Prologue: Up to Speed
It is hard to accept anything different when what you believe is the truth, is actually a lie.
- Major Static Shock, UDF 8th Infantry Division
Everything you know about the formation of Equestria... forget it all. You were fed a lie.
All that jazz about the conflicting three tribes of the Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi... well that part was true. However, the whole three tribes leaving their home due to a hatred induced blizzard that raged on forever resulting in finding the land that would be Equestria bringing said blizzard with them, and somehow the second in commands of the three tribal leaders learning the magic of friendship caused this magical blizzard to go away. All complete and total bullshit. Allow me to tell you how it really went down.
The conflict between the three tribes that I told you was true, was not a diplomatic debate. It was all out warfare to control what little resources that was left in the ancient homeland. The pegasi obviously had the upper hoof because of their sheer mobility, but the unicorns had magic more or less negating the effectiveness of pegasus tactics. The earth ponies, lacking wings and magic, more than made up for that with their determination and toughness. I'm straying off topic. Anyway I really do not know much of the war or wars that happened during that time period and The Board be willing I really do not want to know. The war between the tribes ended when two alicorns, one white, and one midnight blue, called the three tribes together for some diplomatic conference.
I don't fucking know the details, that shit was over a thousand years ago and details like that get lost over time. Anyway back to what I was saying. This conference I guess united the three tribes resulting in a massive army being formed. That could only mean another war was about to begin.
Sure enough, the alicorn sisters led their newly formed army into what is now Equestria. The old name was lost long ago and to be honest I really do not care what it once was called. All you really need to know was that this land was ruled by some asshole draconequus. Now this draconequus had a lot of control over the land, and more or less it was a bitch wrestling control from him but in the end after intense fighting the alicorn sister's army was victorious and that poor bastard was turned to stone. That is how the Equestria you know today was made. Not that hearths warming eve crap. This story continues beyond the borders of Equestria though, so pay attention.
A little harsh of a fate if you ask me.
The three tribes remained united under the leadership of the alicorns and the peace lasted about two hundred years. Then the white alicorn got the bright idea to disband most of her army keeping a handful of them as her royal guard. She believed that not having a massive army would make Equestria less of a threat to the surrounding nations. Needless to say much of the army didn't think that that was much of good idea.
They believed that a large strong military was required to ensure the safety of a country as big as Equestria. However, after taking the council of her general, a unicorn by the name of Spell Blade,
Who in the hell even names their foal that.
Besides the point she still went through with her decision even though Spell Blade attempted to persuade her otherwise. Instead of being disbanded and accepting their new lives quietly. A large portion of the Equestrian army went back to their families, rallied behind General Spell Blade, and left Equestria, traveling west. This story continues beyond the borders of Equestria though, so pay attention.
The road was long and hard...
GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!
Continuing on, the disavowed Equestrian troops were starting to get tired and hungry. It took them all three months to make it past the Great Western Mountain Range, well we call it the Great Eastern Mountain Range but that doesn't matter right now. The the amount of ponies lost, a rough guess would put those numbers at around... oh 32,000. I know that is a lot of dead but it was a mere fraction of the 990,000 that left Equestria. Once the army made it over the range they found this beautiful land that was rich in resources including: timber, iron, coal, gold, silver, gems, and later, much later, they discovered this slick black almost pitch textured liquid... petroleum. Now the initial settling of the land was a whole hell of a lot easier than what was initially expected. The capitol city was founded along the western coastline, the city of Ponyat. Since General Spell Blade was the leader of this band of deserters, also a unicorn, and of course with the settling of a new land, this place needed a name, the land was called Unikraine.
The reason you never heard of it is because that damned white alicorn that was in power eradicated all knowledge of the desertion from Equestrian records and banned the teaching about our country. I guess it pissed her off that much. Why is this important you ask, because this is crucial information you need if you are going to understand anything I am going to tell you.
Unikraine was founded on one principle, a strong military. So while Equestria was mostly focusing on technologies more for the civilian sector, and don't get me wrong. We have those technologies as well but we developed them with a military purpose up front then they were repurposed. For example your trains when they were still operating, You must have used them to move ponies and luggage to travel destinations. We used them to move cargo and troops to the front lines. Understand what I am trying to say here?
And with that I am going to skip ahead in the story because if I don't then expect yourself to be sitting there for the next 3 days while I'm explaining shit before I can even start this tale, but it will unravel itself in due time don't worry about it.
