• Published 12th Apr 2018
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Fireteam Storm - Lordvessel



Before her grand Invasion in Canterlot, Tempest Shadow seeks aid from some other skilled creatures under the Storm King's command. Like her, they too were promised something...

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Chapter 2: Meeting the Team

Carter stood there over the course of an hour, diligently paying attention to every detail of every contingency Tempest had in place. The amount of variables each one covered ranged from quite plausible to outright ludicrous. Nonetheless, they were a testament to Tempest's strategic side, and if they were anything like her on the field expertise, the state of readiness and adaptability of her troops were second only to his unit. Carter was beginning to understand how this little Pony had become a Commander so quickly in the Storm King's ranks, her no nonsense personality pretty much synced with her tactical expertise, which was astounding for one of her kind.

"You really thought of everything, haven't you?" Carter expressed in honest admiration.

"This mission calls for it, Captain." Tempest replied. "It's success will effectively give the Storm King the means to rule this world, and in turn, my..........reward."

As curious as he was to know what said reward was, the way she said it made it clear that she did not wish to elaborate on it. Carter wouldn't have even had the time to inquire about it before Tempest took the conversation in another direction.

"Now that you now know the details of the invasion, are you and your team up to the task?" Tempest inquired.

Carter went to pick up his helmet before answering her with a somewhat devious grin.

"Like a walk in the park." he replied. "Between your tactical grasp of the situation and the fact that you now have the best unit in the Storm King's forces under your command, I'd say those poor bastards' fate is sealed."

Tempest let herself enjoy a slight smirk from the human's response, admiring the get-it-done-right attitude the Captain seemed to possess, something in surprisingly short supply among the regular forces of the Storm King.

"Nothing is set in stone until the task has been completed, Captain." She reminded him. "But I appreciate your optimism."

Tempest began to head towards the exit of the observation deck when she asked yet another inquiry.

"If you don't mind, Captain, I'd like to get acquainted with the rest of team. I like to know who I'm working with ahead of time."

"Certainly, ma'am." Carter replied. "Fair warning though, their social graces aren't exactly the best."

"As long as they're capable, Captain, I'm willing to overlook any shortcomings they may have." Tempest informed him.

The duo stepped aboard the rather archaic elevator (At least by human standards), with Carter yanking the chain pulley to send it going up. As the elevator gradually took them up through the levels of the ship, Tempest took the opportunity to bring up those questions that had been put aside earlier.

"So Captain, going back to what I had asked earlier, what exactly is a human? I've never heard of your species, let alone where you are from."

Carter gave her a rather reluctant look, yet conceded to answer anyway.

"There's a reason nobody on this world knows what a human is, ma'am. It's because we technically don't exist on this world."

A few seconds passed, Tempest giving Carter a raised eyebrow as his mere presence served as a sheer contradiction to his statement.

"Come again?"

"We're what you might call.....alien. At least in the traditional definition, we didn't actually come from space."

"You mean to tell me you and your team are from another world?"

"Considering there's really no other way of putting it, Yes, We are in fact visitors from another world."

Tempest would have argued the sincerity of his claim, but between his strange equipment and the fact that she had never even heard of his species, the reasoning seemed plausible.

"Well, that explains the strange equipment. So, how did you end up working for the Storm King?" She asked.

Carter went quiet, a reluctant expression overtaking him.

"It's a long story." He said.

"Is there a short version?" Tempest asked.

"I'm afraid not, ma'am. It's not a story I'm keen on retelling."

The way Carter said it made it evidently clear he didn't want to discuss the matter. Tempest herself could see the pain it seemed to be causing him by the look she was given, one that expressed a clear disinterest in relaying the subject altogether. It's resemblance to Tempest own unwillingness to discuss her stakes in the mission did not allude her.

"I guess we all have our secrets, then." She thought to herself.

While that conversation had been cut off rather quickly, the slow pace of the chain-lifted elevator gave rise to another.

"So, Captain." Tempest started off by saying.

"Yes, ma'am?" Carter asked.

"You seem to possess some rather advanced equipment. I find it odd that the Storm King failed to mention this to me after I became his second-in-command."

Carter brought his helmet around, almost showcasing it to her in his hands.

