Pandora's Planet

Forestry. A large farming community in a large oak forest, twenty-eight kilometers south-east of Cliffside. Situated in a large valley, it was hell to take, because of one thing; its position in a valley made it a deathtrap for artillery strikes. It was heavily fortified, and the valley was surrounded by fire-bases, connected by trenches. It was even a harder nut to crack then Cliffside. Even worse, it had started as a mining town, so its run through with underground tunnels.

Snap Shot's Squad moved through the surrounding forests. They were on a routine patrol, root out enemy elements and blow a fire-base if they find one. They knew what was happening. They were going to take Forestry. And soon.

Still, despite evident victory, the war in space was still in a staring match level, and they had yet to meet the bulk of the enemy forces. Hopeful rumors spoke that reinforcements were on the way, but Claw doubted it. And Snap Shot had learned to trust Claw.

After several hours in the darkness of night in the beautiful forests, they still had yet to encounter any enemy resistance. They had begun to hope for no combat, but that was silenced by nearby gunfire, and screaming. Terrible screaming.

The squad immediately prepared themselves. Claw led them into a clearing. Ahead were a pair of dead marines. Republic. Another marine, also Republic, stood, bleeding from dozens of wounds. He was shaking. His assault rifle was several feet away, cut cleanly in half. His knife was embedded thickly in a scorched tree. His pistol was torn to small pieces and scattered across the ground.

The Sergeant immediately ran up. "Trooper, speak to me! Are you all right!? Dalla, medkit, now!"

Dalla looked at the trooper hesitantly. "But sir, he's a reb..."

"I know that! Help him!"

Dalla walked slowly up to the trooper and took out a medkit. "Alright, I'm going to need you to tell me what happened. It may be painful, but I need to know."

The trooper, still shaking, answered. "Oh Luna... Sarge and Doc..."

Claw gestured to the bodies. "Those them?"

The trooper shook his head. "No. Thats... Fia and Pilot. Sarge and Doc... they just took them... they were screaming... oh goddess!"

Dalla kept trying. "Whats you name, designation?"

The trooper closed his eyes in thought. "Keg Vodka. Lance Corperal, Support Specialist. New Lunar Republic Marines. Used to be a bartender at a bar on Draconic V."

Claw nodded. "What exactly happened?"

The trooper bit his lip. "My squad was on patrol. We were walking.. when... I'm so sorry... it's just so hard!"

Dalla bit her lip. "Sarge, Ant, could you look around for clues? I'll keep trying."

Claw and Ant bot left the clearing, looking for any evidence of what happened.

Dalla looked back at Keg. "You've got to try. Try and remember. It'll be all right. We'll protect you."

Keg swallowed hard, sweating heavily. "We were walking, and... and Fia thought she heard something. We stopped here, and, then, there... there was a rustling in the trees. Then... Then Doc screamed! It had him... and Sarge tried to fight it... but another one appeared... and grabbed Sarge... they disappeared... then... another one attacked from behind! It... it took Pilot... right through the heart... he screamed as he died.... Fia tried to shoot it, but it was too fast.. it grabbed her and... and snapped her like a twig. And... I just stood there... and watched them die!" He broke down into loud sobs.

Dalla asked one final question. "What? What were they?"

The stallion face, racked in pain and misery, looked up only long enough to utter a single word: "Demons!"

Dalla shot up, and looked at Snap Shot in panic. He knew what it meant. The sound of a shotgun shot said all they needed to know.

Keg, still sobbing, followed the group, armed with Dalla's spare pistol, into another clearing. Ant and Claw were fighting off a quintuplet of Demons.

The sight of the creatures alone horrified Snap Shot. They were tall, easily the size of one of the princesses, floating torsos of black rock, sheathed in fire. Two appendages hung out, one ending in a sharp spike, the other in some sort of cannon. A black head, completely blackened, was featureless except for a pair of blood red eyes and a grinning, fanged mouth, spitting fire.

He raised his sniper rifle, and shot off his name sake. It struck one of the abominations in the chest, but it seemed to do nothing but grab it's attention. He unloaded another three shots into it, then expelling the spent crystal. The final shot seemed to chip the black carapace of it's chest, but did nothing more than make it angry.

All seemed lost when a flash of white bolts tore through one of the monsters, shredding it's chest. Snap Shot turned, to see a trio of figures appear out of nowhere. They wore sets of night-vision goggles and long cloaks. They held long, white rifles, and the rounds they expended were equally pale. These weapons did far more damage to the demons then the conventional cadmium weapons. A second demon fell to ashes before the other two could retaliate. One charged the closest newcomer. The newcomer disappeared. The demon looked around in disarray. The pony reappeared right behind him. Three shots silence the demon permanently.

