines spooling up... not filling the air. I cracked open my eyes to look at the button, pressing it a few more times. Oh, please don't be broken... eventually, just around the time I started hearing a pair of power armored ponies climbing into the bomb bay, I looked up at the display ahead of me. Yeah, that... that's embarassing. Static seemed confused as I looked back towards him, letting off a weak chuckle.

"Uh... anybody know how to put this thing in reverse?"

---

"Gunnery range... mostly clear. Watch out for gryphon strikes." After a twenty-minute flight that took exactly 43 minutes because apparently parking a jet in a hangar nose-forwards is a mistake, we were finally over Maple Station, a cursory glance out the right of the cockpit showing a noticeable fleet of something out on the horizon. The landing gear once again compressed to take our weight on the fresh snow, a smooth vertical descent and touchdown geting a soft sigh from me. It's getting easier, still pretty darn stressful, though. The engines whined down as I shut them off, Static opening up the bomb bay as I started to unbuckle myself, a sudden bang against the roof of the craft jolting us both for a moment. I looked up through the canopy towards the turret, eyes meeting with the blue ones of the gryphon merc outside as she passed on a friendly wave. Nice to see you too, Hispano...

Climbing out through the side door, the olive-drab gryphon hopped down to greet us, a smile on her beak. "Hey guys, just in time, they're almost here! They're around three hundred strong, mainly soldiers but about a Company of engineers, too. Along with a few groups of ghouls they picked up that said they were heading that way, too, for some reason..." Hispano scratched at her head, before giving a shrug, looking off towards the north. Ghouls... could be Fowler's old navy buddies, I guess. The gryphon semed to focus on something at the top of the range, before reaching into her duffel bag and producing a flare gun. She broke it open to slide one in, looking over towards myself and Static. "Heh, might wanna step back..."

Glancing betwen ourselves, we took a few steps away from Hispano as she steadied herself and aimed the stubby pistol skywards, pausing for a few moments. A short breeze blew towards the east for a moment, the flare gun letting off a loud crack and whine as the bright projectle climbed skywards, eventually detonating with a loud pop a short while later. Hispano coughed as she fanned the base of the smoke trail away with her wings, putting the flare gun back away. "Lotta messy terrain around here, just wanted to be sure they knew where they were good to land. Should be touching down in... yeah, just a minute."

Giving a nod to her in response, we both trotted back over beside her and sat down in the snow. Well, guess we just gotta wait now. Scouring eventually joined us over where we were sitting, the power armored unicorn looking back towards the Valkyrie as he let his armored flanks rest in the snow as well. "Hey, uh, Night Strike? Think ye might be needed o'er at the bomb bay, Crash Dive inn't wantin' to come out. Looks like she got herself worked up again." Meeting his eyes for a moment, I answered with a nod, picking myself back up to my hooves. Alright, Crash Dive, come on, we've talked about this already... Still, probably wouldn't hurt to be with her.

A short glide got me over beside the Valkyrie, ducking underneath the opened door and troting in to look up at the half-empty belly of the aircraft. At the nose end of the bomb bay, the power armored pegasus seemed to have curled herself up, her armored forehooves keeping her face hidden as a few sniffles escaped her, echoing in the small space. I landed myself on the small walkspace beside her, our eyes finally meeting - even in the dim lighting of the bay, hers looked reddened and sore. She rested her hooves in her lap, a distant sound starting to be carried over the wind. "It's gonna be okay, Crash Dive. They're here to help us, and with all you've helped us do they're gonna be looking up to you, too. You don't have anything to worry about."

The power armored pegasus drew in a breath, releasing it in a small shudder, looking down to the ground. The sound outside was starting to become a little more defined - the distinct 'whap-whap-whap-whap' of a Vertibuck's rotors. They were getting close... "I... I know. It just... I haven't seen a large Enclave force in a decade." She let off a long sigh, sniffling in again. "Y-you know, besides the whole thing about having to cleanse the ground below, in the Enclave we also had it hammered in that, in the end we'd be helping everyone by doing what we did. It... it's just a little bittersweet to see it actually happening, finally." As Crash Dive started to break down again, I leaned over to pull her into a hug, trying my best to squeeze her with all the armor on. Looking to her muzzle though... she was smiling.