Now in the events leading up to your quote unquote Great War the Unikraine Defense Force implanted agents in Equestria, we knew all about the Megaspell build up from both nations,but that didn't bother us as much as the Balefire buildup. In fact The Board was getting a plan together to interviene if the cold war between Equestria and what ever that zebra empire's name was. The plan called for outfitting the ships of the Unikraine Naval Defense Force with long range missile defense systems. A series of shelters were also being built in case Equestria or the other nation decided at one point we were a threat. These shelters are very similar to your stables except larger... much larger. We built three mega shelters in Unikraine, One under Ponyat, one under Coltnihiv, and one under Mareutytj. There were also several other smaller shelters scattered around the country. Anyway when the war started we only had five ships out of the thirty three planned, outfitted with the missile defenses and The Board deployed them immediately.
They never arrived in time, we couldn't stop the first missiles. The Board had everyone even themselves believe that Equestria was far enough away so that the radioactive fallout won't reach us. We have never been more wrong in our lives.
A soon as the border posts' Geiger counters started going crazy The Board ordered the entire country to retreat to the nearest shelter. Their were some that decided not to go into the shelter, believing that it was a test to see how quickly the entire country could go underground.
Most of them died, others met a fate worse than death. I don't even know what happened to the five ships that went out.
The Ponyat shelter was the largest in the country, it was big enough to fit three of the Coltnihiv shelters. To put that into some perspective the Coltnihiv shelter could house about 10 of your stables. Each shelter also had direct communications to the others so when it was time to surface reestablishing society was not going to be difficult.
Over the years the shelters all started cutting off communications, one by one. The Board lost control of the country except for the Ponyat shelter that housed it. That is where I grew up. Whether or not you believe me is entirely up to you, but if there is anything you can learn from the story that you are about to hear let it be this.
War, war never changes, how you fight it, does.
Chapter 1: Ponyat Shelter 1 Bravo
Chapter 1: Ponyat Shelter 1 - Bravo
" Past deeds are always there, waiting to haunt you. However, it is up to you if they do or not."
- LT. Memory, PTSD Ward, Ponyat Naval Medical Facility
--
"Dad I'm bored." I said, well not really said but more whined.
"Well what do you want me to do about it?" He replied with a kind of sarcastic, kind of pissed tone.
Anything but a pop quiz over something we learned in class. "Well why don't you tell me what they taught you about the test you are going to be taking next year?"
Fuck, he went there didn't he.
"Well, it is an acronym for Branch of Service Exam." He looked at me rather unimpressed. "What else?" "It is a test that everyone takes when they turn 16 to see whether or not they join the UDF, UNDF, or UADF." He started looking slightly impressed. "Alright and what is the final thing?" Oh shit... this must be the part where I fell asleep in class. Quick think of something, see if you can't bullshit your way out of this one. "Ummm... It also signifies a pony's coming of age?" I smiled nervously... I sure hope to hell I got that right. "Well, I guess that is kind true as well, but not really the answer I am looking for... you fell asleep in class again didn't you you little bastard."
Fuck...
"Yes sir... I did and I apologize for it."
"Well the third and final answer is, It also dictates what profession you will have when you join the branch you are assigned."
I knew that. I was just having a nervousness induced blank moment. Honestly. "Damn it Circuit Breaker. I knew that class isn't all that exciting for you, but for The Board's sake you need to pay attention. I didn't like class growing up either but I wanted to be an officer in the UDF and to get there I had to force myself to pay attention and learn the material." He said... actually with a caring tone in his voice.
"Yes sir, understood sir."
"Circuit, It is alright to call me dad."
--
"HELLOOOO! CIRCUIT! WAKE UP!"
I groaned and rolled over facing away from the voice. "Go away Amber Glow, I was finally able to get a little shut eye and you had to come and fuck it up." I retorted, hopefully that works and she'll get off my back.
"Circuit"
This time she nudged me a little.
I sighed "When I roll over you are bleeding to death, and I am the only one in this shelter that can patch you up." I said rolling over. She was not bleeding but just sitting there with her large blue eyes, blonde mane and amber colored coat. I rubbed my eyes with my forelegs. "What do you want?"
"The control panels for the lights and doors are broken."
"Isn't there another ET you can bother?"
"Yes, but you are the best one in Bravo Section."
I got up out of my rack, that is what we call a bed by the way, and stood up on my two hind legs. Oh I forgot to tell you about that. During basic training, we are trained to walk bipedal, and it hurts like hell for the first six months. So we both walk over to the console room and I start inspecting the panels "I don't see anything wrong with these panels at all... Are you sure the panels are broken and not the operator? I heard her chuckle a little bit.
"I'm sure the operator isn't broken. Also the panels themselves aren't broken but the item over there in the corner." She said pointing a hoof in that direction. I looked over and saw a radio.
"Really? You woke me up and lied to get me to fix your radio?" I said with some disappointment in my voice
"I figured you wouldn't wake up and fix it if I told you it was my radio." She said as her eyes started to water. Oh come on don't do this to me Amber, seriously. Anything but the waterworks.