"Goes in line with the secrecy that surrounds us." He explained. "While I can't divulge on how most of it works, for security reasons and under the direct orders of his majesty, most of it was brought with us when we came here, well before we were hired by the Storm King as his personal assassins."

Tempest now inspected the interior of Carter's helm, noting the various straps and electronic bits that were housed within.

"Even he doesn't know how most of it works." Carter informed her.

"How is that even possible?" Tempest asked. "He always seems desperate for new magical artifacts."

"Well that's the thing, none of it is powered by magic in any way."

"None?"

"None. Magic is next to non-existent where I come from. Just know that it's pretty much centuries ahead of any weapon you'll find here."

"Then how is it powered then?"

"Well that was part of the agreement we made for working with him. Since our tech isn't magic based, it more or less wasn't as useful in furthering his end-goal, at least when wielded by him. However if you have four people who are masters at wielding them effectively, as well as being just about the most efficient and skilled soldiers you could ever hope to find, well that's an asset you can't pass up."

"So you're mercenaries then?"

"Sort of, we don't exactly do what we do for money."

"But there was a price?"

"Correct. Our price was rather generous. Simple food and shelter, one other thing that I won't divulge, and lastly, no questions asked about equipment. In return, we do whatever he tells us, and we do it no matter how morally ambiguous said tasks may be."

"So that device strapped to your leg, am I to assume that's your main weapon?" Tempest asked.

"Sidearm actually. Our main weapons are stowed away in our transport topside. You'll see it in just a minute. Along with the others"

Tempest harbored some rather inquisitive thoughts towards that as secrets that could effect the outcome of the operational performance weren't exactly an appealing quality to her. It seemed the more time she spent with Carter the more questions seemed to arise, both on the man, his species, and furthermore, his technological advantage.

In mere moments Tempest and the Captain were staring across the main deck of Tempest's flagship, The Bolt. Ever since she had been entrusted with commanding it, the ship had a serious reputation, putting down many a would be pirate raid and utterly devastating against ground forces. With speed, maneuverability, and an array of firepower to back it up, Tempest couldn't have asked for a better airship.

"This way ma'am." Carter informed her, gesturing for her to follow.

As she followed the Captain, watching her troops and crew carrying out the various tasks necessary before their attack, she looked ahead to see something incredibly strange. At the very center of the ship's forefront section of the deck sat a rather strange machine. While it was not very large, it looked to be constructed in a manner that it could fit two pilots within it's strange bubble-like fuselage, more specifically, two human pilots. On it's sides were two flat planks of unknown material, with an array of straps dangling from the side. Resting atop it's main structure was a more rectangular-shaped extrusion, housing a rotary of at least 5 or 6 long, flat blades that spanned well past the reach of the main machine itself. Jutting from the rear was a long and slender stem, ending in a strange fin-like configuration which sported a much smaller rotary sporting only 4 blades of a much shorter length. The machine as a whole rested on the flat surface of the deck via a set of two large bars which raised the structure off the ground by at least 3-4 feet. The entirety of the exterior was a jet black, with the Storm King's sigil painted in grey across both sides of the fuselage.All-in-all it had to be one of the strangest contraptions Tempest had ever laid her eyes on.

"You came here in that?" Tempest asked astounded.

Carter let himself sport a prideful grin.

"That we did, Ma'am. Say hello to the MH-6H Special Insertion Helicopter, or the Little Bird for short."

As she eyed this "helicopter" over a second time, she noted the figures standing around it. Each one of a similar height and geared up in a similar configuration to the Captain.

"I assume they would be your team?" Tempest asked.

"Yes ma'am. Why don't I introduce you to them?"

As much as Tempest wanted to know more about the aircraft, along with the rest of their technology for that matter, she had come up here with the intention to get acquainted with Fireteam Storm and knew that Carter wouldn't be too keen in sharing the details of the craft anyway. The mission itself was only a day away, and while she was genuinely curious, her curiosity didn't take precedence over the mission. She needed to know who she would be working with.

"Of course, Captain." She said in agreement. "I'm eager to get-"

"WOW COOL!" a loud voice called out in a static traced tone.

