War Gone Cold

by Bronycommander

Chapter 8 Friend and Foe

Chapter 8: Friend and Foe

After this quite eventful event, everyone rested. Still, Blue was lost in thought.

“So, what now? With Skull Face defeated and the Metal Gear destroyed, we no longer have reason to be here.”

“Return home of course. But for now we should fully rest from this, so we have the energy for the trip home.” Midnight replied. “And be on our guard, there might be any leftovers we have to take care of.”

“Yeah. But still, why did they bring Sahelanthropus here?” Fletcher wondered, “The drive is busted.”

“Well, as far as I have heard, Big Boss wants it as a mark. They don't have a country to call home, that means they have no past, nothing to prove that they lived. Every one of them threw it all away when they came here. Sahelanthropus is a symbol that the likes of them brought at least one crisis to its end. A mark in history, a symbol of what they've done.” Wagensroll explained.

“Makes sense. Patch, any news?” Fletcher asked the Trottingham pony as he walked in.

“Yes, Snake just came back from another mission in Afghanistan. He saved a Soviet soldier that collaborated with the CIA and learned of XOF's plans to use the vocal cord parasites but got captured as the Soviets retook OKB Zero. As they couldn’t be allowed to learn about Skull Face’s plans, the mole is now a member of Diamond Dogs.

He betrayed the Soviets, passing information to Langley, but got scared after learning XOF used the vocal cord parasites. Then came feelings of guilt that his leaks sent comrades to their deaths, and fear that America might deploy such a weapon itself... But in reality, XOF and Langley don't have a collaborative relationship, and Skull Face was not working for America. Still, I can't blame the man for being afraid. After laying low with the Mujahideen, he tried to cut his ties to the U.S. and return to the Soviet military. And he was hunted by an XOF soldier posing as Soviet soldier, orders came through the same channel as always, despite Skull Face being dead.”

“I don’t think we will know who’s calling the shots for XOF now, but I also think we won’t have seen the last of them.” Midnight suspected.

“You are right. Snake wants you to help him in a mission in Africa, where XOF is still present.”

“Okay then, let’s go!”

In their chopper, they listen to Miller’s briefing.

“Boss, research materials have been stolen from Code Talker's mansion. The materials were packed into two containers and hidden in the jungle southwest of the mansion. You have to recover those containers. The pick-up crew coming for those documents is none other than XOF. That's right - they're still active even after Skull Face's death. Now that he's no longer in charge, their original chain of command has been restored. Meaning if XOF gets those documents, Code Talker's research ends up in Cipher's hands. According to Code Talker, the research papers account for over 50 years of study. The problem is the vocal cord parasites. If the papers documenting that research fall into Cipher's hands, they'll take another long, hard look at them. The "ethnic cleaners" we thought were history will become a reality. America - Zero - will have a weapon far more powerful than any nuke. Even worse, if this knowledge were to leak... The world - humanity - can't be entrusted with this kind of power! Recover the containers before the enemy extraction choppers arrive.”

Near the mansion, the scouts marked the guards, seeing that many were wearing Riot-gear.

But this wasn’t a problem, Snake with the four Dark Horse members easily sneaked past them, into the mansion and secured an intel file on a table.

Making their way towards the jungle, the scouts saw how both containers were guarded by Riot-gear guards.

“Our early warning radar still hasn’t picked up the enemy choppers. But it’s only a matter of time before they arrive.” Miller informed as Snake made his way towards the first container.

Atgeir used his hooves to knock out the guards before they could react and Snake extracted the container.

“Boss, our early warning radar just picked up the enemy choppers. We’ll keep you informed of their ETA.” Miller warned as the group moved towards the other container, it was located near the wooden bridge.

Again, the Beastmaster took care of the guards, allowing Snake to extract the container and they all extracted out of the hot zone, with Miller debriefing them.

“Boss, we got Code Talker's research materials back in one piece. The Medical Team has them under lock and key in the Quarantine Facility. The materials should help their research into the vocal cord parasites. Cipher won't be getting their hands on them now.”

“Quick and quiet, that’s how I like it!” Wolf cheered as they got back.