"Amber, I would have been more willing to get up and fix your radio than any of these Spell Blade forsaken panels." I am being completely honest about that. I am not lying to get her to stop sobbing. "You are my best friend alright, we were in the same boot camp division. I'll take a look at your radio." I pulled my screwdriver out from my belt, unscrewed the back of the radio, and removed the case. "Well there is your problem. A few wires are loose." I said as I pointed at the four dangling wires.
"I can see why your specialty tag is three spliced wires now." Amber said happily, or was it sarcasm? Hell I don't know I was still tired. Oh and a "specialty tag" is the mark that shows up on a pony's flank after he or she has found something they are particularly good at or they found something that makes them unique. My specialty tag, like Amber said, is three spliced wires. One green, one blue, and one black. You cannot really see the green wire all that well given that it is only a slightly darker color than my coat, but anyway that is beside the point.
Within a few seconds I had those wires plugged back in and the radio started up just in time for the Shelter Broadcasting Network to start their evening report.
"Good evening Ponyat Shelter 1. This is CPO Golden Mic"
"I absolutely love his voice!" Amber exclaimed.
"Don't even think about it Amber, He is a Chief."
"I know that" She snapped. "and besides I am spoken for." Don't remind me
"and this is your evening report. Lieutenant Commander Acoustic Echo has been promoted to the rank of Commander today and is soon going to take command of his own division. Since he is a direct descendant of the famed submarine hunter PO2 Sonar Ping, I am expecting he will do well in his upcoming position. In other news there will be a new joint training exercise with the UDF and UNDF beginning next week. I am not entirely sure why this has come to pass but I guess we will find out soon enough."
"That has been the first time I have ever heard a news report about a junior officer getting promoted." Amber said.
"Same here, although I am more interested in what that training exercise is going to be about? Well since your radio is fixed I am going to go back to my rack and try to catch a half hour of sleep before dinner." Amber got back to work at the consoles as I was leaving the small room to walk back to my berthing. The walk back through the gray concrete passageways is always a drag when you walk alone. This place was just so... gray. Sweet Spell Blade I need a change of scenery. I was glad that the berthing wasn't too far away from Amber's control room otherwise I would have went insane. Although now that I think about it I am probably already there. I made it back to the berthing and crawled back into my rack. Not before hitting my head on the bunk above me. "FUCK!" Wait did I just shout that out loud?
"Still failing at everything aren't you Circuit Breaker?" I heard from behind me. I turned around to see a black stallion with a deep red mane with a crossed sword and rifle as a specialty tag. He was wearing a woodland pattern camouflage uniform with 3 black chevrons on his collar. The name tape on his uniform said Stryker. Damn it, it was Sergeant Shadow Stryker. Out of every other pony in this fucking shelter it had to be this asshole. "What do you want Shadow?"
"That is Sergeant to you asshole!"
Really? I'm the asshole? "What are you even doing in here? Your unit berthing is on the other side of Bravo Section."
"You think I don't know that? I am here to speak to Amber Glow about some important matters."
Important matters my ass. "Well she isn't here. This is a male berthing, go look somewhere else."
"Well judging by how you two are such close friends I figured you would know where to find her."
I really, really want to plug a knife in this shithead's eye. "I don't know where she is, go ask someone else, If you don't mind I would like to return to my rack."
"Sure go ahead and return to your laziness, I'll go look somewhere else. Oh and Circuit?"
"What."
"Don't even think about trying to be closer to Amber than you currently are. You won't like the outcome if you try." He said with an almost sinister tone. Does he view me as a threat to his quote unquote "Conquest".
"Noted, now please leave."
He left the room but his eyes never left mine, I glared at him as he left as well. What was this asshole's problem. Anyway I needed to get a little more sleep, looking at the watch around my left foreleg it read 1722. Shit, chow started in less than ten minutes. Well looks like I am not catching anymore sleep, great just fucking great.
--
Amber stopped me on my way to the galley, she seemed unnaturally happy. "Hey Circuit!" She shouted. "You on your way to the galley?" We resumed the walk.
"Yes I am, oh and Sergeant Fucknuts... I mean Stryker was looking for you."
"Oh come on now, I really don't see why you hate him so much. He is a great guy, and for the record, yes I did see him, He brought me some roses from the shelter's hydroponics facility."
"You can't be serious right now..." I said... out loud... fuck. I didn't know what response I was about to get. I was probably going to get a repeat of the "I really don't see why you hate him so much", but seriously if she just realized that he was a major prick then maybe I wouldn't have to try to protect her so damn much.
"I think I see what is going on here." She stopped and looked at me. Oh this couldn't be good. "I think you're jealous." Yep, I knew she would go there. "You are jealous of Shadow." Did she just call him by his first name? Why is that even a surprise to me? "I think that the reason that YOU don't want me around HIM is because... wait a minute... do you like me?" With those last words it felt like I was run over with a M92 Paladin main battle tank, I actually wished I was.