Both Carter and Tempest turned their attention to where it had come from, and saw that one of the members of Fireteam Storm was approaching them. Out of the four, he had to be the largest in both body size and overall gear, leaving a rather intimidating impression. He seemed to be wearing more armor than his CO, sporting a set of pauldrons and thigh plates that matched the same material consistency to his chestpiece. His helmet seemed to sport additional armor around the faceplate and above the visor, and much to Tempest's dismay, an artistic interpretation of what she assumed was the jaw portion of the human skull was painted across the faceplate region. He crouched in front of Tempest, his face at the same height as hers. As intimidating as he looked, what he said next completely ruined whatever presence he had inadvertently gathered.

"OH, MY, GOD. She's so cute! Is she like the ship-mascot or something?" The imposing figure asked.

Tempest gave the man a rather angered glare that would petrify any other one of her subordinates, yet this poor sod seemed clueless about it.

"Green. Th-" Carter said in a rather short tone.

"Awwww, but what happened to her horn? Poor thing." He interrupted as he clasped his hands around Tempest's cheeks.

Tempest's eyes began to speak volumes on just how ready she was to send this poor stupid soul in the void with one quick blast of her magic.

"Green." Carter said once more in a seething tone.

"OOH! Do you think-"

"GREEN!!!" Carter barked.

"Yeah, Cap?" Green asked, unphased by Carter's authoritative tone.

"This is our Commander."

Green felt a jolt make its way through his body. Upon learning this, he quickly removed his hands from Tempest's face and retreated from the now on the verge of irate Commander, who's broken horn already began to emit bright cyan sparks. Her look of pure unbridled anger was now made apparent and was directed solely at this man by the name of Green. The two remaining humans standing by the Little Bird had been watching this whole exchange, with the one to Green's left throwing his head back in a fit of laughter that he had apparently been holding in. The one on the right had been somewhat partially engaged, inspecting his long and strange looking weapon, only to simply shake his head in a dismissive gesture when Green got caught in the embarrassing act.

"Moron." The one on the right said in an cold southern accent.

"Oh my God, Green, you couldn't have fucked up more!" The other said with a Hispanic accent, unable to hold back his amusement. "¡Eso fue demasiado gracioso!"

As Green nearly froze from his rather stupid move, Tempest could hear the quite audible groan from Carter, laced with clear traces of annoyance and contempt as he effectively facepalmed.

"I see what you meant by poor social graces." Tempest said to Carter.

Ignoring the rather unprofessional display that had just unfolded, Carter was quick to regain his grasp over the troops.

"Storm! Front and Center!" Carter ordered.

His subordinates followed the directive without question, forming a line as they stood next to one another shoulder-to-shoulder, earning a small bit of admiration from Tempest in the process by how quickly he was able to take charge.

"Commander Tempest, I'd like to introduce you to my Lieutenants. Without further incidents."

Carter had been eyeing Green when he said that, causing Green to look to the ground just a little and earning a rather amused smirk from Tempest.

Carter then began to go down the line, each one removing their helmets as they were introduced.

"This here is Lieutenant Sanchez. Fireteam Storm's combat engineer, explosives specialist, and tech expert."

As Sanchez removed his helmet, the face that greeted Tempest was quite different from the Captain. His Skin tone was mocha colored, made more evident that that the sleeves to his uniform were rolled up to his elbow, exposing his forearms. His face had a chiseled quality to it, with modestly refined looking nose and a set of hazel eyes. Unlike Carter, Sanchez had quite the head of black hair styled in a top crew cut, with a chevron mustache accompanying the quirky smile he was giving her. Combining all these features together and everything about him screamed that he was the joker of the group.

Moving to inspect his equipment, Tempest was quick to notice that on his chestpiece was a large pouch with a faded symbol of a wrench at its center, and his helmet differed in the fact that it had some strange ocular device stemming from some sort of hinge above the visor, implying that it folded down. These two things seemed to correlate with Sanchez's role in the team.

"Pleased to meet you, Commander." Sanchez greeted her.

"Pleased or amused, Lt. Sanchez?" Tempest asked. "Kind of hard to tell with that stupid smile."

