Road Gangs: Ray Part II

"If you want the second phase of the mission to be a success," Chrysalis started, "You're going to need an SMF team to accompany your REDF squad." Her voice shook as she raced alongside Ray, Junkers and Shining Armor in their determined march for the double-doorway to the vehicle warehouse of the main armory, located at the opposite end of the long corridor alternatively accessing the War Room.

Ray shook his head in confusion at her suggestion. "Wait, a what?"

She took a glance at him as if to confirm the sincerity of his question, then shot back to the double-door, realizing his lack of prior knowledge to her newly-formed unit. "The Changeling Special Mission Force. It's a covert-operations recon, recovery, and direct-action unit I and Cattani formed in response to the need of a special unit to fulfill military requirements similar to Celestia's REDF."

"You're talking counter-terrorism and black-ops."

"Yes, exactly. The concept of the unit was formed shortly after the events of the second Canterlot invasion, but it wasn't until a year later that we began training an adequate number of soldiers upon acquisition of documentation on ancient human military units, such as the Delta Force and Special Air Services. As of now they are fully-trained and combat-ready. And, dare I say, far superior to the REDF thanks to Changeling art of deception and ingenuity."

Shining Armor rolled his eyes with a snort at that last sentence, clouded with pride for the Equestrian unit based on his experience with it, having trained his own soldiers with similar human tactics with overwhelming success. He needed solid proof, such as to see the Changeling unit in action himself, before changing his mind.

"Wait." Ray came to a halt just before they reached the archway towering over the double-doorway, forcing the rest of them to stop and meet his gaze in regard. "You never told me about this special unit before."

"Yes, your point?"

"Well, as a founding REDF official and representative of both governments, I just feel I should know about the activities of Changeling military developments, including equivalent unit operation for future reference." He turned around sharply to face Shining Armor. "Not in the name of counter-intelligence..." He turned back to the Queen. "... but for my own personal assessment for utilization of foreign resources. Namely for situations like this."

She raised her eyebrows. "If I had been requested such trouble in the past, I may have granted you this knowledge, but alas, you never asked."

"Well, from now on, indulge me, my Queen. If you'd please."

She nodded as a grin of admiration formed upon her charcoal-shaded face. "You've become quite the authority figure since your affiliation with Equestrian armed service. I admire your wise determination. I knew you'd amount to such a respected caliber the moment you first spoke to my old legion before leading them into battle. A runner first born leader meant to deliver the lost from chaos into salvation. I'm filled with pride at our friendship and professional affiliation."

He blushed with a grin to meet her's, ignoring the impatient tapping of Shining's hooves on the stone floor.

Her proud grin instantly shifted to an authoritive frown. "However, forget not to whom you're speaking. Mind your tone when addressing higher authority unless permitted otherwise, especially among an audience." She almost muttered these final words for Ray to take a subtle hint.

Ray's mild shame wiped the grin off his face as well, as he nodded in understanding. "Of course. My apologies."

"Now let's have a look at the new hardware, shall we, dear Ray?"

He nodded, and they continued to the double-door. Shining opened the doors with his magic, allowing the group access to the massive vehicle warehouse.

Ten of the Changeling Infantry Fighting Vehicles were aligned in a row with supplemental Equestrian hardware in a smaller row behind them. The Changeling machines were quite impressive, daunting in size and shape, while boasting professional workmanship in the engineering. Their respective crews inspected the inner workings to ensure safety and quality field performance before they were to be rolled out. Chrysalis looked on with pride as the others inched forward in awe.

"Impressive, aren't they?" She said, speeding ahead to lead them in a tour around the nearest machine. "They're called Elytron Model 4s, based on the basic BTR-90 design with several refinements, packed with state of the art technology. Eight-wheel all-terrain drive train, seven-inch-thick steel hull armor with rearrangeable reactive plates, one-hundred twenty-five millimeter smoothbore gun in a powered turret, and three thirty-caliber machine guns."

Junkers ran his hand over the cold surface of the vehicle's hull. "What's the accommodation?"

"Crew of four, plus seven passengers or fifteen-hundred pounds of cargo. The troop compartment is accessible through the rear hydraulic ramp or the crew hatches. There's also a hatchway at the bottom of the vehicle for emergency use."

Ray nodded towards the turret with amusement, as a .30 caliber machine gun appeared to project from the shell in the opposite direction of the main gun. "What's the deal with the rear gun here?"

"Oh, that's based on ancient light tank practice used by Japanese humans to cover the rear of the vehicle. The original idea is obsolete, I know, but Elytron has refined it by allowing a more flexible mount for the weapon should the main gun be in use. In fact, the fourth crew member is solely for manning this weapon to lighten the workload of the main gunner in combat.