"Well... I... uh..." Come on Circuit you could think of something.
"I think I got your answer." She said with a smile.
"Yes, I do like you, you are my best friend, however I think you are better off with someone else."
"Like who?" With that kind of tone I could for sure tell that she was expecting to say me. However I couldn't do that because even though I had feelings for her, I just couldn't make the awkward relationship we currently had even more awkward also I was not that fucking cliche.
"Any other pony in this shelter other than Sergeant Assclown." I retorted "Now can we please continue so we don't get the cold leftovers from yesterday?"
"Alright, but don't think we're done talking about this." The tone in her voice made me cringe a little inside. What have I done to deserve this. I honestly believed that this was Spell Blade's way of getting on my flank. The rest of the walk to the galley was so awkward you could see the tension in the air and bite it. There was a bit of "How was your day." here and some "Ehh more of the same." there. Sweet almighty I needed to get to the chow line.
When we arrived the line was already unbelievably long, but not as long as if we were to arrive say... 10 minutes later. So we hopped in the back of the chow line and I swear on Unikraine's survival that we stood there for at least an hour. When we got to the serving station all that was left was shriveled carrots, a few potatoes, and this odd brown patty between two slices of bread that was labeled "hamburger". No one but a select few ever go for it but I felt like having something a little different today. So I ordered it and as the patty was slid on to my tray everyone around me started flashing me a dirty look, even Amber. I just shrugged it off.
Finding a place to sit was just about as painful as waiting in line. As I walked around with my tray for what seemed like forever, I spaced out a bit
--
"Dad I got my test results!"
"Oh did you? Let me see those." My dad grabbed my test results and started to read it, I didn't get what he wanted me to get so I readied myself for the beating I was probably going to receive. "Hmm... Well I half expected this but this is also a surprise. It says here that you're going to be an Electronics Technician in the Unikraine Naval Defense Force."
"You're not mad?" I said with a little disbelief.
"Why would I be? He replied with a sincere tone
"Because I did not get into the officer program of the UDF like you did."
"Circuit, after you fixed the compartment's radio when you were only 10, earning you your specialty tag, I knew you weren't going to be a UDF officer. I am very proud of you. Now get over here and give your old man a hug. I know you're not too old for that shit."
I lunged in and gave him the hug.
--
"Circuit! Over here I saved you a seat." Snapping me back into reality was Amber, and low and behold that seat she saved for me was next to her and you guessed it, Shadow Fucking Stryker. Well this option was better than none because the only seats left open were in the Officer and Senior Enlisted section. Which I cannot sit in by the way. I reluctantly sat down and started to nibble on the burger. By Spell Blades fucking mane this was delicious. I quickly shoveled the rest into my gullet and swallowed. "Damn Circuit I knew you were fucked up, but I didn't know you were that fucked up." Aaaaaaaand my meal was ruined.
"Why do you say that Sarge?" I asked him in the most exaggerated sarcastic tone I could muster
"Do you even know what those burgers are made from?"
"Well, whatever they are made out of it is pretty damn good."
"That is cow meat numbnuts." He glared at me after he finished saying that. So this meat that I just ate used to be a living creature. Why did I not know this sooner? I would have eaten all of them.
"Well then in that case cows are fucking delicious." Again sarcastic.
"Well the casing doesn't fall too far from the rifle." He mumbled, but I still managed to hear it.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I snapped.
"You are just as fucked up as your father." He returned. Alright shit just got real personal.
"You leave him out of this."
"I mean if he raised you most of your life then he must have been the same way."
"What is your problem!"
"All I am saying is that if he was killed by one of his own men than what does that mean for you?"
"THAT'S IT" I screamed as I violently stood up. "I'm gonna kick your ass." He stood up and met me at eye level. We were the same height. Good, that meant it was going to be a fair fight. We just stared at each other in dead silence as the rest of the chow hall quieted down to watch the performance that was me putting this asshole in his place.
"Stop it you two, you don't have to do..." We both cut her off with a simultaneous "Stay out this Amber!". At that point Stryker swung at me with his left and I saw it just in time to duck out of the way but I couldn't avoid the right that came immediately after. I felt a dull burning sensation in my face. The blow connected just below my left eye. I staggered back a little, regained my balance and jumped at him, knocking him over backwards.
"STOP IT!" Amber screamed, however I just ignored her and continued to unleash a fury of punches across his face. I got about a good seven hits in before he managed to buck me off of him. We both scrambled back to our hooves and were about to continue this beat down. All of a sudden both of our heads collided with each other, and we were both pushed down onto a table landing on our backs with a knife at each of our throats. When my vision cleared up I saw a haze gray unicorn with a blue mane wearing a long black coat with two silver oak leaves pinned to each collar. He was also wearing the UNDF gray and black camouflage uniform under the jacket. I could barely read out his name tape it said "Echo." I looked over at Stryker and saw that the knife being held to his throat was the standard issue trench knife, I looked down and saw the one across my throat. It was a black bladed knife with "Sub Hunter" engraved on the blade, I couldn't see the handle due to Commander Echo's hoof clamps but I knew this knife.