The remaining demon, panicked and outnumbered, fled, disappearing into the night.

Claw turned to the newcomers. "Who in the name of Tartarus are you?"

The leading pony answered polity. "Lieutanent Dreamgoer, Third NLR Special Ops. We specialize in those monsters you just had the courtesy of meeting."

Ant inspected their gear closely. "What the hell are you guys using?"

The mare by the lieutenants side answered. "Standard Night Vision goggles couples with Chameleon Cloaks Mark Two. Our rifles are new Star Burst Cannons Mark One, armed with Silver Anti-Demon Energy crystals. By the way, the names Ella. Combat Engineer."

Claw nodded. "We wouldn't mind you helping us. We're on patrol."

The Lieutenant shook his head. "Nope. We're performing a strike on Forestry herself. Command's hoping to mass-paratrooper the place at dawn. We're taking out the enemy light anti-air. Now's my time to ask if you want help us."

Ant snarled. "Why would we help you rebel sons of..."

"Of course we'll help. Ant, take point. We'll follow your instructions Lieutenant." Claw interrupted, giving a nasty glare at Ant.

The Lieutenant nodded. "We'll move up. By the way, is anypony going to help the poor corporal you have with you?"

They then remembered Keg, who was being treated by Dalla. Dalla replied briskly. "I'm trying. Thankfully, he's just suffering from major shock. His wounds are hardly deep, and he's lost very little blood. Considering that he went up against Demons. Of course, shock is an issue in itself. I don't have the tools to have save him in case he goes into cardiac arrest..."

Keg shook himself. "I'll live. It's just... difficult to imagine they're...they're gone...." He sniffed. "I'll live." He repeated. He said no more.

...

After several hours, they were stopped by one of the Spec Ops, who had gone ahead to scout. "Bad news or good news?"

"Bad News." The group replied simultaneously.

"Enemy Fire-base in a clearing fifty meters ahead."

Groans echoed through the group. "Good news?" Snap Shot asked, grasping at hope.

"It's only lightly defended, and the defenders seem lax. It's should be easy pickings if we strike hard and fast. That means aerial insertion for those who can. The rest of you hold back until we hit. Then come in and mop up. We don't want them to call for help."

Quickly, the squad got into positions. The lieutenant and the scout, both pegasus, took to the skies, followed by ant (a pegasus as well) and Claw.

Snap Shot set up in the bushes outside the base. It was barely a campsite surrounded by a low concrete wall. The defenders, six ponies sitting around a campfire.

Suddenly, a shimmer of air, and one of the defenders fell, dead. The ponies stood, confused, when a second shimmer took another from behind. Then Ant and Claw fell in a storm of gunfire. Snap Shot managed off a shot, taking one of the enemies out, before it was over. It lasted maybe ten seconds.

They got back together quickly. Claw spoke first."What's the plan now?"

He was right. They needed a new plan. Dawn was coming, and they were overlooking Forestry down below. The camp was next to one of the cliffs.

Snap Shot answered, and idea coming to mind. "I could shoot the AA from here. Should be easy, if I had the right crystals..."

Ella spoke up. "Here! I've got some of our rifle crystals here. I have some Sodium Explosive ones right here."

Snap Shot shook his head. "No. Those rifles Magic Measure couldn't possibly be the same as mine."

Ella smiled. "50 M-M. That's an Equestrian Guns Inc. 50 M-M Anti-Material Rifle, correct?"

Snap Shot shook his head and looked at the lieutenant. "How does she know all this?"

Ella answered for him, "I'm a combat engineer. I've been trained to 'know all this'" saying the last part in a mimic of Snap's voice. Dalla snickered.

Snap Shot sighed. "So, you're rifles use 50 M-M? No wonder they're so powerful. 4 Shot?"

Ella shook her head. "Three."

Snap Shot whistled. "I need to get me one of those."

Claw interrupted. "If you two are done talking about guns, we've got a half-hour before that attack starts. We need those guns down now!"

Snap Shot loaded the Sodium Crystals into his magazine, leveled out, and took his first target. It was the largest AA gun, the size indicating that it could take down a heavy aeroplane in a single shot. Still, it was nothing compared to the previous AA gun when they landed, oh so long ago. He hit it's magazine, which was loaded at all times, like any other military procedure. It exploded into a fireball. He expelled another two shots, taking another two AA guns in balls of heat and scorching flame.By the time he had spent all four energy crystals, the towns anti-air capabilities were at an end.

Forestry was officially taken by massed paratrooper landings an hour later.