Now, I'd love to go over the rest of the 'goodies' these lovely beasts possess, but I'm afraid time is running short. Captain Armor, if you'd please direct me to your munitions reserve..."

Shining Armor cocked his head to the left, referring to a mountain of wooden boxes stacked at the far end of the building, next to the main armory.

"Splendid!" She pointed to four Changeling soldiers conferring with Royal Guardsponies nearest to the vehicle. "You! Go acquire those munitions crates and arm these machines at once!"

"Yes, my Queen!" One of them shouted as they saluted her, then immediately flew over to the boxes to begin their task.

"As for the rest of us, let's meet with that SMF team I spoke about." Chrysalis lead the group towards the armory.

On the way to their destination, the group kept looking back at the ten IFVs. They were truly remarkable, but bizarre all the same. The basic design was not unusual to standard armored vehicle layout, but the shape was rather alien compared to what they were used to in military engineering practice. The hulls were smooth and streamlined, with technical parts appearing eerily biological as they intertwined with the steel covered in awkwardly-applied reactive armor blocks.

Aside from the other-worldly aesthetic, they still retained a similar "boat hull" shape at the frontal end not unlike the original Russian design they were based on, yet these machines were far from amphibious. Ray understood these and the rest of the fifty examples were still trials vehicles and would not receive further variants until reports of favorable field performance in actual combat. And now was their chance to prove their worth.

Passing through the gated barriers enclosing the armory from the rest of the building, the group watched the many weapon racks filled with various firearms, most of which were Lunar Defence Products designs. They all seemed to bear similarity to already existing human firearms, but with special modifications done to accommodate the shape of equine hooves.

Three particular types of weapons neatly stored in nearby crates, however, appeared to be newer additions to the inventory. The first was the Elytron EP-2, an automatic pistol type with parts to convert into a carbine of sorts, complete with scope and suppressor system. The second was the Elytron EMG-6, a medium machine gun bearing Kalashnikov similarities, with optional magazines or drums.

Ray snickered with amusement at the third weapon. It was a crossbow with scope and collapsible stock similar to that on Colt products. The arrows had two-inch, razor-sharp tips with teeth-like ridges, but could be replaced with timed or contact-explosive tips. I just wonder what event in history inspired this latter option? Ray shook his head with a smile as he remembered the source of the inspiration as clearly as the memory of yesterday morning.

"Attention!" Chrysalis' shout to the SMF team directed Ray's attention toward their direction. Six Changeling soldiers in black combat uniforms bolted from their seats at a large table and stood at attention in a straight line in front of it.

They carried the various Elytron firearms over universal gear, all equipped with sound suppressors over the muzzles. Even more interesting was the electronic devices they carried, which took the form of black collars around their necks with wires leading to earphones in their left ears and what appeared to be modified handheld radios clipped to the harnesses of their saddlebags. Ray and Junkers recognized the setup as some kind of SATCOM communication system adapted from old equipment recovered from the Phantom Raiders.

Shining Armor was unimpressed with the display and spared no expression of his disappointment towards the number of soldiers. "Six? Only six?"

Chrysalis turned to him. "I assure you, six SMF agents are more than adequate. And lets not forget that four of them will serve as squad leaders for your REDF."

Shining shook his head. "No. As Captain of the Royal Guard, I officially refuse these soldiers as supplemental forces to the REDF, let alone respective squad leaders, due to the unsatisfactory number and untrustworthy service experience."

Ray impatiently spoke over his last words. "And as co-founding official of the REDF under specific privileges granted by Celestia herself, I officially declare your opinion irrelevant." He turned to Chrysalis without loosing a beat. "My queen, if you'd please introduce us to your SMF team..."

She nodded and turned to face the team still patiently standing at attention. "Far left is Gotha, code designation Operative Ninety-Nine, rifling; medium-range urban combat."

Ray observed the red code designations stitched on the left shoulders of their uniforms, now in understanding of their significance. Since they carried no actual name labeling, he would make sure to remember which designation applied to which name.

Chrysalis continued from left-to-right. "Next is Lancer, Operative Fifty-Two, rifling and submachine gunner; medium-range to close-quarters urban combat. Following is Heinkel, Operative Eighteen, submachine gunner; close-quarters urban combat. Sud Quest, Operative Two-Twelve, heavy machine gunner and demolitions specialist. Saver, Operative Thirteen, stealth infiltrator. Finally Fabre, Operative Sixty-Eight, infiltrator and sniper."

"Thank you, my queen." He stepped forward, closer to the team. "My name is Ray - you all may address me as such in the field - Second-In-Command and primary field advisor for this mission. From now on you will take orders from both the Queen and myself, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" They all shouted.

