Fair Flight

by Baryski

Chapter 6: Reverie (Scarlet)

“Ten bits says my next guess is a hit” The now tense game was nearing its conclusion, as the two were now finally down to one mine. The entire game room of the TWOS was now focused on the intense game now in progress between Scarlet Blast and Spark Dust. Nopony had ever got this close to beating Scarlet before, let alone score a single match against her. In expectation, none of the small crowd dared make any sound to disturb the focused contestants, waiting in expectation for Spark’s move.

“Hmm… I raise. Double that says that even if you do, I’ll win” the ever so confident response came. Looking the grey unicorn in his eyes, giving him a triumphant smirk, Scarlet added “Hint: Your first guess should be C-3.” She picked up a red peg and waited for her opponent to name a coordinate. At this point, everypony around stilled their breath in anticipation, wondering if Spark would actually listen to the mare.

The unicorn reassessed the situation. The perfect pattern his pegasus opponent had traced on the game board left him with few places to hide his three-square-length Depth Charge. However, in a lucky streak, he might have survived a few more turns. However, his messy offence left a lot of places were Scarlet’s two-squared detonator could be, basically, anywhere. If he wanted to win, he had to trust her. With a somewhat desperate sigh, he said “Fine. Let’s go with this one. C-3.”

Scarlet laid the peg down on the board “It’s a hit.” She distinguished a flicker of surprise in Spark Dust’s eyes as a large part of the group started shouting “No way!” or congratulating the unicorn for his apparent victory. However, there was still one more blow to be struck before the game would be finished.

As the silence in the room was restored, Spark focused on his remaining options: it’s really not that big a challenge. Scarlet always places her mines with logic. B-3 and D-3 are already shot down, so that only leaves me to choose between C-2 and C-4. It’s the obvious one. Always the obvious one… Breaking the silence, Dust cleared his throat and in a confident tone said “C…” Wait! That’s exactly what she wants me to believe! Smart move, Scar, but not smart enough. “… two. C-2.”

The bright orange coated pegasus raised a green peg and put it on the board, then turning it to face Spark Dust “You nearly had me there.” The unicorn looked in dismay as he saw her game board, the tiny detonator placed at the following coordinates: C-3 and C-4. “It was fun, though. Now, your depth charge starts at H-6 and goes all the way down to J-6. Mine, locked.” The crowd gathered around them all gazed upon the gray unicorn’s game board. Unmistakably, his final mine, the depth charge was located at the exact coordinates Scarlet had named. “Better luck next time, Sparky. See you in our quarters. I’m a bit tired myself.”

“But… But… Gah, I knew it!” Spark Dust’s cheeks were flushing in embarrassment as the pegasus walked away. The crowd around them disbanded, gleefully commenting the match. Another pegasus approached him, with a wide grin on his face. “Oh, shut it, Blaze. I’m really not in the mood for you right now.” Dust pushed away the still grinning pegasus.

“Well, that was quite a show she put on for you. You know I absolutely hate telling you that I told you so, but… No, actually I enjoy it very much. I told you she’ll beat up your flank so bad, every Iron Hoof is going to talk about you humiliating defeat for at least a week from now on.” The pegasus couldn’t help displaying his satisfaction.

Spark Dust was usually easy to annoy, and this made no exception “So not true. I’m sure everyone forgot the second Scar left.” He had barely finish his sentence, when a couple of ponies passed by, commenting “She humiliated him. Humiliated him, I tell you!” With this remark, Shrapnel Blaze burst out into laughter, rolling on the floor “Yeah… Ha… Ha. You’re so very funny. I’d like to see you beat her one day.”

“Nah, you know me… I don’t like fighting a lost cause. Besides, I’m almost sure there’s a way to beat her, and it looks like you’re getting close. Maybe, someday soon, you’ll be the first to figure her out.” As much as he was a pain in the flank at times, Shrapnel was just as supportive when it came to being serious. Patting a hoof on his back, he pushed Dust towards the exit “Come on, hotshot. We’ve got a big day of planning ahead of us tomorrow. We could use some sleep.”

“Yeah… I suppose you’re right.” Heading towards the team’s quarters, the two continued talking about the game, then moving on to their inside jokes, then discussing how they would have improved their performance on several other missions, as almost another couple of hours passed. Dust had always wanted to ask Blaze for help in Scarlet’s direction, yet he never got the courage to ask. He might make fun of his feelings. But he could manage on his own, Spark thought.

