Chapters They had done it. It had all seemed like a long-shot, but it remained all the same, Havoc Squad had taken down the Empire's finest officer, General Rakton. Fittingly, Tanno Vik, the squad demolitions expert, had suggested they all kick back and relax, preferably in a cheap cantina with all the booze and hookers they could want. Of course, squad members Elara Dorne, the squad medic, and Yunn, the squad technical expert, were apposed to this idea. However, they eventually warmed up to the idea when Aric Jorgan, the squad heavy hitter, suggested they simply head to the fleet and cool down at one of the many establishments there. Tanno, of course, was only interested in the booze and women, so it wasn't very hard to convince him. Even the squad's commander, Nathaniel "Nukes" Daft was open to the idea of some rest and relaxation.
After saying their final goodbyes to General Garza, one of the Republic's finest officers, they headed to Havoc Squad's personal starship. The trip to the fleet would take some time, however, as Yunn discovered one of the ship's engines had been damaged in their previous mission. The repair was fairly simple, but would take around an hour. Tanno immediately voiced his displeasure, but seeing no other course went to his quarters to sleep the time off, while Aric went back to his daily routine of fixing, modifying, and tweeking his currently arsenal of blaster weaponry. Elara and Nathaniel found this as the perfect time to be together, as the couple hadn't had any form of time together since destroying an Imperial superweapon months ago.
"Sir, it's been quite the while since we've had some quality time together, would you perhaps.. want to spend this hour with me?" Elara timidly asked. Even though Nathaniel and her were unofficially married, she still felt the need to be timid around him, after all, he was her commanding officer.
"Elara, what did I tell you about the whole "Sir" thing? We've been a couple for months now, you can drop the formality once and a while." Nathaniel said as he walked up to his wife, embracing her for what felt like the first time in months.
"Yes si.... I mean Nathan... it's just a habit of mine." Elara returned Nathaniel's embrace, although it was somewhat lacking seeing as they were both still dressed in their body armor, Nathaniel's being a dark shade of crimson and orange, her's being mostly white, adorned with several yellow stripes. Elara sighed, wearing civilian fatigues was a direct protocol violation most of the times, the Republic couldn't have it's best Spec Ops unit fall to something as silly as an ambush because they could be comfortable for a few hours.
"Don't worry Elara, your habits are one of the reasons I married you, I find it cute." Elara's face had traces of crimson showing after this statement. She remembered back when she had been a snooty officer in a office, doing nothing of value when compared to what she was doing now, in Havoc Squad. The two spent the next hour together, enjoying each others company while Yunn finished the repair. At one point Aric walked in to see the two embracing on a makeshift couch, and left with a knowing smirk adorning his face.
Within the hour, Yunn announced his completion of the repairs with his insect-like voice. Regrettably, Nathaniel got off the couch with his wife and they headed to the cockpit, punching in the coordinates for the route to the Republic Fleet. In mid hyperspace however, something went wrong. It almost seemed as they had stopped in mid jump, and lights began flashing all over the ship. Remaining calm, Nathaniel set the ship's power to minimal, instead of letting it get torn apart by whatever that was beginning to pull them back. Within minutes, they had been pulled out of the warp and saw what had done the task. An Imperial dreadnaught, a monster of a ship. Elara Gasped, noticing the enormous vessel, and they both charged into the crew quarters, assembling the team. When they all stood at attention, Nathaniel began to speak.
"Team... We might not be coming back for this one. I'll admit, it doesn't look good. We're being pulled in by an Imperial tractor beam, and we have no current means of escaping it. I propose, we fight our way into the dreadnaught, find the command center, and force the damn Imps to let our ship go... or we make em." Nathaniel crushed his fist forward, exaggerating his point. They all chanted in unison, ready for battle. The team ran off to gather their armaments, Tanno grabbing every explosive in sight, Aric grabbing his prized assault cannon, Elara taking her medical equipment and her own blaster pistol, M1-4X, the team's assault droid, calibrating his blaster cannon, and Nathaniel himself taking his prototype B-257 Devastator Cannon.