"Good. You may be seated and we'll get started on the mission details."

The sun was reaching its term, painting a beautiful glow of orange over the sky, as if the landscape of Handlirsch was painted on canvas. The biomechanically-adapted solar sensors were already activating the lightbags in various streetlights in anticipation of the coming darkness.

This time of evening was always the most active between work and sleep, giving most of the Changelings time for leisure.

Two particular drones ventured down an alleyway competitively kicking a dead lightbag across the empty paving, casually conversing about whatever came to mind. One appeared taller and skinnier than its companion, who bore a slightly chubbier appearance with his stunted height.

"Hey Palaeo, you know what I don't get?" The tall one shouted.

"What?" Palaeo replied with mild enthusiasm, having answered many times before to the other of his friend's many thoughts to the point of losing interest.

"Our Queen." he said awkwardly.

"What about her?"

"Her royal title and organization."

Palaeo shook his head in confusion. "You mind completing your sentences? You're not making any sense."

"Okay, how is she a queen if she's never had a king in her life? If anything she's a princess, but without higher authority. I mean parents, of course. A king and queen before her."

"First of all she's a queen regnant, not a queen consort. She can be a queen without a king in the absence of higher power. Second, she's royalty, she can do whatever she wants, so she can claim whatever title she wants. After all, she did make the decision to advance the hive-mind to an Imperial society all by herself."

"But it doesn't make sense. She's still claimed a title that is out of common practice for her situation. If anything 'Empress' is a more fitting title."

"To our knowledge. Who knows for sure what her true origin story is. Or ours, for that matter. All I know is that I'm starving. Wanna head over to Neopter's Tavern?"

"That's a big yes!"

They stopped abruptly as soon as they noticed something unusual hanging suspended between the two structures forming the alleyway.

"Hey Palaeo, what the heck is that?"

He only shook his head.

It appeared to be some kind of cylindrical container hanging by secretive resin and cables, with a putty of some kind mashed to the sides. Wires and circuits crisscrossed across the entire container as if it were a multicolor web. One of the circuits had a small red LED light on it, blinking repeatedly.

Palaeo's heart sank, now realizing what it was. "Wait a minute."

His friend seemed to have came to the same conclusion. "You wait a minute, I'm outta here!" He swiftly spun around and sprinted in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Palaeo followed him, tripping in a pothole along the way.

The Great Hall of the Handlirsch castle was an impressive yet gothic sight. The refurbishment was unfinished, leaving the old stone in a dreadful scaling mess wrapped in cobwebs. The green and blue lightbags only reinforced the eerie appearance as the light shone through the gossamer like prisms.

The royal furniture, however was new. It was old Celestial furniture bought from the Equestrians for temporary use until a proper domestic kind was developed. Of course, the delay was due to higher military and industrial priorities set forth by the Queen herself. She could handle the used foreign furniture as long as her empire developed as she planned.

Cattani was temporarily in charge of the palace and its activities during the absence of Queen Chrysalis. Two Royal Guardlings fanned him as he sat comfortably in the throne reading an ancient human novel called "The Hunt for Red October" by Tom Clancy. It was one of a few books that were smuggled from the main collection recovered from the Phantom Raiders by the Canterlot Royal Guard for their inclusion in the Royal Library.

Cattani especially enjoyed the work of this particular author for the attention to technical detail and thrilling suspense. He only wondered if it was all based on true events in history or a complete work of fiction.

His enjoyment of the book was interrupted by the entrance of Agusta into the Hall.

"SIC Cattani?" Agusta called to him.

Cattani put the book on a stand next to the throne. "Greetings, Agusta!" He shifted to a mock monarchy tone. "Welcome to my royal palace. What is thy business, humble peasant?" He cleared his throat and reverted to normal after receiving an odd look from Agusta. "Eh, sorry, I always wanted to say things like that. You rarely get these kind of opportunities in life, you know?"

Agusta nodded in understanding. "Of course."

"So what can I do for you?"

"Well, I come requesting your assistance on a matter that has been shadowing Equestrian territory as of late. It seems there's a bomber at large, and since you're experienced in IED craft thanks to the teachings of Ray, I was hoping you could help me in a joint investigation to track him down."

"A bomber you say? Hmm." He thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. "Do you know if it's human or not?"

Agusta shrugged. "No, we have no idea what species it is, but whoever this bomber is, he or she is an expert of such improvised ordnance. The first device was discovered to be a directional explosive which took out customers in a Canterlot department store, surprisingly without compromising the integrity of the structure itself. We're keeping our eyes out for a possible second device should one surface in the future."