"Sergeant Stryker, Seapony Breaker, What in the FUCK do you think you are doing?" He boomed at us.
"Just resolving our differences in the old Unikranian fashion sir." Stryker said. There were a few gurgles in there as well, quite satisfying.
"Is this true Seapony Breaker?" He asked me. "Yes sir." I replied.
"Hmmm... Since you two are so eager to fight, it looks like I have my first two volunteers for my new division." He said with a creepy ass grin on his face.
Fuck
"You two will be at the briefing tomorrow up front with me."
"Yes Sir." We both responded.
"Good, Now finish your meals and get some rest. You have an early day tomorrow. Oh and Seapony Breaker?"
"Yes Sir?" I said, or whimpered... I'm not sure but when a fucking commander dropped a hammer on you, it would make you scared as hell too.
"The burgers, really? You are fucked up."
He pulled the knives away and turned around. "0800 tomorrow morning. I want to see you there at 0745." He then walked off. Everyone around us was still in a daze from the events the just recently took place. Shadow and I didn't speak for the remainder of the meal, and Amber was unusually quiet as well. This shit was really starting to worry me. After I finished eating I took a look at my watch, 1856. Holy shit it was that late already? I took a quick look around the room and saw that almost everyone is gone minus a few ponies here and there. At this point I had two options. One: Walk back to my berthing, get some sleep, and find out how bad I was fucked tomorrow. Two: Take a piece of silverware, preferably this dull ass butter knife, and run it through my neck and end all of this. I took the former.
--
"Recruit Breaker! Get inside the fishbowl!"
"Moving, Petty Officer!" Oh shit I was fucked... no one get's called into the fishbowl unless they fucked up royally. I was so boned.
I ran into the fishbowl to see both of my RDCs sitting around the radio. "Circuit..." That was odd. He called me by my first name. What is going on? "You called me in Petty Officer?"
"You should probably listen to this." He told me as he slid a chair over to me.
"I say again everyone this is PO1 Golden Mic bringing you a shocking news report. Major Static Shock was killed earlier today by one of his own soldiers, Pvt. Cobalt Steel. We do not have any motive behind the assassination because Pvt. Steel killed himself immediately afterward. Condolences to the family of the late Major Shock."
"No..... This...... This isn't happening...."
"I'm so sorry Circuit Breaker, The Major was a good friend of mine."
"He.... he.... he can't be... He was all I had left."
"Nothing I can possibly do can make up for what you have lost today. You are no longer required to stand duty throughout the rest of recruit training."
Both Petty Officers left the room while I sat there and tried to process what happened. There was no way my father was dead. This was a large shelter, there had to be another Major Static Shock.
He just... can't be...
--
OW!
I laid there on the ground while rubbing the back of my head... wait a minute... what did I slip on. When did I get in the shower? I looked at my watch again, 2017. Also when did it get that late? Oh never mind I'm going to drive myself crazier if I think about it. I got out of the shower and made my way to my rack. It seems like I am the only one in the berthing right now, that's nice, maybe I can now get to sleep before the rest of these assholes come in and start snoring. So I crawled into the bitch and got ready for the nightmare that I know I am about to have. Not before setting my alarm clock though, 0500 these guys are going to be pissed. Heh I really didn't care.
--
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME MAGGOT!"
"CIRCUIT BREAKER!"
He was surprised.
"CIRCUIT BREAKER!? ARE YOU MAJOR STATIC SHOCK'S BOY!?"
"YES PETTY OFFICER!" He stepped closer and put a hoof on my shoulder.
"WHEN I AM DONE WITH YOU, YOU WILL EITHER BE A SAILOR OR YOU WILL BE DEAD! UNDERSTOOD!?
"YES PETTY OFFICER!"
He continued to move down the line repeating the usual song and dance of a recruit division commander. When he was done with the rest of them we then moved down a large ass hallway that was decorated with well kept pictures of various ships and sailors from the UNDF. The last picture at the end of the hallway was a picture of a fairly modern ship with the number 91 painted on the front. The inscription below read:
The DDG 91 UNS Spectre going underway to meet up with the rest of DeSron 21 to intercept the highly destructive weapons about to be unleashed by Equestria and the Zebra Empire
I stopped for a little bit to look at it. I don't know why but I just felt sad. A short while later a felt someone stand next to me. I turned and saw a haze gray unicorn with a blue mane wearing a khaki uniform with a set of 2 silver bars pinned to the collar, His specialty tag was what looked like a bat with a few curved lines going around the top of the head. However the strangest thing about it was he was standing on his two hind legs. I don't know how the fuck he did that.