The team set up a killzone that ended up being focused on the ship's ramp, preparing for the inevitable. Soon, they heard the hiss of a lightsaber cutting through metal, a sure sign that they were ripping open the ship's entrance. Just before the door was fully open, Havoc Squad screamed, "For the Republic!" for what could very well be the last time. Nathaniel let loose massive amounts of blaster rounds, instantly killing the idiotic sith cutting through the door, while Tanno, Aric, and M1-4X laid down suppressing fire, Elara taking potshots and any Imperials who dared take their time to aim a careful shot.
Soon, the aggressors had been killed, and the team, lead by M1-4X, charged off the ramp, ready to fire on any Imperials unlucky enough to be in their vicinity. But something was wrong. There were no Imperials to fire upon. Only the bodies of the ones who had tried to crack open their ship laid slain. Suddenly, a loud clapping was heard, and the squad turned to face a holo-emmiter projecting what they assumed to be a sith lord.
"Welcome, Republic dogs, to my little party, hosted just for you. Care for an explanation? Long story short is, not a single one of you will be leaving this station today." The sith lord spoke menacingly, although it had no effect on Havoc Squad, who had killed many sith warriors.
"And, pray tell, how do you plan on doing that, Imperial?" Aric shot back.
"My my, a feisty one we have here. I like that. If only you were on the winning side. As for your question, you'll be finding out in about... Three... Two... One." As soon as the words were finished, a beeping was emitted through the station, loud enough for all to hear.
"Commander. The ship's self-destruct has been activated. This was planned all along, I must go to the command center to deactivate the tractor beam." Yunn said, drawing his vibroblade.
"Are you crazy? You won't make it half way without being blown away by any Imperials still on the ship!" As if on cue, several squads of Imperial soldiers ran out of corridors, most likely heading to the escape pods in hopes of getting off the ship. Havoc squad took cover, and opened fire on the soldiers, bringing many of them down but leaving enough that they were still pinned.
"Commander, I request that I go with the Gand (Yunn's Species) and protect him as he stops the tractor beam, so that the rest of the Republic's greatest defenders may make it off unscathed!" M1-4X said, opening fire and taking blaster bolts to his sturdy torso.
"Yeah, just let the Rust-Bucket go with the bug, so we can get the hell outa' here!" Tanno said, while tossing a thermal detonator directly at an unlucky squad of Imperial soldiers.
"Commander... As much as it pains me, the only way for us to get out of here is for the tractor beam to be disabled, and Yunn is the only one with the knowledge on how to do it." With a heavy sigh, Aric joined in on the conversation.
"She's right commander. There is nothing we can do if we sit here, it's the only way." Finally, the stubborn Havoc commander conceded, simply nodding his head at Yunn before shaking his hand one more time. And with that, they rain off into the belly of the ship, progessively making their way up to the bridge. Before long, M1-4X had cleared a straight path there, and Yunn had followed the entire way. Clearing the last of the Imperials on the bridge, Yunn managed to disable the tractor beam, before looking at M1-4X.
"We have served the Republic well today, Gand, the Imperials won't forget this day." Yunn simply nodded at this, and for the first time in centuries, laid back against the starship window, and closed his eyes for the last time as fire enveloped his form.
"Don't tell me the bug got squashed on the way there!" Yelled out Tanno as he killed several more Imperials with his blaster. Almost to answer him, a robotic voice rushed over the ship, exclaiming; "Tractor beam disabled, warning, warning, self-destruction imminent."
That was enough for Havoc Squad, rushing back onto the ship, Nathaniel immediately plotted a course for the nearest planet, as they took off, a raging fire took over the hangar, just as they flew out. Cheers echoed throughout the ship as it went into hyperdrive, but stopped when they saw. The explosion was reaching them. There was no escape. Elara and Nathaniel laid back against the wall, and shared one last kiss before their ship was surrounded by the hell-storm.