Cattani nodded, still thinking about this request. "My friend, you have my full cooperation. As long as there's no interference from your Princess or that insufferable Captain Armor."

"I first came to Celestia on the matter and she granted me full approval on the condition that whatever resources we utilize are under your jurisdiction."

"That's an acceptable condition given the situation in the desert."

A third Guardling entered the room, making way for Cattani at curiously fast pace. Once there he whispered something into his ears, but was immediately shooed away.

"For goodness sake, say what you want to say out loud, I hate otherlings' breath in my ears."

The Guardling muttered in a way he hoped would keep his message a secret from the human presence. "Sir, we've gotten a report that an explosive device has been discovered in the southern residences of Handlirsch. It appears armed and we quite frankly don't know how to disarm it due to its complexity. How do you suggest we approach this situation, sir?"

Cattani stared him in the eyes, still digesting the information he was given. He then turned back to Agusta. "Well, it looks like your 'second device' has finally surfaced, as you anticipated. Right here in Handlirsch, of all places, and it apparently hasn't gone off yet."

Agusta crossed his arms. "Let's go have a look."

Faust and Silverspade laid cuddled in each other's arms as they watched the colors of the sunset from their confinement in the ground. By now the foul odors had mixed with the earthly scent of the disturbed desert ground, making it more tolerable. Hunger and thirst, though, was becoming a serious matter.

"I've always loved watching the sun set." Said Faust.

"Yeah, it's beautiful." Silverspade replied with a sigh.

"Back in the Raider division it was always the one thing that relieved realization of the war-torn earth. And I've always wondered if it lead the way to a place where none of this existed. Someplace untouched by the apocalypse. An eden of sorts that we've heard about in legends spread about the roads. But of course, that was before we found Equestria."

He glanced at Silverspade, then back to the sky. "I wonder if there's a connection with those legends and the existence of Equestria? Have we always known about the sentient ponies but as we fade through extinction our knowledge of them suffers the same fate? Or have they always known about us but have long forgotten to build their civilization of peace without our dangerous influence?"

Silverspade began crying again, pressing her muzzle against his chest. "Oh, Faust, I don't want to die like this!"

Faust brought her even closer in attempt to comfort her. "No, no, don't give up yet. There's still time. There's still hope. As long as Ray and his friends know about us, there is still a chance he's figuring out a way to find us and get us out."

"How do you know?"

"I know him, Silver. He's my friend, I've known him since the second invasion. He'll do whatever it takes to ensure the well-being of his friends."

She looked up to him with those beautiful orange eyes again. "How do you know it's not that false-hope you mentioned before?"

"You're going to have to trust me, Silver. Please, just trust me."

She stared at him without response, no longer crying.

"We'll be fine, I promise." he continued with a whisper.

She stared into his eyes as if she were reading the most enchanting literature of her life, and so too did Faust unto hers. Without warning she dove for him in an amorous kiss that took him a moment to think of a reason not to partake in the display of affection.

He finally broke away. "Silver, we can't do this."

"Why not?"

"Because we're..." He was already regretting having found an excuse, but said his thoughts anyway in a cloud of panic. "You're a pony and I'm... human. We're too different."

She sighed. "For so long I've compared and contrasted your intelligence with that of equinity, which is so incredibly human." She brushed her hoof on his cheek. "But there's so much more to it that I want to explore. I can see it in your eyes too, Faust. You have the same desire. There's no borders anymore, not except for the ones we lay in fear. You have my trust, now I'm asking for your's."

"But... I'm almost fifty..."

"Please, Faust. Just give me this." She closed her eyes and leaned closer, just inches away from his face.

"But..." His struggle for excuses was becoming slack.

"Shhhh..." she hushed, mere centimeters, and closed with a final whisper. "Show me what it's like to be human."

They engaged in another kiss, this time without resistance from Faust. There was no reason to fight it anymore and he knew that. She was right about everything. He hated himself for breaking his oath to never fall for anyone in his life again, but he treasured this moment with Silverspade for it reignited a deep passion he had thought was lost forever.

Silverspade had never experienced this kind of passion, though. Faust was the first person in her life to actually spark it. She knew this was unorthodox, but here among chaos and corruption it was her salvation. Nothing else mattered but this moment she shared with him.

The closing of the desert sun climaxes our love as it brings forth the radiant moon, ushering light among the shadows of a twisted earth so the lost souls among its wastelands may find salvation and peace. If our love could manifest the laws of magic, it would yield a reformation that would smite hatred where it stood, and bring about eternal harmony, unbreakable and never forgotten.

And it liberates my shaken soul that I have found someone to share this passion with, and even more so that I have found it with a human. My tears no longer shed for misery, but for alleviation.