“And we made sure no one can cause another outbreak.” Abundo pointed out as Dawnwind walked up to them.

“Speaking of, turns out Bwala ya Masa a testing ground for the Kikongo strain and to contain it, the region burned eventually down, due to covered in oil. But they miscalculated. Transmission speed was far faster than anticipated. It may have been the temperature, or hygiene standards, or perhaps the parasites reacted quickly to Kikongo...Whatever the reason, nearly all the villagers were swiftly infected and the settlements reduced to mounts of corpses. Making matters worse, the dry season was ending. When it came time to burn the village, the Munene River had swelled. Many of the bodies were waterlogged...”

“...Meaning they didn't burn completely.” Abundo concluded.

“The corpses still contain viable eggs, and the larvae washed downstream...And when the people downstream drank the water...”

“That marked the end for Bwala ya Masa.” Abundo finished.

“Yes. And Cipher was the one getting the oil field back online. The oil leaks....SANR...They planned to pollute the river, prevent the spread of infection....

“But the oil flow was stopped. And downstream, the people of Bwala ya Masa started using the water again...The PF soldiers deployed at the village were locals - spoke Kikongo. They were infected.”

“So we are to blame…” Lily trembled with her friends but got a calming hug by the deer.

“No. It is no-one's fault. There is no blame to be cast. How should we have known?”

The filly looked at Dawnwind with unease. None of them could know that this was going to happen. But still, their mission in Africa started all this. Yet, it had also led to Skull Face and his plans.

“Right…” Lily took a deep breath, trying to make sense.

“But then how got this infection here?” Chernov wondered.

“Well, Code Talker explained that the parasites don't affect prepubescent hosts, as their vocal cords are not fully developed. Long story short, the child soldiers you saved at the mine were carrying eggs on their clothes, and the infection spread from them, as they were from that village.”

“Who had thought that?” Abstraction commented before Patch informed them that the next mission was up, this time in Afghanistan.

As they were still listed as MIA, the three Soviets put on balaclavas to avoid getting identified by their former comrades as Ocelot gave the briefing this time.

“Boss, we need you to get back a film canister one of our informants hid in the field. He was working under my orders to investigate the "extraordinaries" that showed up in Cyprus. The Man on Fire and the floating boy that keep showing up where they're not welcome. Apparently they were the subjects of some top-secret research conducted by the Kremlin. Unfortunately, that meant our informant drew the attention of the KGB's Directorate S, and they took him out before we could make contact. The good news is he placed a report in a film canister and hid it somewhere in Spugmay Keep. Just before he died, he transmitted VI of the hiding place to us, but the data was cut off partway though. The image is far from clear, but it might provide the clue you need. We'll be analyzing the data further to try to clear it up. For now, get to Spugmay Keep. The KGB have already dispatched a Spetsnaz squad to retrieve that film canister and cover the whole thing up. Boss, there's no time to waste. Head to Spugmay Keep and use the VI as a clue and retrieve the target. Why was Sahelanthropus mobile...? How were the Man on Fire and that kid connected to Skull Face's plan...? If we can just get that report, we can blow it all wide open. Then we can shake off the last remnants of Skull Face, the phantoms he left behind.”

The scouts went into position at the keep. It overlooked a cliff, with various pillars and debris marking what was once a building, 6 Soviets searched the area.

“I take care of this myself.” Snake sad and everyone looked in awe as his bionic arm started to spin and crackle with electricity. As every enemy was around 45 meters away from him, he rose his arm into the sky with a yell and every soldier got hit by lightning from the sky, knocking them instantly unconscious.

“Watch out, reinforcements from both sides!” Katja warned as she spotted two jeeps moving in.

Insistra used her crystals as landmines again, stopping the vehicles and knocking out the passengers.

“Sorry to interrupt but I got information about a prisoner held at the guard post east from here.” Patch informed on the radio.

“Copy that, I take care of it,” Insistra replied as the other searched for the canister and teleported to the guard post.

She easily sneaked past the guards towards the small hut, where the prisoner was located and picked him up with the magic, safely extracting him after gaining enough distance.