The sounds of the multiple vertibucks were loud and clear after Crash Dive had calmed back down to a presentable state, the engines on a few of the closer ones starting to shut off as we stepped out from underneath the Valkyrie. Trotting over to join up with Static, Scouring, and Hispano again, a pair of official-looking pegasi had joined them from one of the Vertibucks, the stallion extending a hoof. "Lt. Colonel Tail End, Enclave remnant forces, we hear you've got a few rogue elements determined to have the rest of us keep that damaged image. We're here to help out in any way we can."

I returned the hoof-shake as he went down the line, the Enclave officer moving to Crash Dive next. A soft smile came to his muzzle, and instead of a hoof shake, he opted for a salute instead. The power armored pegasus blunk for just a second, before scrambling to stiffen her legs up, taking on a posture that I've only ever really seen from some of the Steel Rangers when walking with Knight Fringe back at EQUAD. She returned the salute in the same motion, holding it, leading to... a rather bizzare staring contest, as far as I could tell. "My mistake, sir, it's been a long time since I last was in the presence of a senior officer."

Tail End held his salute, though seemed to let off a small chuckle as he did. "At ease, Private, from what I've been told you're more deserving of treatment as a senior officer in this situation." Crash Dive only blunk in confusion at that, bringing her hoof back to the ground. The Enclave officer followed, a hint of something in his eyes as he looked at Crash Dive, stepping to the side so that the crowds behind could get a look themselves... sweet mother of Celestia, I didn't realize that a couple hundred ponies would look like this. And this is barely half of what we need for the Cadence... "Two-hundred sixty general infantry under my command and 45 engineers under Flight Officer Ram Turbine's supervision, we'll follow your orders wherever you need us to be. From my understanding, it'll be aboard a warship of some description, correct?"

"Yup, the HMS Cadence, it's moored on an island out to the west, probably can't miss it. I'll be honest, we have no idea how much work it's going to need done to be battle-ready again, but the ghoul aboard it seems like he's confident it's doable with enough crew." I stepped forwards, Tail End's own smile seeming to waver slightly, giving way to concern. Yeah... maybe we should've gotten a more definitive answer out of Fowler before now on the whole 'will this crazy idea actually work' thing. Then again, why break the mold now? We're the Vanhoover Five, after all... Brain, please stop being sarcastic for at least a little while. Taking a moment to look over the crowds in front of us, a distinct lack of old stallions and mares with their skin falling off caught my attention. "Ehm, speaking of ghouls, Hispano mentioned you picked up a few on the way down?"

A small ruckus was being raised through the crowd, eventually producing a small band of ghouls wearing naval uniforms, all seeming to grumble as they looked back at the large group of pegasi they'd just pushed their way through. Well, guess that answers that question. "Good fer nuthin' lousy... hrm. Captain Sea Salt, formerly of the HMS Manechester. I understand Petty Officer Fowler's looking to resurrect the Cadence with our help, that correct?" Answering him with a nod, the stallion seemed to let off a dry chuckle, giving his head a shake. "Weren't for the fact that these lot came down for it too, would've said living on that ship's driven him mad. We'll see 'er up and going soon as we can, with any luck she'll purr the same as she did back durin' the Foallands. Least if she doesn't, we'll all have some last hurrah before getting a burial at sea, eh?"

The rest of the ghouls seemed to join in a small laugh, while the large group of pegasi behind them just seemed to range between nervous and mortified. I elected to join the remnants' reaction, letting off a nervous chuckle of my own. "Eheheh, yeah, let's try to not let that happen. I mean, if nothing else that is kinda where our only radio station is located at, heh..." A few of the sailor ghouls only seemed to laugh a little more at that, the crowds starting to edge a little away from them. Honestly, I couldn't blame them, kinda was hoping that given it's distance from the base the HMS Cadence would be about as safe a place as you could be during the battle, rather than a suicide mission.