"What can you tell me about this picture son?" He asked me. "Well, it is a picture of a gray steel ship, based on the wording here its name is the UNS Spectre."
"That is correct. However let me tell you a little more about it. The UNS Spectre is an Arniegh Burke class guided missile destroyer, This ship in particular was named after Spectre Hoof, the founder of the UDF Task Force 018. What is happening in this shot right now is the Spectre is just leaving port to go meet up with the other 4 ships outfitted with the anti-ballistic missile laser defense system. You can see it right here on the stern by the missile platforms."
He pointed to what looked like a searchlight near the back of the ship.
"What that does is send out a high energy laser to burn up the missile in mid air."
"WHERE THE HELL IS RECRUIT BREAKER!" I heard from down the hall. Fuck.
"I'm assuming that is you." The gray khaki clad unicorn said to me. I just nodded at him.
Then out of fucking nowhere the angry ogre of a pony was in my face. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS FUCKING HOLY, ARE YOU DOING RECRUIT! ADMIRING THE FUCKING SCENERY! WHY WEREN'T YOU WITH TH-"
"I was giving him a history lesson Petty Officer. Calm down."
The ogre looked towards the khaki wearing pony.
"Yes Lieutenant." He said as he walked off with me in tow.
"Recruit Breaker?"
I turned around.
"Good luck."
--
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
I rolled over to smash the off button of my alarm clock into oblivion. Everyone else in their rack was bitching and moaning for the noise to stop. I decided to hold off on the silencing for just a moment to bask in everyone's discomfort.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Alright I had enough. I shut off the alarm and the only thing I heard afterwards was "About fucking time asshole." I reluctantly climbed out of the warm soft embrace of my bed and stumbled over to my locker. Damn it... what was my locker combination again? Oh wait... it was on a key, I was way too tired for this. I opened my locker and pulled out my uniform and put it on. Same old shit different day, although this was a different day. I had no idea what Commander Echo had in mind for me. Well, it was 0528 so I had time to make it to the galley before I had to be at the briefing. I stepped outside and I didn't even make it 200 feet before.
"Morning Circuit!"
"Oh, hey Amber." What the hell was she doing awake at this hour?
"So what do you think is going to happen today?" She asked.
"I honestly don't have a clue." I returned. I just hoped that it wasn't going to be a transfer to a shit division. " I guess I am going to have to burn that bridge when I get to it."
"Going to the galley?"
"Yep, If I am going to be publicly humiliated I am going to do it with a full stomach."
"You are aware that is doesn't open for another 20 minutes right?" Half the time I have no idea if she is being serious or not.
"Yeah, I know that. That is why I am leaving early to be first in line."
"You don't have to be a prick about it." She snapped.
"I'm not being a prick." I am stating the obvious. "To be quite fair, I am using logic. The only way I am going to get the good food is to be the first in line. To be the first in line, I need to get there before anyone else. Even if that means I have to wait 20 minutes." She just stood there completely dumbfounded, I think I just won that one, which is odd due to the fact that everyone knows that mares usually win an argument. Well they are usually in a relationship, so the fact that she was not my special somepony gave me the upper hand.
"I was being sarcastic." She sighed. "You know, Shadow..."
I tuned out what she said afterward. To be honest I did not want to hear what she had to say about that massive asshole of a pony. Yes I understood that they were dating but that does not mean that every single pony that she talks to has to know about him. Sweet Spell Blade I hoped eventually that I get to kill that motherfucker. Oh look I was already at the entrance of the galley. Either the walk over here was shorter than expected or that I think very fucking slowly. Whatever it may be, time soared by so I checked my watch, 0548. I still had some time left which meant that Amber still had 12 minutes to blabber on about Sergeant Fuckface, "...also what he would sometimes do..." aaaaaaaaand called that shit. "... whenever he tries to kiss me and I don't want to, he gets really mad..." Did I just hear that correctly? I swear by the Board that if she said anything indicating that Stryker was hurting her, I wouldn't know what I would do to him. "... Thanks for listening to my vent Circuit." Well I missed it, looks like your ass kicking is delayed until further notice.
I heard a click, the door to the galley was unlocked.
"Time to eat!" Amber rushed in as soon as said. I did a quick 360 to see if we were the only two around at the time. We were and I still ran across the room to grab my tray, to be extra safe. However when I grabbed my tray it fell to the deck. One of my hoof clamps failed, which is odd due to the fact that these were built to withstand everything from the deserts of Saddle Arabia to the freezing mountains of the Griffon Kingdoms and everything inbe-fucking-tween. Why did this thing fail now? I hoped it was an electrical component because if it was one of the hydraulic lines, I wouldn't be able to fix it.