The knights and other Dark Horse members searched carefully. Yet it was Neolith who found it first, thanks to her experience with tombs and archaeological site. “Got it! Right into the site of one of the pillars!”

“Good, let’s get out of here.” Midnight smiled and they extracted.

Back at Mother Base, Dawnwind, Patch and Wagensroll, together with other Intel members decoded the report and Patch told the others about it.

“That floating kid we've run into a few times now... looks like he was a test subject in clinical experiments. The Soviets called him ‘the Third Boy’. According to the report, the Third Boy was easily influenced by other individuals' ‘bio fields’. ‘Evil thoughts’ in particular. They affected his mind like a virus. Extreme anger, or resentment... motives for revenge, in other words. What's unique about him is the way his acute telepathic abilities get taken over by another person's will.”

“And that means?” Wolf asked confused.

“Physically parasitize individuals experiencing extreme anger and codify the host's desires. This includes amplifying the host's natural strengths... Or, in accordance with the host's desires, he can also implant program code in another individual - making them a puppet, essentially. Human neural synapses transmit weak electrical currents between neurons. These electrical currents, though at a level difficult to observe, warp the magnetic field outside the body. The Third Boy is able to ‘pick up’ these weak fluctuations. Contrary to psychotronics, which involves controlling the human mind, his abilities as a receptor are too high” Patch paused for a moment.

“The emotions he picks up from another individual are amplified and unleashed into his body as they recur in his brain. They turn into microwaves, which then affect the physical world. Triggering paranormal phenomena like the spontaneous combustion of organic matter, or psychokinesis - moving an object without touching it. And one other thing. While he's parasitizing a host, the boy's ego gets shut away. Allowing the will of the host to take control of his powers. Like some annoying static drowning out your own voice. That means he isn't responsible for what's been happening. Somebody's extreme anger has manifested through the Third Boy's powers in ways none of us could have predicted...Which would mean this was going on somewhere around us.”

“That must have been Eli.” Insistra suspected.

“Possible. Looking back on it, a lot of things make sense now. The Man on Fire, Sahelanthropus...they both came to life thanks to the Third Boy's powers. Everything has been happening through him as a catalyst.

He parasitized Skull Face's vengeful mind. He controlled Sahelanthropus, making it do whatever Skull Face wanted. Same goes for when Snake extracted Emmerich onto the chopper. When he appeared at the Devil's House in Central Africa, Skull Face's will controlled the Man on Fire via the Third Boy's powers.”

“Speaking of, was there any mention who this Man on Fire was?” Fletcher asked into the round.

“No, but Snake managed to collect his body while we decoded the report. Ocelot’s former superior, Volgin. Despite suffering severe burns to his entire body after killed by Snake back in 1964, he still clung to life. Volgin's body was taken to a research institute in the outskirts of Moscow. Modern medicine couldn't explain why he was still alive, not that the Colonel was any ordinary man to begin with... that constant electric current he had running through his body, that he could unleash at will...” Patch paused again.

“Anyway, the institute studying him was tasked with investigating and developing human paranormal abilities. The comatose Volgin was used to further the Soviet Union's research into such abilities. It burned down as he awoke through the powers of the Third boy. If Skull Face was right, and a thirst for revenge can turn a man into a demon, and keep the dead alive, then this ‘Man on Fire’ who's been coming after Snake, well, that might just be what's left of Volgin.. That grudge is what's keeping him alive.”

“Fascinating, yet disturbing,” Abundo commented with unease.

“Then mind if we change subject?” Dinky asked into the round. Lovec, what happened to your mother after Moskau?” She asked curiously.

With a smile, he told them, “She took part in important battles. Like helping to relief Stalingrad and also took part in the battle of Berlin. And she made sure civilians were not harmed by her men when they entered Germany and the countries occupied by the Third Reich, something I admire greatly.”

“Yes, that really honors her,” Blau replied before they saw the child soldiers near a vat, held back by Ocelot and a fellow soldier.

“What’s going on?” Snake asked as he walked up.

“Shabani…Shabani’s necklace…” One of the children pointed to the vat.