When Nathaniel awoke again, it was not in death, but in the middle of a clearing in a forest it looked, with his ship marking the center, in flames, and that was his last sight before he blacked out.
"Spike... I need you to take a letter to Princess Celestia!" Twilight bellowed as she charged off her balcony towards the small dragon.
"Sheesh Twilight, it can't be that important!" Spike had just gotten his work done for the day, and was looking forward to spending the day with Rarity.
"Spike! Doesn't THAT look important!" Twilight pointed a hoof towards the window, and Spike simply had to take a single glance to realize it was serious. Smoke was rising from the Everfree forest, and a lot of it.
You've gotta be kiddin me
Princess Celestia read over the letter that had been sent to her carefully. Some unidentified source was causing a large amount of smoke to rise from the Everfree forest, and she did not like it one bit. From past experiences, she knew that when something abnormal happened in the forest, it usually meant bad news. To avoid any form of risks, she decided to call upon the Equestrian Guard to scout the area the smoke came from, and report their findings to her. Celestia sighed, it seemed problems were a dime a dozen recently in her lands.
"Oh... fuck... Should of had less rum and more whiskey..." Tanno said, slowly rising from his impact-implied slumber. But something was off. He knew he hadn't been with any form of prostitute last night, seeing as it felt like he was laying on grass, and a smell he knew all too well. An explosion of some sort had occurred nearby, and it wasn't a small one. Forcing his eyes open, he immediately shut them due to the blinding light that was now flooding his irises. Eventually, he managed to open his eyes, and instead of being blinded by a cheap motel light, he stared up at a sun. Several things popped into Tanno's mind at that, most of them being, "Why in the hell am I outside?". Upon taking a bold move and climbing to his feet, he finally took notice of his surroundings.
"Alright.... Burning ship in the corner... In the middle of a forest clearing... and Boss, Aric, and Elara are knocked out. Typical fuckin' morning, of course..." Tanno said sarcastically. Suddenly, the memories came back from the previous night. Tanno almost felt saddened by the Yunn's death, even if he was nothing more than a Gand. Didn't give much of a damn about the M1-4X though, Tanno preferred it when droids went boom, not caused the booms. Tanno then took it upon himself to wake the rest of his crew, starting with the Boss. Upon shaking Boss, he jolted up, commando-like reflexes showing even in his half-awakened state. Upon seeing it was Tanno, he calmed down, and took in his surroundings. Nathaniel wasn't one to "Freak" much, but even his mind faltered slightly as he took in the surroundings he found himself in.
"Tanno, have you found the others?"
"Nope Boss, just woke you up after I got up myself."
"Search the area, try and find our gear and the rest of the team."
"Sure, Boss, whatever ya say." At this, the two set out. Within a few minutes of searching, Nathaniel had found his prized devastator cannon. Praising whatever deity had blessed him this day, he grabbed his cannon and continued his search. Before long, Tanno found Aric, but not just Aric. He seemed to be fighting with something of legend, as Tanno had seen and heard about dozens of species, but had never seen a lion-scorpion. Grabbing the assault rifle that was thankfully still hooked on his back. Firing and putting several rounds into the beast, it dropped, and Aric fell breathing heavily.
"Hey, Aric, havin' some fun with the natives?" Tanno said as he grabbed Aric's assault cannon that had been carelessly tossed to the side, presumably in the fight.
"Yeah, tons of fun, you should try it out sometime Tanno." Aric said, still panting heavy, but otherwise unscathed besides scratches on his armor. "Let's head back to the ship, I was heading there myself before that... thing... pounced me."
"Fine, but let's hope Boss found his little spouse, we I don't wanna be within a mile of em if he can't find her." They both nodded their heads in agreement, and walked over to the crash site. Upon arrival, they knew something was up, as Nathaniel was pushing down fiercely on Dorne's chest, and what looked like blood was slowly forming beneath her. At this, Tanno and Aric sprinted towards Nathaniel, who immediately asked for any health kits they might have on them. Aric tossed over the ones he always kept handy, and Nathaniel began to apply it to the injured area.
