• Published 23rd Jul 2012
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Displacement - hornethead



A Special Operative gets stranded in a strange unfamiliar world and must learn how to cope.

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Loss

Chapter 52: Loss

"So what brings a pirate of the high seas to ply his craft on land like a common thief?"

They had all returned to the beach and found a few washed up pieces of driftwood to sit on.

"Ah, we've fallen on hard times. Captain Easton tried to sink a ship crewed by those foul beasts that took from us our home and sustained a few heavy hits. He pulled through, though he's lost another of his legs. I stepped in to fill the gap and help increase our bounty, but th' Luna's Revenge is still badly damaged and makes for a poor vessel. It's taken a toll on us all." The one eyed earth pony explained dejectedly, his head hung low.

"Yeah, I've noticed your accent has become a little more... piratey-er."

*sigh* "Aye, it comes with th' job."

"I can drink to that," James said, offering his canteen, "sorry, all I have is water."

Ken reached into his vest and pulled out a flask, "Wouldn't be a proper pirate if'n I didn't carry my own stash of rum, a favorite of yours as well if I recall. Care for a sip and a swig?"

"Ken, you're too kind. I shouldn't though, I'm actually kind of working right now. Sorry." James apologized.

"Celestia still have a leash on your collar then? A shame, it is. You know, you seemed right at home with us on th' frothing currents o' th' sea."

James took another drink from his canteen, "Yeah. I was actually a sailor once, I didn't lie about that when you guys took me on. I just kinda... switched jobs."

"What with th' fightin'?"

"Yeah... Can't say I was completely happy with that decision, but the pay was good and, even though I lost a good friend back in my own home, I made a bunch that are just as good here. So it wasn't all bad."

James pulled out his iPod to check the time. He saw he had about thirty minutes to get back and start his watch.

"Shit. Well, it was nice talking with you again Ken. I have to go now, but if you can help me out, I need some help from you if possible. Maybe even some information. Any way I could keep in contact?"

"Aye. We have in employ a pegasus in Van Hoover that flies important correspondences and parcels to and from the mainland for us. I can have him contact you, he jus' needs to know where to find ya."

"Just have him go to Ponyville and ask around for James the Human. He'll find me pretty quickly."

"I'll pass it on."

James stood up and offered a hand which Ken shook vigorously with his hoof.

"T'was a pleasure to speak with ya again James. I look forward to a partnership."

"Same here brother. Fair winds and following seas to ya."

Ken got to his hooves and returned to his row boat, the rest of his entourage following. James then watched as they piled in and pushed off the shore, barging straight through the shore breaks and back to open sea. In the wan light of the moon, he caught a glimpse of the Luna's Revenge. He then hurried back to the campsite, just making it back in time for his watch.

"Awesome, time for some shut eye." Feather said with a yawn as the human arrived, "What'd you end up doing?"

James grabbed his top and his rifle from where they lay in his tent before tossing some small logs into the fire to keep it going until morning and sitting down by it.

"Went and chilled on the beach, then met an old friend. Looks like we'll be getting some eyes on the ocean around here."

"Eyes on the ocean? You talking about those pirates we picked you up from?"

"Yep. I'm gonna keep in contact with them, they'll be like and early warning system for when shit goes down."

"Sounds like a plan," Feather said with another yawn, "well, I'm hittin' the hay. G'night.

"Night."

The earth pony crawled into his own tent and promptly passed out, leaving James to gaze up to the stars and moon by himself. He leaned back against a log and absentmindedly pulled the gem he wore around his neck from his shirt, staring at it in the firelight, his thoughts and emotions rippling with the myriad formless colors the small stone radiated. There he stayed until sunrise.

=====================================================================

Two days later, it was early in the morning. The warm sun had just risen and Flash and Feather were just about to finish loading the remaining supplies into the Clipper's cargo hold for the trip back home. James was busy relieving himself a short distance away in the woods. It was the eighth and final day of their recon and he was eager to get back to his home. He zipped up his pants and began heading back to the airship, thoughts of what might be awaiting him when he returned filling his head.

*boom*

An explosion from far off in the distance suddenly jerked him out of his reverie. James stopped in his tracks and paused to listen. After a moment of silence, he was about ready to dismiss it as a random sound when he heard another, and another, and another. With haste, he sprinted through the under growth back to his team. When he arrived at the Clipper, he saw that they too were frozen in place, listening to the distant bursts of noise.