“It’s down there?” Snake asked and was about to jump down as Ocelot stopped him.

“Hey! The tank at the bottom is filled with chlorine disinfectant. One whiff and you suffocate.”

“Don’t even-“ Miller warned and turned to the kids. “How could you even let it fall down there, anyway?

None of then gave an answer, as if they were too scared to do so.

“No!” One of them cried out and everyone saw how Quiet jumped into the tank.

“Hit the alarm!” Snake yelled and was about to jump after her, but Ocelot held him back again.

“You go down there and it is over. Listen to me! There is no way of recovering the body!”

Big Boss stopped to struggle and lowered his read, realizing that Ocelot was right.

“What kind of stunt was that? Trying to panic us…” Miller mumbled as they were about to turn away.

Yet, the ponies and Soviets saw how Quiet managed to climb up and Snake quickly helped her up. Significant portions of her skin burned from exposure to the gas but she had recovered the necklace.

Snake carried her to the sickbay, one of the kids took the necklace before being led away by Ocelot.

“That was…surprising…” Wagensroll commented at the sight.

“Yes, but nevertheless a good thing…” Dinky replied, “Let’s hope she can recover.”

“Agreed. Reminds me, I am on security duty in a few minutes, I see you later.” Chernov said goodbye and left.

Then a fellow soldier walked up to them. “We’ve discovered a radiation leak in the Laboratory on the Quarantine platform. It’s coming from testing equipment we installed the other day. We evacuate the members of the Medical Team who research there, can you help?”

“Sure, thing.” Midnight replied.

“Sorry, not you and your two friends, you and Blue are needed for a special mission.” The staff member pointed out.

“Okay, then. We see you later.” Wagensroll said and left with his friends and the Dark Horse members.

“Can we help?” Katja asked.

“Yes, no radioactive material has been leaked, so there’s no worry of spreading. We just need to seal off the equipment.”

“Fine. Be careful, children.” Fletcher gave them a hug, sounding worried.

“Of course, Uncle Fletcher,” Dinky replied with a smile and left too with her friends.

“So, what is it?” Blue asked the staff member.

“Upstart PFs are appearing all over the globe and we have a collaborative relationship with one of them, a rookie PF called Harmonious Guard. A FOB of them has suddenly come under attack by remnants of the Skulls. We believe some other PF with a grudge against the Harmonious Guard has sent in captured Skulls as bio-weapons. The men staffing the FOB have been turned to puppet soldiers, bringing a halt to the FOB's functions. We got asked to aid them in this emergency and Ocelot thought you could do this, Blue.”

While slightly shocked and surprised to hear that, she nodded. “Alright, I will go at once. It's location?”

“North Atlantic Ocean.”

“And what about us?” Midnight asked.

“Well, Intel discovered some strange reports in Afghanistan and the Boss thought you would be the best to take a look at that.” “The staff member explained.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Blue equipped for this an Anti-material Sniper Rifle and an LMG to deal with the Skulls effectively, while keeping her non-lethal sidearm, for the Puppet soldiers. She may be a sniper but was skilled with other firearms as well.

Yet, the mention of the Harmonious Guard made her think. She had heard of the other incidents where Dinky went first missing and such before she was caught by her pursuer. The mare would never forget the day where those brave humans saved the life of her son. She had watched him from a safe distance and visited him privately wherever she got the chance. But that day, she could only watch and pray, being very relieved how the human mercenaries saved the day, being also impressed at their braveness, loyalty and willingness to sacrifice themselves.

“Eliminate the targets. How you do it is your call.” Miller informed on the radio, tearing her out as the chopper closed in and the FOB became visible.

It was surrounded by mist, making it impossible to see any staff but she could still clearly see that the FOV had three platforms in total, single deck. The Command Platform, the Base Development Platform, and the Medical Platform. However, each platform had a few mounted weapons as defensive measures.

She landed on the command platform and despite the mist, she could see two puppet soldiers stumbling around as she got up the stairs. Both wore body armor, with one having a helmet and gas mask with red goggles. Blue quickly neutralized them with her sidearm before they could spot her.