They reached the room, and seeing the lights were out, Shrapnel slowly opened the door. Scarlet was asleep, and none of the two wished to disturb her. She was usually the one to sound the wake up call, but also went to bed early, a thing the two never really did understand why she was so off-phased. Maybe that’s what kept the team running. However, nothing mattered, for them. They considered themselves more like brothers, the best squad Conflux ever had.

TWOS was a splinter organization, created ages ago, seeking to usurp the Creed, locked in an endless battle against them. The authority was still deeply entrenched in the moral ground; however the ever growing base of operations had a somewhat different composition. As the Creed usually took cannon fodder, so did TWOS only take the ones truly capable of the designated job. Mercantilism and diplomacy were a must for Wasser, brute strength and perception for the Terras, and so on.

On the other hoof, their elite, the Sora and Ogon squads were comprised of ponies, brought up from a very young age for this task. They would all undergo rigorous training, while still maintaining an affinity for their own special talent. Scarlet, Shrapnel and Spark were such a group. They literally lived their entire life together, except for their various training courses. Even after sixteen years, they were still the best of friends and one of the best operative groups TWOS ever had.

Even if the two would have stayed up a bit more, they decided to follow her lead and go to sleep as well. After all, the next day would be a busy one. Shrapnel just gave a quick “Good night” before jumping in his bed, turning around and dozing off in a matter of minutes, dreaming of the explosives he was going to detonate during the next mission, and basically anything involving the destruction and demolition he so cherished.

However, Spark Dust was in no mood for sleeping right now. He just sat on his bed, looking at the sleeping pegasus, admiring her long mane, smiling to himself. Damn it… Why am I stuck with loving the only mare I know who’s smarter than me? Heh… I’ll be the first to figure her out, someday. I think … I think Blaze knows… He’s not that stupid as he likes to make others believe. I should thank him for sticking up with me, even regarding this matter… maybe. With a sigh, the grey unicorn turned around in his bed and whispered softly, so that nopony would hear him, in the event one of them would’ve been awake “Good night, Scar.”

***

It was early in the morning, yet Scarlet was used to this kind of wake-up times. She got up, and watched her two friends still sleeping, sometimes even muttering in their sleep. It was too early to wake them up, she figured. It would be at least another hour until the whole cell started brimming with activity. There was not much time to lose, as she well knew.

Life in an TWOS camp was governed by a strict set of rules, but yet if somepony abided by them, they would have an easy, even fun time in such a base camp. The zone was well fortified and a siege upon the compound would take months to bring it down. Creed sabotage was also out of question, since the daily check-ins made it impossible for agents to sneak in. Apart from the very tight schedule imposed regarding outgoing, such a base had pretty much anypony could wish for. The small army, gathered in time by instigation and persuasion, was now so big the base looked more like a medium-sized forest town, rather than a top secret military base.

Scarlet and her friends were assigned somewhere in the eastern section. Each part of the base had its own mess hall, activity room, habitation quarters and other basic facilities. However, the core equipment, stored in the command hub, communication centre and armory were all concentrated in the middle of the base, and were the most prized and defended buildings in the base. It was one’s duty to die destroying those landmarks before them falling into Creed hands, should the encampment fall.

After a quick stroll to the mess hall and a daisy salad later, she returned to her quarters and sat at the workbench. There wasn’t too much for her to do, except for wrapping up the file for their latest undertaking. And what a magnificent mission it was! They had managed to make a cathedral’s chapel give in, sealing in an entire detachment of assassins, also snatching all their supplies outside in the process using only a dozen sticks of dynamite and a few well timed triggers, crippling the Creed’s activity in the area greatly.

For the past couple of decades, the TWOS had been trying to evict the Creed forces from Phillydelphia, one of Equestria’s major cities. The ragtag militia and saboteurs in the Phillydelphia cell had finally managed to push out most of the Creed, after long interminable and somewhat unprofitable deals with the Trade Guild, almost wiping them out completely. Only a few forces remained, and they knew soon enough the time for conquering their first major city would come.

However something was about to turn the tide in the Creed’s favor. From classified documents, Scarlet had found out a turncoat of the TWOS science squad had fed the Creed an experimental weapon Conflux was developing. More details on this secret weapon were “top secret” and the clearance level for this information was more than Scarlet could hack into the data files. The message was clear, the weapon was not to fall into their hands.