Shining poked his head out the side door, "What's all that noise, what's going on?"

Sparks was the first to reply, "Could be a number of things. It might be thunder, thought it doesn't seem like it and there are no clouds out." He turned to the Commander, "James?"

"Let's check it out." The human ran over and tossed the last of the supplies into the Clipper before jumping in himself. "Myst, spin her up." He said through the open cockpit door.

Both Feather and Flash hopped in and began to help the human tie everything down as the engine hummed to life. As the engine noise filled the compartment, they all put of their radios so they could communicate better.

Myst had the same idea, "Which direction do you think it was coming from?" Her voice crackled through their ear pieces.

"I'm not sure, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say west, out over the ocean." James told her.

James went to the back and began pulling out armor. All the pony armor he stacked to the side for the others, when he found a piece of his own he put it on. Garth was already wearing his as he insisted that he be ready at all times. Sparks came up beside James as he was rummaging through the pile for his bracers.

"You think this might be something we'll need that for?"

"I really hope not, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared."

"Good point."

Sparks started passing out the armor before donning his own. Soon, they were all fully equipped, Flash, Feather and Garth checking their blades while James and Sparks cycled the bolts on their firearms.

"Is all this really necessary?" Shining asked the human.

"I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it."

"Fair enough."

Myst's voice crackled over the radio again, "Hey guys, you'd better get up on the top deck and take a look at what I'm seeing."

James, Sparks and Shining rushed to the upper deck, James grabbing the binoculars on the way up. The three of them stepped up to the railing strained their eyes to se what she was talking about. Far off in the distance, puffs of smoke could be seen ballooning out from the side of a ship followed by the resonant booms of cannon fire. James brought the binoculars to his face and focused on the firing ship and saw that it was the Luna's Revenge. He then panned over to their target, a large boxy wooden barge.

"Hey Myst, think you can get us a little closer?"

"Workin' on it."

The Clipper drifted over the two ships, allowing for a better view. James looked down again at the barge and saw it was swarming with Lotkin. Even more, the seemed to be toting crossbows with a strange light glowing from their tips. James concentrated on the weapons as they were aimed at the pirate ship. Five launched their bolts, the strange glow traveling with the munition, when they struck the broad side of the Luna's Revenge bursts of heat and light tore through the thick wood, leaving holes the size of pumpkins. When the cannon balls from the pirate ship struck the barge, damage was done, but not enough to win the fight.

"We gotta get down there and help them." James remarked.

"Why? Their just pirates. If anything, they're getting what they deserved." Objected Shining.

"Because, they're an asset. Besides, once you get to know them, they're not so bad."

"How would you know?"

"Because I have. Sparks, get everyone below ready for action, we're crashing the party."

The unicorn rushed down to the cabin and got the team briefed and prepped.

"You really gonna do this?" Shining asked.

"Yep."

"Anything I can do to help then?"

"Just stay in the main cabin where it's safe and watch us do what we do best."

James descended down the ladder to the compartment below, his entire team was already geared up and waiting for orders. Shining followed him down shortly after and took a seat on a bench in the corner.

"What's the plan?" Feather asked.

"Here's how it's gonna go; Sparks, I want you to man up the 249 up top. Myst will fly in fast and low length wise down the barge. Sparks you let loose with SAW and clear us a landing spot. When we pass over the barge, Flash, Feather, Garth and I will jump out the side door here and start disabling the ship. Remember to tuck and roll, come up ready. Everyone know what to do?"

They all replied in the affirmative, Sparks rushed up to the top deck with two boxes of ammo. James and the rest moved to the side door and readied for their jump.

"One last thing. Sparks, once you complete this strafing run and we're on board, switch to the MG3 down here and provide close air support."

"Roger that." The engineer replied through the radio.

"I hope you boys are ready back there, I'm starting descent." Myst warned.

"We're good to go, work your magic." James replied.

His stomach shifted up into his chest as the airship suddenly accelerated and began dropping down to the sea. In a few minutes, the roar of the machine gun on the upper deck pounded through the craft as Sparks opened up on the target area. It was soon followed by pings and thumps against the hull.

"We're taking fire." Sparks said as he continued send lead down range.

"Keep your head down buddy, we're almost there." James reassured.