On a tower, she saw one of the Skulls, an Armor one, so she took aim with her sniper rifle and fired at the head. With a clean hit, the Skull fell dead to the ground.

A buzzing sound greeted her ears and out of reflex, the mare turned around, just in time as one of the other Skulls leaped into the air to strike her with its machete. Blue used her magic to grab it and stabbed the Skull into the back, stunning it as it cried out in pain. She used this vulnerability to shoot her LMG, cutting through the armor in seconds and taking the Skull down.

Then rifle shots came out of the mist, missing her by inches. In response, she teleported to a mortar on a platform next to her and fired it at the origins of the shots. Cries of pain echoed through her ears and the mist cleared.

“We fought them off!” Miller exclaimed and the pony raised a hoof into the air to celebrate her victory.

Boarding the chopper, she could see from the air how the FOB staff was unconscious, reverting to normal state, 12 soldiers guarding each of the three platforms, with six soldiers wearing normal body armor, the other six the armor with gasmask.

---

The Eternal knights and two Soviets were en route to Afghanistan, wondering what this strange report could be. The chopper dropped them near a cliff and they move towards the area marked on the map.

Wolf’s ears perked up. “Gunshots.” Coming to the other end of the cliff, they saw several Soviet soldiers fighting Mujahideen but were losing. They were trapped in the cliff as a rockslide had blocked their retreat option, being outnumbered as the rebels fired from the cliffs and killed them slowly one by one. The Soviets bravely stood their chance but it was clear they would be wiped out eventually.

Among them was a female officer, trapped under a tank turret that had been blown off, the destroyed tank next to her.

Upon taking a look with their binoculars, the ponies and men saw that the woman had greying hair and wrinkles on her face, appearing to be in her late fifties and Lovec’s eyes became wide as he recognized her.

“That’s…my mother!” The man exclaimed in disbelief. “We must help her!”

“Sorry, we can’t,” Sergei replied and earned an expression of disbelief by his friend. “I know you’re worried but we don’t have the equipment for this and our orders were only to check it out.”

“I wish we could help her, but we can’t allow blowing our cover.” Midnight pointed out. “Plus you’re officially MIA, it could make things worse.”

Slowly, Lovec realized his friends were right, yet watched the battle with worry.

“Soldiers! Support needed! Now!” Katyusha called out and the watchers saw one of the soldiers slowly walking over with a nonchalant look.

“Is that you, commander?”

“No, it's Solzhenitsyn! Who do you think?! Get this blin thing off me! Support! Now!” She yelled with Bare-faced anger.

“Okay...So, this the way I'm thinking of this...” The soldier replied slowly, “Right now, every time you've beaten me down and sent me and my friends into hell...Every time you and your precious Union have spat on people like me, spat on the idea of freedom...Every time you've stomped on-“

Bang!

The man couldn’t finish as he staggered, clutching at his throat pouring with blood, and fell to the ground, twitching and gurgling. Another soldier stared in terror as Katyusha pointed the gun no-one saw her holding directly at him.

“Support. Now. Please.” She said in a cold and commanding tone, almost like a scolding schoolteacher.

“Yes, commander, at once!” The soldier saluted and hurried over, lifting the debris of his officer as fast as he could manage.

After she got free, the woman got to her feet, cricked her back and dusted off her uniform. “Smart man.”

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a glint coming from a cliff and aimed at it.

Bang!

Then a Mujahideen sniper fell down from the cliff, having had the officer in his sights. “Good shot, soldier!” She looked at the man who had helped her, yet he had a surprised expression.

“That, uh, wasn’t me.”

Everyone, even the watchers looked up in surprise. Two Blackhawk choppers were in the sky, one of them turned sideways and a door opened, with a sniper overlooking the area, his rifle smoking.

The Mujahideen couldn’t react in time as the other chopper spun up its Gatling guns and mowed them all down.

“Orders?” One of the soviets asked as both choppers were about to land.

“Hold your fire.” She said as she saw that both choppers had the letters “HG” on it, together with a silver and gold badge with a purple star in the center as logo.