As the laughter eventually died down, the heavy beating of large wings seemed to meet the air, the crowds looking up and catching sight of a flock of gryphons overhead. Oh, what's this now... wait... those are some REALLY degraded wings, and... huh... gryphon ghouls? That's possible? The sailor ghouls seemed to be muttering more than the enclave crowds were, a few of them taking on... less than welcoming expressions as the flight of gryphons landed. Boy, this place is getting pretty crowded... The leading gryphon passed on a salute, before extending a talon to shake. "Captain Bronze Wing, formerly of the AGR General Guto. Me and my friends understand you're looking for assistance with geting a warship back into op-"

"What in the name of Celestia's sweet rotting forehooves do you think you're doing here?!" Sea Salt's voice rung out loud as he pressed forwards towards the gryphon, the other sailor ghouls seeming to follow him and build themselves into a line while the ghoulified gryphons did the same. Oh... boy. "You've got a lot of bloody nerve to think we'll let you lot aboard the Cadence, I still remember my time aboard the Shetfield and don't think I've come close to forgiving you beaked bastards for what you did to her!"

Myself and Static had stepped back from the crowds of ghouls as they drew closer to each other, Scouring and Hispano holding ground and seeming ready to intervene. Oh, come on, we've got bigger stuff to worry about, let's not start infighting before you've even seen the ship... Bronze Wing held himself steady, meeting Sea Salt's angry eyes. "Given the state of the world today, I would've thought a war twenty-five decades ago would hardly have an impact on current events. It was your country that sank my ship in return, if you remember." The gryphon looked over towards myself and Static, a flash of pain crossing his eyes. "Regardless, it isn't your call to make. We want to make amends, there's been too much loss in the world already and any more which we can prevent we will try our hardest to do."

Both of the head ghouls were looking over towards us now, myself just feeling confused. Okay, so they both served in a war two hundred fifty years ago on opposing sides... when did Equestria go to war against the gryphons? Feels like I should... oh, right, the Foallands War! The same war that... that the HMS Cadence served in. Ho, boy. Well, at the same time, more trained people onboard the ship, and if nothing else the 'really want to survive this whole thing' crowd heavily outnumber them if they try anything. I let off a long sigh in the cold air, only afterwards realizing how unnervingly silent everything had went. "Well... we need as many capable bodies onboard it as we can, we've only got half of what we need so far. So long as they won't work against us, any help we can get..."

The ghoulified gryphon looked back towards Sea Salt, shuffling back slightly to extend a claw out in front of him. The old sailor ghoul grit his teeth as he looked down at it, eventually releasing a small huff and reaching out to meet the gryphon's talons giving it a firm shake. Necessary truce, alright, that's a good thing. The important bit is that we finally are getting towards having a full big warship on side... "Fine. Moment this is over, we never have to see each other again, at least."

Hispano clapped her talons together as she hovered above the crowds, wearing a wide grin. "Alright, one big happy dysfunctional family, then! You heard the mare, everyone get airborne and over to that island, we'll call ahead to let 'em know you're heading in. Come on people, that ship won't run itself!" The crowds began to shuffle back aboard their Vertibucks and take to the air, Scouring and Crash Dive both reconvening with us as the olive-drab gryphon landed back down on the ground. The Ghoulified gryphons joined in the takeoff as well, the other sailors pressing forth to the vertibucks near the back, everything starting to clear and calm back down again.

Tail End stuck around as the first few Vertibucks started taking to the air, passing on a nod to us. "We'll keep an eye on them, make sure everyone plays nice with each other. Lot of work ahead of us... You know how to reach us already. It'll be a pleasure serving for our country again, and bringing those sad excuses for Enclave soldiers to justice. Private." The officer passed on a salute to Crash Dive, which she returned, before climbing aboard his own Vertibuck and departing as well. Alright, three hundred and something capable bodies heading over to the HMS Cadence, confirmation on assistance from the Vanhoover Air Base, and a definite location of the big base we're going up against... today's been a productive day.

The last few vertibucks and pegasi vanished behind the hills in the distance, the drone of the engines fading on the wind. As we started to gather ourselves back together - myself still trying to comprehend the sight of all those hoofprints in the snow - a low growl was heard to the west, catching the attention of most of us. Half-expecting to see a smoke trail rising up over the hills, the only one of us who didn't seem to be fearing the worst was Static, and as the growling was heard again... Oh, really? The earth pony let off an embarassed chuckle as he rubbed at the back of his head, his stomach growling again.

"Eheheh... anyone up for lunch?"