The aft end of the barge suddenly appeared below them, the deck quickly rolling by just fifteen feet below, bloody corpses littering it. Without hesitation, James leaped from the doorway, body preparing to impact the deck. As soon as his feet made contact, he tucked into a roll, safely dissipating otherwise lethal energy from his body into the deck. After a few tumbles, he snapped to his feet and brought his rifle to bear. Immediately before him were three startled Lotkin, he flipped his rifle to auto and put a quick burst into each of their chests, dropping them.

Around him, Garth and Feather were making similar actions, except with their deadly blades. Flash had leaped from the airship and spread his wings, diving and cutting down hostiles from the air above. They began a sweep down the deck to the forward end of the barge to where the the Lotkin had been firing the strange crossbows.

"Limas on your six!" Sparks warned.

"James turned around, reloading and dropping to a knee to confront the new threat. From a hatch, a large group of twelve hostiles were pouring. James prepared to fire, but was beaten to the punch by Myst and Sparks as they swooped down, the MG3 ripping through their ranks with rapid staccato fire.

"Thanks bud."

"We got ya covered.

James turned back around and resumed his advance with his other two teammates. When they reached the bow, they were surprised to see that the Lotkin with the strange crossbows were already cut up and dead, a smug sooty pegasus hovering over the bodies.

"About time you guys got here."

"Alright hot shot. Flash you stay up here and watch the top deck and the sides while me Garth and Feather head below to clear out the lower decks. Try not to get shot down." James ordered.

"You got it." Flash threw a quick salute before taking off into the sky.

James, Garth and Feather proceeded to a nearby hatch and popped it open, James standing back with his rifle ready incase there was a surprise. When there was none, he jumped down to the next deck and swept the room as Feather and Garth jumped down after him. They were in a large lantern lit bay with weapons racks affixed to the bulkheads all around. In regular intervals, thick wooden stanchions stood between the deck and the overhead, supporting the deck above.

Inside were also a group of seventeen hostiles, all frozen in their task, staring at the intruders. Garth rushed forward with a savage war cry and began slicing and hacking with his large sword. James and Feather both advanced as well, taking down anything that got in his sights, Feather cutting down any that got too close. As they neared their teammate, James' rifle clicked empty. He swung it to his back and pulled out his sidearm in a fluid motion, popping two more in their heads.

Garth was still battling two others. The two Lotkin he fought were blocking his attacks, but were also being driven back with the ruthlessness of his assault. Garth swung his great sword again at the head of one of his combatants, but it stuck into a stanchion before it could complete it's arc. The two hostiles faces turned into ugly grins as they prepared to hack him to pieces. Before they could, one's neck suddenly began to spray blood as a dagger was shoved through it while the top of the other's head exploded out from the temple as the .45 caliber round passed through it and buried itself in the overhead, bringing blood and skull fragments with it. As the bodies slumped to the ground, James and Feather could be seen standing just behind them. Garth nodded to them both in thanks.

Garth then went on to try and extract his sword from the thick wood while James and Feather looked around the compartment at the enormous weapons stockpile. In the lull, James reloaded his rifle and pistol, keeping the pistol out in the confined space.

"What do you think all these guys are doing out here on a barge full of weapons?" Feather pondered aloud.

"I don't know. Looks like it was part of a larger group. On the outside I saw large ropes attached to the hull, seems they snapped. They could have been with a bunch of others, but somehow got sep--"

A door at the other end of the compartment burst open, four hostiles jumping out, two stallions and a Lotkin with swords and a unicorn stallion magically holding one of the strange crossbows with the glowing tipped bolt. On reflex, James shot the three ponies and the Lotkin in the chest with his pistol, but the unicorn loosed the bolt before he went down. Time seemed to slow as James watched the projectile shoot through the air towards him. Abruptly, he felt himself being shoved to the ground, a large mass on his back, legs wrapped around his chest. The bolt sailed over him and impacted a stanchion just behind him, exploding in a blast of heat and pressure.

Groggily, James pushed himself up and cradled his head in his hands until the shaking and the ringing in his ears began to fade. He looked around Flash was coming down the hatch they had used for entry, followed by Shining. He was yelling something, his mouth forming words, but James still couldn't understand anything. He turned his head, searching for his other two teammates. Garth, he saw, had been thrown into one of the weapons racks and was getting up, mostly unharmed except for some cuts and bruises. We was starting to get worried when he still didn't see Feather. Then he turned to where he had been standing and saw the damage the crossbow bolt had done

The stanchion it hit had been reduced to splinters and jagged shards of smoldering wood. As soon as he looked down to the deck, James' blood flash froze in his veins. At his feet lay the unmoving form of a dark blue earth pony. The explosion had stripped his body of some of his armor, the exposed hair and hide was burnt and bloody. His eyes were wide open as if he was staring at something off in the distance, thin trickles of blood flowed from his mouth nose and ears.