Out of the chopper jumped soldiers of both genders in desert colored uniforms, wearing helmets and body armor, their rifles lowered as they saluted a man coming out of the chopper the sniper had fired from. He was dressed in a desert colored officer uniform with peaked cap and googles on it, smiling slightly at the woman.

“Looks like I got here just in time.”

“...You.” Katyusha said distastefully, as if she knew that man.

“Yes, your eyes don’t deceive you. I am here to help you.” He replied calmly.

“Thanks, but I don’t need your help, mercenary.” She said with slight disgust, “I’m looking for someone.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I am here. I got hired by your former comrade, Gordy Tartikoff to guarantee your safety. I am afraid this was a trap.”

“A trap?” Katyusha asked confused and the officer walked over to one of the killed rebels, removing the upper clothing to reveal that he was wearing a Soviet uniform under it.

“Those were Soviet troops disguised as Mujahideen with order by Brezhnev to kill you.” He calmly explained and all Soviets looked in surprise at it. “He thought by using the disappearance of your son, he could get rid of you easily. And officially, you aren’t supposed to be here.”

The woman said nothing at this.

“Now, your safety is of utters importance, if you please would get it.” The officer pointed with a polite gesture to the chopper.

“I've known for a long while that Brezhnev wanted me dead...I didn't know he'd go this far, but that's irrelevant. My place is here, with my men, guarding against the Union's enemies.” She replied sternly.

“I'm afraid that doesn't comply with my contract. Tartikoff wants you out of danger here. And as I said, you are here unofficial, on your own. Officially, you’re retired. And there’s no way out, plus even if there was, you wouldn’t make it far in your injured state. He pointed out calmly.

“If you come back to base, Brezhnev knows you alive and sends another killer commando. As long as you’re in Afghanistan, he can kill you just as he likes and covers it up, same if you go back to Russia. It would be best for you, your soldiers and family to come with us until it’s sorted out. Besides, Tartikoff waits at my base for you.”

“I think I got a better idea.” Katyusha said with distrust in her voice. “I go with you in your chopper, but only to get over the rockslide. Then we walk to the base, so I can rub it into Brezhnev. It’s not that far and that way you can properly guard me the way over. That way we may reach an accord as equals.”

The mercenaries looked at their commander, who seemed not fazed by it. “Fine by me, my contract says only the best for you.”

“I like to keep an eye on people, especially the ones I don't know,” Katyusha warned and her soldiers hesitated for a moment before following and the two Blackhawks flew away once everyone was on board.

“Who had thought of that?” Fletcher commented surprised.

“I…I guess I owe the commander of the Harmonious Guard one for saving my parents here…” Lovec mumbled.

“Yes. But one thing’s for sure, Brezhnev won’t get away with this.” Sergei added with disgust as they called their chopper and got back to base.

“How went your mission, Blue?” Midnight asked the mare once they got back.

“Very smoothly. Yours?”

“Smooth as well.”

“Hey, is…that a hole in one of the interrogation rooms?” Lovec pointed at it as a fellow staff member walked up to them.

“Uh…it seems Eli has escaped with the other child soldiers and took Sahelanthropus with him.”

“What?!” Everyone exclaimed in disbelief.

“Yeah…But don’t worry, the Boss is already working on it, leave this to him.”

Despite this, it took the group serval minutes to process this.

“That…was very shrewd by him!” Midnight managed to speak up.”

“He's in for it when I see him again,” Wolf added with slight anger.

“In any case, it won’t be your problem.” Loved said, getting surprised looks. “Eli had only grudge against the Boss, not you. And I am confident the Boss will solve this, as he did before. You shouldn’t break your head about it.” He paused for a moment. “If you don’t mind, we take a short break.” The ponies just nodded to show they were fine with that.

“Even if it’s not our problem, there is no way of telling what that boy is gonna do with that thing.” Fletcher said with concern after the two Soviets were out of hearing range.”

“I agree. But as we saw before, Snake is very capable, he can do this. Our help won’t be required.” Ifrit spoke out in their minds.

“Yes. But in a way, Lovec’s right. While we supported Snake, he could have it done without us.” Blue pointed out. “Anyway, mind if we do take a short break too?”