"Goddamnit Dorne stay with me! That's a fucking order!" Nathaniel wailed, applying copious amounts of the first aid needles to her injured tissues. Dorne began to cough, but it was obvious she didn't have the strength to talk, and shortly blacked out. Nathaniel sighed heavily, and walked over to his squadmates.
"Tanno, you stay here and watch Dorne. Aric, you're with me, we're off to find some food." They both saluted, Tanno's being more of a mock one at best, and headed back over to the ship. Nathaniel grabbed his devastator cannon, Aric taking his cannon as well.
"Sir, we killed some form of native creature, and the meat looks suitable. We can probably haul it over here and get a fire going long enough to cook it."
"Understood, let's get a move on Jorgan."
As the two headed off, Tanno laid back on the grass. He didn't have much to worry about, so he closed his eyes, and dozed back off within a few minutes. What he didn't realize, however, was that something was closing in on them, and quickly.
"I still don't see why Celestia wouldn't let us come ourselves, like seriously, we ARE the elements of harmony, we can totally handle whatever the world throws at us!" Rainbow Dash spoke out, causing Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, but not Pinkie Pie to preform a facehoof.
"I just hope whatever it is isn't... scary..." Fluttershy said, immediately looking smaller than she probably should have.
"Don't worry sugarcube, we'll have this done in a jiffy." Applejack said, taking her friend by the hoof and pushing her along forward.
"Oh this dirt is simply DREADFUL, look, it's getting all over my hooves!" Rarity Shrieked, voicing her displeasure to the ponies around her, including the Royal Guard who had been sent accompany them.
"Don't worry Ma'am, we'll have the problem solved in no time, that's what we're here for." Voiced one of the guards.
"Yeah Rarity, and think, maybe it's something new! I could take notes on it!" Twilight exclaimed, clopping her hooves together, showing her excitement. Most of the others simply rolled their eyes, at least until they hit the clearing in front of them. All of their mouths lowered in shock, and noticed a form that seemed to be injured lying in the grass. It looked like a form of Ape, but it seemed as if it was covered in a kind of material that glimmered in the sun. One of the guards moved forward to examine it, but the second it put a hoof on the creature's chest it wailed in pain, apparently injured in that area.
"Oh no! It's hurt! Don't worry, we'll get you all nice and bette..." Fluttershy's voice was cut off as a combat knife dug itself inches away into the ground by the guard pony. Looking over, they saw the most intimidating figure probably in Equestrian history besides Dragons themselves. Another one of the ape-creatures, standing at almost eight feet tall and holding a form of device pointed right at them.
"Don't. Fucking. Touch her."
The ponies mouths hung open at this, not only were the creatures dangerous looking, but it could talk?
"This is going to be one long letter to Celestia..." Said Twilight, clearly intimidated by the creature in front of her.
And then there was silence. No one spoke or moved a muscle. They couldn't see the creature's helmet, but it was obvious enough that it was angry. The other two strange species began to talk to each other. Something the ponies found very disturbing. They could speak Equestrian, and they were fluent at it. Just how long had creatures like these been under the nose of the very sun goddess? Eventually, the creature which seemed to be armed began to move forward, and the royal guards drew their swords, taking up a defensive position. But instead of charging them, like they expected, it went to it's fallen comrade. The first thing it did was place two of its appendages on the top of its hands at the base of the fallen creature's neck. Seemingly satisfied with what he discovered, he brought his hand back up and cleared his throat.
"We're both hella confused right now. I never thought I'd see the day that I found horses that were Unicorns and Pegasi, let alone be dressed up in armor. My friend here needs medical attention, and I need a reason not to let loose a volley of blaster fire down on your heads. So here's what I'm thinkin'. You get my friend to a hospital, let me watch over her, and I don't fire. Sounds like a good deal, no?" When the creature finished, Twilight almost began to bounce around. The creature was going to do this peacefully, and that meant she could study it! The things that she could ask such a being... But unfortunately her thoughts were caught up when a certain fiery-tempered pegasus and stubborn orange mare stepped up.