Training kicked in and James sank to his knees and rolled his teammate's body over, leaning close to Feather's face to detect some sign of life. He couldn't feel a breath. Cold lumps of lead dropping into his stomach, James checked Feather's neck for a pulse. One couldn't be felt. Franticly, James began ripping off the remaining armor around his teammate's chest and started performing CPR. Furiously he worked, compressing the pony's chest and delivering rescue breaths. Flash and Shining rushed over.

"James, he's--" Flash began softly.

"GO GET THE MED KIT!"

"James..."

"Shining's here which means Myst landed somewhere on the weather deck, so GO GET THE FUCKING MED KIT!" James bellowed back at him, continuing his CPR.

Flash flew up through the hatch to retrieve the med kit. Meanwhile, Garth shambled over with a limp and joined Shining as they watched James try to revive his fallen friend. For seven more minutes James kept at it until Flash returned with the case full of medical supplies. James snatched it from him and cracked the case open, pulling out spring loaded syringe filled with adrenaline. He took out his knife and and slashed the front of Feather's uniform open. Then he stabbed the stallion's chest with the syringe over the heart, injecting the chemical straight into the life giving muscle.

After he did that, James resumed applying CPR and rescue breaths to the downed soldier, unwilling to accept the fact that he might be dead. James suddenly felt strong arms and forelegs wrap around him and begin to pull him back.

"NO!" He roared, throwing the limbs off himself and shoving his other teammates back, "GET THE FUCK OFF ME, WE'RE NOT LOSING HIM!" He began pounding on Feather's chest with a fist, "GET UP, GET THE FUCK UP!" James yelled at the unresponsive pony, his face red with anger and frustration. Then he started smacking Feather in the face with his palm, "YOU'RE NOT DONE YET, GET THE FUCK BACK UP!"

"James... he's dead." Shining said with sorrow.

"NO, HE HAS A STRONG HEART, HE WANTS TO LIVE!" He resumed furiously performing CPR.

Garth came up behind James and shove his arms through the human's armpits, wrapping his limbs around James' chest and lifting him high up off the ground in a bear hug as James kicked and struggled to free himself.

"Our friend has won honor and begun the Long Journey. He now travels with the legends of old. A fearsome warrior of great skill he shall be accepted into the Clan of Heroes." Garth said into his ear.

On the other side of the room, one of the ponies James had shot began coughing. Upon hearing the sound, James pulled in his legs and delivered a powerful kick to a stanchion close by, causing Garth to lose his balance and stagger backwards. The large warrior smashed his back into a weapons rack and tripped over the shaft of a spear that was knocked loose. As he fell, Garth let go of James with one arm to stop his fall, the other still gripping the human's chest tightly. The moment James' feet hit the deck, he pried Garth's arm off him and twisted it around, kicking his other arm out from under him and pinning Garth's large frame to the deck.

Next, he ran over and grabbed his pistol from where he dropped it and rushed over to the coughing pony laying on the deck between the lifeless bodies of his three comrades. The round James had fires at him had only wounded the pony in his right breast. As the unicorn saw James storming towards him, a mask of such terror fell over his face. He tried to get up, but James quickly knelt down and pinned the stallion's left foreleg to the deck with his knee before clenching the unicorn's throat with one hand and shoving the muzzle of his pistol into the terrified pony's mouth with the other. James cocked the hammer and was about to pull the trigger, but stopped when the pony tried to speak past the gun barrel.

"Whae whae, Ah cn gih yoo inforation!"

James pulled the gun out, "Speak!" he ordered with a voice full of malice.

"Please, we're just lost, separated from the fleet."

"Where?"

"I don't know, we've been drifting for days!"

"Where did you get that crossbow from?"

"A unicorn working for Mr. Kraster came up with it. That's all I know, please just let me go!" The unicorn pleaded.

"Sure, I'll let you go. To hell."

James' face remained an unfeeling blank mask as he stood up and fired the last three rounds of his magazine into the chest of the pony, turning it into a bloody pulp and forever silencing him. The gun fell from James' grip as his hand began to shake.

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