"AMBER!"
She turned around. "Yes Circuit?"
"Could you grab my food? My hoof clamp is fucked up."
"Your hoof clamp is broken? Stop being silly Circuit, we all know that these things can't break." She waved her hooves around dramatically and then proceeded to smash them against the wall with all her might, which wasn't that much by the way. The clamp still functioned perfectly. "See!"
"Yeah, I do, but do you see this?" I tried to close the clamp but it wouldn't move.
"Are you even trying to close it?" She sarcastically asked me. It was almost pointless trying to show her because they operate on a nerve sensor that detects the minor electrical pulses from a pony's nervous system. Kind of like another extremity.
I sighed, "You know I can't physically show you if the clamp is working or not, but the fact that my tray just slammed to the deck should be an indicator that something is wrong with it. Now can you please grab my food so I can sit down and fix this?"
"Okay!" She set her tray down next to me and walked back up to the line that was now slowly starting to form. With my good hoof clamp I reached down into my tool belt and pulled out the screwdriver. I slowly unscrewed one of the panels from the base of the clamp, it popped off and landed on the table. I sat the screwdriver down then pulled out my flashlight. This had to be the strangest configuration of circuitry that I ever saw. Instead of the complex grouping of wires, it was... simple and organized. Although the strangest thing I noticed wasn't even a component in the clamp, but instead on the panel I removed. The Unikraine Military industries logo that was normally on every piece of equipment we had, was replaced by a different one, a large D.A. with a set of crossed muskets behind it, written underneath was Dorr Armory. I changed my attention from the panel cover to the exposed hole in the clamp. Lo and behold I found my problem, one of the circuit cards were completely fried. Great.
I sat there staring at it some more until I heard a clank right in front of me. Amber had retrieved my food.
"Hey Circuit, what is that?" She said as she pointed into the opening.
"That is a fried circuit card."
"No not that!" She pointed again. "That button right there?"
Wait, button? I peered inside the opening again and there was a small green button labeled B.R.S..
"What does it do?" Amber asked.
"I don't have a clue. Give me my screwdriver." She picked up my screwdriver and passed it off to me. "I guess it's the only way we're gonna find out." Against my better judgement I pushed the button with the end of my screwdriver. There was a bright flash that blinded me for a couple seconds. Fuck... I fried the components even more, now I was never going to be able to fix this damn thing. After my eyes came back from being blasted into oblivion I looked down and saw that not only did I not destroy the delicate electronics inside, but the fried circuit card was perfectly fixed. I attempted to activate the clamp and it functioned like a dream. "Holy shit... I think... I think that button fixed it." but something was still strange. I took a second glance and noticed that there was a glowing number 4 on the button. Instead of tearing myself apart thinking about what it was I screwed the casing back on and began my breakfast.
The meal was mostly quiet and peaceful until I looked down at my watch, 0712. "FUCK!" I shoveled what I could into my mouth and took off out of the galley.
--
I continued to run through the massive maze that was the shelter's Bravo Section. At one point I must have said fuck the bipedal bullshit because I found myself running on all fours. It was always much faster this way. I stopped for a second to check the time again, 0729. Alright I was making good time, there was about 5-10 minutes of distance left to cover. Damn it why did this place have to be so fucking huge. I rounded a few more corners and galloped down the longest fucking hallway I had ever seen. Almost there... just a bit farther. Finally I reached the theater where all of our large scale briefings were held. I took one final look at my watch, 0737, made it.
Immediately I attempted to rear myself up back to the bipedal stance that we were supposed to walk in, but almost instantaneously fell over. "You alright?" I heard from behind me.
Turning around I saw one of the most beautiful mares I had ever laid eyes on. She had a deep red mane with a dark orange at the tips that seemed to blend seamlessly with her mane color that complemented her maroon coat rather well. Her eyes also appeared to match the orange in her mane and don't even get me started on those wings. Wait a minute... wings? I looked again and sure enough she had wings. Hey now, it's not like I haven't seen a pegasus before, I just never saw a pegasus that looked this good. "Here let me help you up." She leaned over and held out her hoof which I instantly grabbed. After pulling me up to my hind legs I thought I was going to fall over again, but by Spell Blade's good wishes, I didn't.
"Yeah, walking bipedal can be a bit difficult for the newly graduated." She said with a giggle. Wait a minute... did she just call me a boot?
"I believe you are mistaken miss..."
"Blazing Storm, Airpony Blazing Storm." the pegasus said with a smile. Ahh, A UADF pegasus. What should have given it away was the solid gray jacket she was wearing with the UADF name tape on it. However I was looking at her, ahem, features.
"Blazing Storm, I am not new to this, I was just a bit tired after running from Galley 1-26 to here."