Scarlet was sure this was their mission. Nopony in the local branch was more prepared than Spark, Blaze and herself. And there could be nothing else Conflux could refer to as a “highly classified assignment”. Checking her watch again, only half an hour had passed. Taking out a map of the region, she would start looking for any routes the caravan would follow. If it was indeed, their mission, it wouldn’t hurt planning ahead.

The Nomad division is renowned far and wide for their tactics and terrain choosing. They know the importance of a road off the beaten track, and a caravan this big would be very noticeable in the open. Even with their fighting skills, they wouldn’t last long in the open. The lakeside road is the barest route they can take, thus making it a very risky trip. However this one will get them faster to their destination.

On the other hand, the mountain pass is safer, but they can’t afford to lose too much time. By my understanding, the schematics are complex enough and they wish to start working on it immediately. By then, our war will be won; they can’t afford losing such an important city for so long. This only leaves one other logical option.

The forest track offers a perfect balance between cover and swiftness. That’s probably the road they’re going to take. It will be longer than lakeside, but will still deliver the cargo in time. Hmm… I wonder if they actually have a minesweeper in that band of theirs. If so, and if he’s skilled enough then there’s little we can do to overthrow the caravan. However, if we can get our hooves on the CIV... Then the board is pretty much set in our favor.

She started sketching on the map swiftly, tracing possible routes, calculating ranges, length of the actual caravan, everything that could go wrong and every fix to make a flawless plan. However important a good plan might’ve been, it didn’t matter much. The execution was what mattered. Giving the map one more look, she set the pencil down, and turned to look at the two sleeping colts.

Hmm… Let’s see what’s on the menu today. Thinking for a bit, she decided to go for the classical method. Taking her alarm clock, she set it to ring after one minute, and put it between the two ponies’ beds. As soon as the alarm starting blaring, Blaze slammed it with his hoof, silencing the buzzing sound. Sticking his head deeper inside his pillow, he groaned “Just five more minutes!” Spark had no reaction whatsoever, still fast asleep. It usually took both Scarlet and Blaze to get him to wake up, and even that was complicated.

The orange pegasus sighed “Guys, come on… We don’t have time for this. We’re supposed to receive our briefing in…” Looking again at the clock, Scarlet gasped in shock “Five minutes? That’s enough. Get up, guys!” The mare grabbed the nearest bottle of water, completely pouring it onto Blaze’s head. While the helpless pegasus was coughing and choking, urgently sitting upright, Scarlet proceeded to do the same to Spark Dust.

“What the hay was THAT for? You could’ve just asked nicely. What’s the hurry, anyway?” Shrapnel yawned, looking at Scarlet lazily. As he took notice of the clock she was shoving in his face, he got more and more agitated. “Oh, now you’re telling me? Let’s go!” Without waiting another second, he jumped out of bed and instinctively grabbed Spark Dust, dragging the half asleep, fully confused unicorn towards the Communication Centre.

Scarlet hurried behind them, shouting as Shrapnel approached the exit of their housing compound “Blaze, wait! The door, it’s made of…” But it was already too late, as a loud thud signaled the two ramming in what appeared as an invisible wall, with a doorknob “… reinforced glass. You guys are just hopeless…” Scarlet sighed, as she opened the door, moving quickly past the two dazed colts.

***

As the three burst into the tall building with a radar dish on top, the colt at the desk looked at the group while they were catching their breath “Team Sora… Two-zero-nine… Appointment with… High command…” were the only words Blaze could make out before collapsing to the floor, panting. The officer looked at the register with an immovable face, then raised his head towards the three, and again looking downwards, writing something.

“You’re late. Go along now; don’t keep him waiting any longer than he already has.” Scarlet quickly glanced at the watch. Three minutes late. This was going to look bad on her record… However, this would be but a small inconvenience, if she was correct. They walked up to the tower, where they entered a small, dimly lit, circular room. In the centre, a rich blue crystal stood, connected to some kind of apparatus. This device was the apex in communication technology, a perfect blend between scientific ingenuity and the simple flair of magic.

Once the connection was established, the crystals on both sides created an image of the contents of the room on the other side, thus recreating a replica of whoever they would be talking to, and sending an image of theirs somewhere across Equestria in a similar room. The blue figure materialized in the room. A well built, hooded colt appeared on the other side. Even though the image was very clear, the technology could not reconstruct what was under the hood, so building a generic face. However, the smile was his, Scarlet could tell. A very suave and comforting smile, yet she knew that something was hiding behind it. She never would have wanted to meet such a pony in her life, for that very smile made her feel threatened.