“Not at all.” Midnight replied.

And so, they did have a quick snack and drink before Sergei and Lovec came back.

"Sorry, but we got another mission,” Lovec said.

“No problem, what is it?” Midnight asked.

“Apparently, the containers we recovered at the mansion weren’t the only ones. We shall recover them as well. Problem is, the Harmonious Guard is guarding them.”

“Okay, then we must be careful.”

Onboard the chopper, they all listened to Miler’s Intel tape.

“The Harmonious Guard is a rookie PMC, founded not long ago, inspired by us. Their head office is in Volkach, a small German Town. Despite using German weapons from the Second World War, many operators are retired Bundeswehr members and hardened military veterans from all around the world. Their commander is apparently a veteran from both World Wars, often personally leading operations. They may look outdated, but it's effective as latest gear. You can bet they know how to handle themselves. Do not underestimate them.”

There was also a second tape with more detailed information.

“At first, the Harmonious Guard was a militia operating within West Germany but quickly earned a good reputation for its effectiveness, thus became a PF. While it’s beyond me how the commander managed to get this legally approved, he knows how to lead. And although the Bundeswehr did not take part in combat operations so far, the operators that are retired Bundeswehr members still have combat-training, so they know how to fight. Even refugees from the military of East Germany make up their numbers. And despite being a mixed bag of nationalities, they still are working perfectly as team in organization. All that adds up to a much stronger fighting force.”

The team got dropped off near Bwala ya Masa and got on a hill to overlook the area. HG soldiers were guarding it.

“It seems they are replacing the CFA forces that died when the infection spread, or are taking over until replacements come,” Miller commented on the radio. “Due to having a collaborative relationship with the Harmonious Guard, we can’t kill or extract any personal.”

As Blue marked a regular soldier, Ocelot gave some Intel.

“An HG soldier. They claim to want to make the word better. And yet, yet they can't survive in a world without war. Not warmongers but still mercenaries.”

“There's no such thing, Ocelot. I should know.” Midnight commented, although he knew that James was a good person and was glad he had helped Equestria back then.

Blue, Fletcher and the soviets kept watch while the other sneaked towards the village to find the containers. The stallion looked at an HG soldier wearing a camouflaged uniform with body armor and helmet and his radio ringed as Ocelot has more Intel.

“That’s a Horn of Harmony. They’re elite assault troops. When not directly in combat, they are the personal guard of the commander and most loyal towards him. Sort of his own Royal Guard if you will.”

The two knights had little trouble sneaking past the guards, yet had to stop as two soldiers blocked the way, chatting.

“Hey, have I ever told you that I severed under the legendary mercenary?” One of them started, having an American accent.

“No. But did you really serve under him?” The other one replied surprised, having a German accent in his English.

“Yes, back with Militaires Sans Frontières in the 70s. I was one of the few who survived, having traveled far and wide, fought throughout the world.”

“So…how was it with MSF?”

“Great. In Costa Rica, we often caught fish for food and every month, the MSF held birthday parties for the soldiers. They primarily consisted of drinking large amounts of alcohol and acting crudely, although any real fights were rare. At times, Big Boss even personally trained with us.” The first merc told with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Sounds cool to me. So why did you join us, instead of Diamond Dogs, as Big Boss is back?”

“Well, when first hearing of them, I thought it’s just a lie or an imposter. And even after knowing it’s really him. I feel bound to the Commander. He’s kinda familiar to Big Boss.”

“I hear ya.”

Then they walked away. Wolf moved but tripped over a bucket. “What was that?” One of the two soldiers asked.

Being behind a house wall in cover, Wolf knew she couldn’t move without being seen as both soldiers moved in. Then she got an idea.

She started to howl, like an actual Wolf and both mercenaries stopped. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” One of the humans said and they went back to patrol, with the mare letting out a sigh of relief.

Midnight vaulted through the window to her. “I found some Intel, the Container is on the other side of the outpost. While accidental, it was still a useful distraction.”