"I can see that, you look exhausted, why did you run all that way?"
"I had to be here 15 minutes early for the briefing that Commander Echo is giving today. I have been voluntold for his new division. Speaking of which what time is it" I said glancing toward my watch. 0742. "Yeah I should probably get in there."
"Alright, I'll be seeing you around... um... I never got your name."
"Seapony Circuit Breaker."
"Well then Circuit, see you later."
My eyes followed her as she walked away. Her specialty tag was a black cloud with flames coming out of it. And yes, I was looking at her specialty tag this time. I was not being a pervert, but still... No, bad Circuit you have to focus on the days events. With a deep breath I opened the door to the auditorium.
--
"Glad to see that you are on time." I heard from across the room. Commander Echo was up on the stage attempting to hang up a gigantic Unikraine flag. "Now can you do me a favor and HELP ME WITH THIS!" He roared. I never moved so fast in my life, in 10 seconds flat I was up on stage grabbing the other corner of the flag. This had to be the heaviest piece of cloth ever. I linked my end to a hook attached to a bar which in turn was attached to a pulley system. After the Commander was done hooking his end on, he moved over to a series of switches on the wall. One flick of a switch later and the flag was slowly lifted off the ground. "Well, now that that bullshit is taken care of... Where the fuck is Sergeant Stryker?"
I heard the door open and Royal Asshat the Third strutted in. I checked my watch yet again, 0754. "Everyone calm the fuck down, Sergeant Shadow Stryker has arrived." I face-hoofed which ultimately ended up with me stabbing myself in the muzzle with one end of the hoof clamp, however the sheer stupidity of the phrase that that asshole just shouted numbed every portion of my brain. I didn't even feel it.
"Sergeant Stryker, Why are you late?" The gray unicorn asked in a seriously pissed off tone.
"I'm not late sir, you said 0800."
"That is when the briefing started. I wanted you here 15 minutes prior."
"Oh, I must not have heard that part over my ringing ears." He said rubbing the back of his neck with his hoof.
"Whatever. Just get up here and stand at ease, the others will be piling in here shortly."
Stryker hurried up on stage and stood at ease on one side of the flag while I took a position on the other side. About 5 minutes later ponies from all various branches of the military were piling in to the auditorium in a sea of green-brown, gray-black, and solid gray. The woodland camo-clad UDF soldiers all seemed to sit with each other on the left side of the room. All the gray and black camo UNDF sailors all seemed to sit in the middle. Leaving the UADF pegasi airponies to the right. All in all there had to be about 2 - 2.5 thousand in there. Once everyone got settled in their seats Commander Echo came back out carrying a clipboard but he wasn't wearing his black coat. Instead he was wearing his khaki shirt and officer's combination cover, which exposed his specialty tag that was a bat with a few curved lines going around the top of the head. No fucking way...
Everyone quieted down and the Commander began. "Since I have two volunteers already as you can see behind me. I am going to need about 498 more.
"For what!?" I heard coming from the UDF section.
"What is your name and rank soldier?" Commander Echo asked.
"Corporal Brass Case sir!" He responded.
"In that case I am going to need 497 more volunteers!"
"FUCK!" I heard again from the corporal. I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. Echo turned to me and shot me a burning glare that I thought was going to tear the soul right out of my body.
"So we got three down 497 to go."
The room was dead silent for about three minutes. I could hear a soft murmur coming from the audience.
"If I don't start getting volunteers then I am just going to have voluntolds."
The murmurs continued for about another 2 minutes until a hoof shot up from the UNDF section. "I'll volunteer!" I heard a stallion yell.
"Name and rank sailor!"
The stallion stood up. "Petty Officer First Class Cast Aluminum sir!"
"Alright Petty Officer, thank you for volunteering. 496 to go."
Shortly after hooves started going up left and right. Most of them came from the UDF and some from the UNDF. At most there were probably 60 or so from the UADF. Roughly two hours later the Commander had all 500 of his volunteers.
"Thank you all for volunteering. I know I did not enlighten you on what it is you are going to be doing however that is all going to be brought to light soon enough. I'll see you all at the Charlie Section Training Facility tomorrow at 1600."
Wait what exactly was going on? That training ground is for combat training.
"Attention!"
Everyone popped to attention, including Stryker and I.
"See you at 1600 tomorrow. Post"
Footnote:
Circuit Breaker
S.P.E.C.I.A.L:
Strength: 6
Perception: 5
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 4
Intelligence: 7
Agility: 5
Luck: 7
Skills:
Barter: 15
Explosives: 20
Guns: 20
Lockpick: 15
Medicine: 25
Melee Weapons: 20
Repair: 50
Science: 40
Sneak: 17
Speech: 20
Survival: 15
Unarmed: 20
Command: 7 (You're only an E-3 numbnutz, you have NO authority)