“Scarlet, Shrapnel, Spark. How’s my star team been doing recently? I heard about your success at the cathedral. Surprised? Well, what can I say? News really does travel fast” In a few hoofsteps, the figure walked slowly near the three, raising a hoof as to touch Scarlet’s head. As she instinctively backed off, the silhouette, burst out into laughter “Come on now, I won’t bite. I just wanted to congratulate you for bringing that down. Creed morale has never been lower, and I truly believe we have a chance of conquering Phillydelphia from the Core division. For good.”

The figure started circling the room, as he continued with his speech “This would’ve never been possible without your help. However, there is one more thing I need to ask of you. As you might be aware, the Nomads are preparing to move out of the city, with a most precious cargo. We can’t permit that to happen, now can we?” I knew it! We’re going to get the mission. Blasted… The odds are stacked up against us, and he knows that as well.

“Your next assignment, and probably the last in quite a long time, will be eliminating the Nomad division’s caravan. As Scarlet may have studied, there are three possible routes the caravan can take.” What the…? How in the world could he know that? “You and two other teams will be sent to set up an ambush on each of the roads. However, it is your choice which one you’ll pick, since you did such a great job. I’m sure you’re just as eager as us all to conquer the city.”

Even though Scarlet would’ve done anything for the TWOS, she had her doubts about the mission “The Creed are bound to have a few demolitions experts. It would take an idiot not to notice the standard equipment placed as to blow up two hundred assassins. This sounds more of a suicide mission. I think we’d like to sit this one out, sir. No offence, but I don’t think there’s anything we can do, with our expertise.”

The hooded pony’s expression remained calm, his unnerving smile making Scarlet wonder whatever it was that he found amusing. He looked very much like a Creed agent, making her trust falter every passing second. “Who said anything about standard equipment? We’re granting you access to the Class Four Massive Ordinance Daisy-cutter. And I will personally consider your application in Conflux, Scarlet. Isn’t that what you always wanted? I can make sure your friends get in as well.” The reassuring smile perished, replaced by a wide grin of satisfaction “So, Sora two-zero-nine, what’s your stand on this?”

Scarlet was silent. The amount of information High Command gave and the short amount of time in which he did it was simply overwhelming. If the mission would succeed, he said, they would have a chance at fulfilling her life-long dream. There was nothing more she had ever wanted than to have a chance to see the outside world, to run the big stages, deep cover missions and everything involved in being a Conflux agent. However, she could not forget her friends. Looking at Blaze, then at Spark, she could see the same glimmer of hope in their eyes.

Altogether, a seemingly impossible mission was now made trivial. A bomb with such force as the Class Four, or C-IV, would wipe out anything on a radius of at least 300 meters. When a minesweeper would find it, it would already be too late. However, the CIV was very bulky, needed to be assembled on location and required the magic affinity of an unicorn to arm. It would be a risky mission, but nonetheless it would be their greatest. However, Scarlet still doubted the figure that they called High Command’s intentions. “We’ll take the forest road. To make sure, we should send a team to block the mountain path. Maybe this can be achieved by blowing up one of the cliffs. As for the lakeside road… Is there any way to ambush them if they decide for it?”

“That’s my girl! Don’t worry about the lakeside. The events which will take place in the following days will compel the Creed to take the forest route. The caravan is set to leave in five days since now. Tell officer Sanders outside to check in with me on that daisy-cutter.”

The figure turned away, suddenly hanging his head. One would say that he looked pained of what he was about to do, but Scarlet knew the smile was still there. Ponies like him usually had no remorse in doing what needed to be done, even if it meant breaking a promise. Even High Command’s plans had plans, and this was unmistakably one of them. “I have all the confidence that you’ll get your job done. I wish the three of you good luck. And guys” addressing himself specifically to Spark and Blaze “I’d prefer you not telling anypony of our little… arrangement. It might not be the wisest of choices.”

The two raised a hoof to their head and saluted “Sir, yes sir!” High command started chuckling, turning into a chilling laughter as his image slowly faded away. The three were left alone in the communications room. “Did he really think he meant it? That they’d let us go when this is all done?” Spark asked, both hopeful and afraid. The other two remained quiet, looking at each other, then at Spark. Turning away, the three left the room, meeting the officer at the desk again.