Sanchez opened his mouth as if about to come back with something sarcasm, but quickly noticed the death glare he was getting from Carter. The look alone screamed "Don't even fucking think about it", and despite Sanchez's innate desire to respond with something sarcastic, he knew the price would probably end up having to do with those sparks he saw the Commander emitting from her horn. Sanchez simply rolled his eyes before diverting back to the Commander.

"No ma'am, just pleased." Sanchez said in obvious reluctance. "Just a little surprised you're a pony, that's all."

"Oh don't let my looks deceive you Lieutenant Sanchez." Tempest smirked rather menacingly "I'd hate for you to find out first-hand what the price for making such a mistake would be."

Sanchez raised an eyebrow, if but to appear unphased by the statement. Yet he could still feel a slight chill go up his spine after she said it, finding the mere concept of being bolted by magic more than unpleasant.

"Tell me, what exactly does a combat engineer do?" Tempest asked.

"Well despite the name, I don't really find myself building too many things, I more or less deal with anything that can be considered a technical obstacle. I operate the more advanced tech we use, make sure we're stocked on supplies and ammo. I'm also responsible for piloting the Little Bird and making sure she's running. I do repairs on just about all our equipment as well, fashion replacement parts and what-not from time to time. But. When a strategic target needs to be wiped off the grid--aka what I call fun--I'm there with just about any explosive you can think of."

"So you're a mechanic, and a sapper?" Tempest said, the contrasting factors not lost to her in the slightest.

"Pretty much." Sanchez confirmed. "When something needs to blow up from the inside or out, I'm given the call."

"He mostly just deals with locked doors." Carter informed her.

"Yeah doors, bridges, buildings, hospitals, orphanages, half a city. I like to think I delve in variety of different mediums." Sanchez retorted. "Es un arte!"

Tempest found Sanchez's darker sense of humor just a tad bit amusing, but not nearly enough to warrant a laugh.

"Well Sanchez, you'll be happy to know that you will have the chance to practice your craft on the mission ahead." Tempest informed him. "In fact, as your CO will inform you later, I'm going to be counting on it."

"Diablos, sí!" Sanchez chuckled. "I look forward to it."

Tempest proceeded to move on to the next member of Fireteam Storm, one Lieutenant Green, the who had so foolishly had the nerve to assume she was the ship's mascot.

"I do believe you've already been...acquainted...with Lt. Green." Carter said with a slight derision to his tone. "He's our support gunner, pointman, and heavy weapons specialist."

Green instinctively rubbed the back of his head, his helmet obscuring any embarrassed look he may have had.

"Hello, m-ma'am." he stuttered.

"I'd rather have this discussion face to face, Lieutenant." Tempest said.

"C'mon big guy." Carter said.

Green let out a rather defeated sigh before undoing the straps holding his helmet in place. As he took it off revealing the man beneath, Tempest was greeted with someone who more or less the part of the big, strong heavy-warrior type, yet still maintained an approachable and somewhat gentle aura around him. Standing well past 6-feet tall, his skin tone was just a shade darker than Carter's, and he sported a rather stout clean-shaven face with a small snub nose, deep brown eyes and a short-cut mohawk adoring the top of his head. While she could appreciate his choice in hairstyle, the little stunt from earlier had taken a lot of the intimidation and respect he could have otherwise earned out of her. Despite the menacing aesthetics he seemed to possess, the rather sheepish behavior she was seeing out of him tended to paint him as more of a gentle giant than a juggernaut.

"Am I safe to assume your the muscle of the group?" Tempest asked.

Green nodded with a contrite frown.

"Look, I'd just like to formally apologize for my earlier behavior." Green finally said. "If I had known-"

"Apology accepted, Lieutenant." Tempest said cutting him off. "Now onto what you do."

Green seemed to perk up a little bit, but that apologetic look didn't seem to completely dissipate either.

"Well, as the pointman I'm usually the first one in a fight." Green explained in a not so enthusiastic tone. "Most of the time our enemies tend to run away when they see me coming."

"¿Cuál es el asunto, Green? You love it when you get to say that line." Sanchez claimed.

Tempest rolled her eyes at Sanchez's comment, continuing to train her focus on Green.

"That's quite the talent." Tempest complimented.

"Yeah, doesn't help that I'm the one who usually wields our most devastating weapons." Green added. "Shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers, etc."