She nodded and they moved on, seeing the target on the outskirts of the outpost, guarded by first soldiers in body armor with gas mask, the “night” squad as far as they could remember.

“As far as I could find out, those are the commando units of the Harmonious Guard. They’re using some experimental armor the Nazis researched in the late stages of the war. Be careful.” Ocelot warned on the radio.

“Got any idea why those guys are called ‘Hubris Squad?” Another soldier asked a comrade, overheard by the knights.

“You hear all kinds of stories. I heard once that some of them had to defend civilians during a humanitarian mission. They were holding out for days but realized they would eventually be overrun. So, they did a cunning tactic.”

“And that was?”

“During the cover of the night, they hid amongst the bodies of the fallen and waited for the enemy's attack. Blood from the bodies dripped over them. When the enemy soldiers finally advanced, the soldiers rose from the bodies and ambushed them. Due to their armor, the enemy only saw their red googles and the blood on their armor, the hostiles unable to defend against.

In the end, the enemies retreated terrified and reported they were met by ‘a force so menacing and unbeatable, it can only be described as supernatural,’ and called them ‘Hubris’. Hubris was essentially a term in Ancient Greek mythology for foolhardiness or do-or-die behavior."

“You think the legend is true?”

“I guess it must be. In any case, that German WW2 equipment still kicks, doesn’t it?”

“Yep! I love how the STG has low recoil, thus can be easily controlled. And keeping those tanks updated, impressive.”

“Yes, that’s German engineering.”

As the two mercs walked way, one of the special operatives gave a report. “Area secure, CP, over.”

“We can’t deal with those special units through conventional means.” Sergei realized, given that armor was like Riot Gear.

“But I can.” Midnight said and used his blood magic to teleport between the guards, knocking them easily out with his Earth pony strength, then extracted the container and they got out of the hot zone.

Miller gave the debriefing.

“The cargo is secured. I made some research. Apparently, the Harmonious Guard was hired under the belief to guard some hazardous materials that their client would pick up to dispose of it. But in reality, Cipher was the client. They got played like a fiddle. As we caused their contract to fail, I will arrange to send them some of our GMP as compensation. A friendly gesture due to cooperating with each other.”

“It’s a pity, they believed they would help the world, only to be another pawn of Cipher without knowing,” Fletcher commented.

“Yes, but at least we assured that their goal here got accomplished nevertheless.” Midnight replied with a weak smile.

Wolf chuckled. “If James would only know that we were behind that.”

“You are…familiar with him?” Lovec asked surprised.

“Uhh…it’s kind of a long story…” Wolf replied, not knowing how to explain this, Fletcher and Midnight had awkward expressions.

Then the radio buzzed in a warning tone, Miller’s message was alerting.

“Boss, we have an emergency. There's been another outbreak of the vocal cord parasites on the base. Several men are dead. It started in the Laboratory on the Quarantine Platform, where that radiation leak occurred. I'd only just deployed the Security Team... I've sent in a rescue team to help, but they haven't returned. Boss, I need you on this. Come back to Mother Base ASAP.”

Comments

[Blackfox7475]

What a good chapter and I have to say that you surprised me by the fact of the appearance of the Harmonious Guard, I never expected them to appear but I liked even the fact that they made the knigths work a bit difficult during what they infiltrated to ensure those contenders, and with what it seems things will not improve for the protagonists making them stay longer and the music you placed it very well

[Bronycommander]

9815969
Thanks! You see, i Never managed to Work Details out for James, like when he founded his PMC. And Metal Gear 5 seemed suiting, as Diamond Dogs is sort of familiar, isn't it? Plus, it was suiting how the Ponies would Suit into the Rest of the Game plot, after Skull face's Death.

[Blackfox7475]

9816225
a good idea i have to say

[Bronycommander]

9817220
Thanks!

[midnightwolfGX]

Huh, that's a nice introduction of the Harmonious Guard in the story. Given that your stories are mostly all of the same canon, though, I guess it's to be expected. Makes me wonder if James could show up at some point? As for the next outbreak... oh dear, I fear this is gonna spell trouble.

[Bronycommander]

9821051
Oh, you'll see