“We need a requisition for item 104. High Command’s orders.” Scarlet was too nervous, she thought to herself. “We received authorization for the Class Four. Make sure the package is ready by tomorrow… sir.” The uniformed pony’s usually placid face was now struck by awe and distrust. “Go along now; don’t keep him waiting any longer than he already has.” The orange pegasus couldn’t help smiling as her two companions burst out into laughter while the officer jolted upstairs towards the comms room.

This was going to get tough before it was over.

***

The next few days, Scarlet didn’t leave her desk, even staying up late in front of the map. Shrapnel and Spark were getting worried; she had never been so focused on a plan before. Day by day, the paperwork piled up on the desk, while the two prepared all the materials they needed for the mission. Apart from the CIV’s heavy bulk, they needed the whole arsenal they usually carried. Smoke bombs, flash-bangs, dynamite, detonators, tripwires, triggers, perimeter delimitations and many more were being loaded in their saddlebags and carriages. On the last night, while Spark was studying the plans made by Scarlet and the schematics for the bomb, Scarlet had been finishing the placement and delimitation of the areas in which the Creed would enter.

Blaze didn’t have much to do, since everything was basically set up for leaving. Not having anything to do, he was just lying in his bed, watching Scarlet work “You know, you should get some sleep. Four hours a day is not enough, even for me. And I can see what that’s been doing to your attitude.”

For the first time in hours, Scarlet put the pencil down, turning to face the black and crimson pegasus. “I can’t say I like doing this. But think of it, we’ll be Conflux agents! Then we’re free to go wherever we want to. I never thought I’d want it so much, but now that the opportunity is here… And for that, this mission has to be perfect. I’ll get my rest when we’re finally done with this.”

“Hey, you ran the sketches over and over again. There’s nothing you could have missed. All your plans were superb. I’m sure this one makes no difference. Plus, there isn’t much to do. Go there, plant the CIV, detonate, go back. In my opinion, we had much tougher errands in our training exams. This one’s going to be a cakewalk. Now get to sleep before I make you do it.”

Scarlet got up from her workbench, returning Blaze a quick smile “Is that a threat, or a promise?” The black pony, who usually had a sharp tongue could only blush and look away, without answering the question. “Well, I suppose you’re right. It’s been quite tiring, these days.” With those words, Scarlet lay on the bed, looking back towards Blaze, then back at the photo on the counter.

Reminiscing the day they took that photo could only bring a smile to Scar’s face. Taken before the mass recruitment started, it was the one thing they couldn’t take away from them: their past. It was a solid and undeniable testimony that true friendship lasted, no matter what happens in between, no matter how far apart they would be. Their different training specialties broke them apart for several years, without them ever hoping to see each other again. But yet by some odd turn of events, here they were: the best of the best, so assigned without ever having a choice. “I think… I really hope we’re going to make it.”

***

The three left the base as on every standard, routine mission, filing in a ton of paperwork for all the equipment they were going to use. As bulky as the CIV was, so was the form needed to be completed before checking out with it. The road was very quiet, unlike their usual chatty spurs. In the several hours that they spent walking, they hardly even talked to each other, all of them being very nervous. So the hours passed, and they finally reached their destination, where they set up the camp and slept for the night.

A quite uneventful day, one might say. However, the next morning the lot got up and started working on their assignment. The caravan was due to pass their location the next day, so they had to move fast. None of them wasted time, as the whole lot started setting up their perimeter. Throughout the day, Blaze and Scar worked on arranging the laser tripwires, setting the auxiliary mines, rigging the detonators and installing the decoys.

In the meantime, Spark was carefully assembling the various pieces of the CIV, first starting with the perpetual magic mechanism. This was the thing that gave the bomb such a blast force; the combination between finely attuned magic and peak explosive technology. The device created a perpetuum mobilae inside, and while every other component added was another link to the rotating mechanism around the energy spark, amplifying its potency.

During the midday, when Shrapnel Blaze and Scarlet were done with their part, a component in the CIV faultily installed by Spark locked the mechanism and made the energy dissipate, thus making his whole work in vain “Damn it! How can I ever finish this rubbish in time? The assembly manual looks like friggin IKEA instructions!” As he set the first ring around a new energy spark, he started shouting profanities to the sky, carefully restarting to piece together the explosive outer casing…