"I...........have no idea what any of those things are." Tempest informed him.

"Trust me, you probably don't want to know what they can do."

"Oh, quite the contrary, Lieutenant. I'm more than eager to see Fireteam Storm in action for myself, though I do ask you keep the damage to our primary targets at a minimum, should you come upon them."

Tempest proceeded to move onto the last member of Fireteam Storm. Giving him a through look over, she noticed that like Sanchez, he had some strange ocular device attached to his helmet, however it seemed to jut out from above the visor. What the device's exact purpose was, she couldn't say, however the helmet itself seemed to be adorned with several tally marks. He wore some sort of grayish-black camouflage net around his shoulders and neck, along with a large combat knife strapped onto the bandolier that wrapped around his right shoulder. Unlike any of his companions, Jackson seemed to be the only one holding his primary weapon. Tempest marveled at it's strange construction before Carter disrupted her train of thought.

"And lastly, Lieutenant Jackson." Carter said. "Fireteam Storm's reconnaissance scout, infiltrator, and sniper."

"Ma'am." He addressed bluntly.

Tempest wondered what exactly a sniper was as he took off his helmet. Tempest suddenly found herself a little unnerved from what she saw. His skin was easily the palest of the four with it being a beige tone. His face was narrow and concave, sporting a slightly beaked nose and a pair of nearly pale-blue eyes that seemed to pierce whatever met their gaze. His face seemed worn and weathered, leaving a rather unsettling feeling in Tempest as she imagined what those eyes must have seen in their time. His hair was brown, cut down to a simple short blunt crop, with a beard shaved down to a scruff. All in all, there was a subtle cold-nature to Jackson's appearance that had been absent in the other members of Fireteam Storm.

"Is somethin' wrong, ma'am?" Carter asked.

Tempest shook herself out of whatever trance she had been worked into, unaware that she had been standing there for a few seconds without even responding.

"Apologies." She said. "I was thinking about something else."

"I'm sure you were." Jackson chortled with a devious smile.

Jackson's response didn't seem to shake off Tempest's previous feelings towards him, if anything, it served to unnerve her even more.

"Anyways, I'm curious, what exactly is a sniper?" She asked.

"It's a type of marksman. I take out targets from long ranges. I also scout out enemy positions and report them back to the rest of the team."

Tempest once again found herself looking at the weapon he carried. It resembled the types of crossbows minotaurs used, but way more advanced. It seemed constructed out of some strange metal, with various pieces and mechanisms dotting the exterior. Resting at its top was a pronounced scope, spanning nearly a third of the length of the weapon itself. At the rear was a complex-looking butt stock, and at the front was what Tempest assumed was some sort of stability device.

"I assume that which you carry is your tool of choice?" She asked.

Jackson leveled the weapon out for a second before lowering it again, letting out a rather prideful grin--showcasing his lack of a top left lateral incisor in the process--that showed an apparent appreciation for the weapon.

"That it is." Jackson replied in a raspy voice. "Wanna see it in action?"

At that moment, Carter stepped in to end where the conversation was going.

"Another time perhaps." He said, giving Jackson a rather cold look. "And there you have it Commander, the men of Fireteam Storm."

As she looked over them one last time, Tempest found herself both confused and intrigued at how these four outcasts became the epitome of infamy within the Storm King's ranks. They seemed like bumbling fools at first glance, but with a track record like there's, there was no denying they possessed a skill set unmatched by any other unit. Perhaps she had her expectations set too high, perhaps behind those personalities, they were just cold-blooded killers, though with Jackson's case that honestly wouldn't surprise her.

"Well, I'm glad I had the chance to meet all you in person." She announced with a neutral expression. "I look forward to your performance in the field, gentlemen. The Operation begins at midday tomorrow, however the task I have in mind for your team requires a preemptive insertion. Captain Carter will debrief you on the details. For the meantime, I'll have Grubber show you your quarters. Rest up, and report back here at 0500. That will be all. You're all dismissed."

As she turned around and departed back to her quarters, Carter gave himself about ten seconds before giving his subordinates the long-awaited reprimanding they deserved.

"Just what the fuck is wrong with you three!"