"Now just who do yah think ya are, demandin' that we should heal ya! I've got half the mind to buck yah right now!" Roared Applejack, clearly angry at the monster's demands.
"Yeah! Why should we have to help you out with anything! You're the one threatening us right now! Why I oughta..." A smirk crossed Rainbow Dash's lips. She quickly broke out into max speed, heading directly towards the creature. The royal guards smiled, perhaps they wouldn't have to restrain this one after all. But their smiles immediately turned to looks of horror and confusion as the creature let a single blast fire from his device instantly downing the pegasus, who promptly crashed nearby.
"Why you! You're askin' for it now buddy!" Applejack too, decided to charge, ending with the same results. The ponies in the group gasped heartily, this creature had just taken down two elements of harmony with little to no effort! Just as they were about to run, charge, or fly in anger, sadness, or grief the monster help up one of its fingers.
"Since you're thinkin' it, no, they're not dead, I hit em with concussion rounds. They won't be able to move for an hour or two at the most. Now, what about that hospital then?" Without a second thought, the remaining elements of harmony rushed to their friends, checking if his story was true. Sure enough, Rainbow Dash's and Applejack's eyes were still open, albeit open with fury, but open none the less and scanning the area. The royal guard picked up the wounded creature on their backs, and formed a formation along the group. Pleased enough, Nathaniel went forward with the group, but not without tension. He had his weapon ready at all times.
"Havoc squad, let's move it, Elara needs us." Wordlessly, Jorgan and Tanno followed Nathaniel, as they traversed the thick forest. There was no talking along the way, with Rainbow Dash being levitated by Twilight and Rarity and Applejack being carried by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie looked on the verge of screaming, but couldn't as it might provoke the monsters to do the same to her and her friends that they had done to Applejack and Rainbow. When they finally broke the brush, they all took a long breath of air. It was the cleanest Havoc squad had taken in for a while. Looking around, their new surrounding was an outlaying town, small enough to not be considered a city but large enough regardless. Havoc squad was astounded by this. Horses and managed to make a civilization? And how many more of these towns were laid across the landscape? Questions that were ignored when Pinkie Pie randomly blurted out that they were ponies, not horses, and that this was the town of Ponyville. Heading through the town, ponies everywhere gawked and the creatures that were being escorted through. Mothers covered their children's eyes, not because of the strange creatures, but because of the one that was bleeding profusely from some angles. When they finally reached Ponyville Hospital, the medical staff rushed to get the creature to first aid, regardless of the previous transgressions. After warning them what would be their punishment if she was harmed in anyway, Havoc squad took a seat in the lobby, still being watched by the guards.
"I don't like this Captain. We're just allowing these creatures to be in a room with professional doctors? What if they try and pull something!" The Captain merely rolled his eyes.
"Private, if you pull something they'll just put you down like they did with those two elements. He used little to no actual energy in firing those projectiles, and he'll easily be able to do it again." Just as the private was about to speak again, a large amount of commotion was heard from the operating room.
"Nurse! Get me the paddles stat! Something's wrong, her heart rate is skyrocketing!" Before anyone in the lobby could react, a white mare with a light pink mane charged out of the room, quickly grabbing paddles and running back in.
"Clear!" Nothing happened, the heart rate began to flatline...
"CLEAR!" Still nothing, the monotone "Beeepppp...." began to fill the room.
"CLEAR!!" And still nothing. Several more attempts were tried, but nothing proved to be successful. Nathaniel began to grow angry. He picked up his weapon and blasted down the locked door the doctors in front of him. The sight in front of him almost stopped his pace. In front of him on the bed laid Elara, her suit previously removed and now exposed her bare front. Blood from several, various holes could be seen. One of her ribs was even poking out of the side. Nathaniel immediately burst from the room, aiming his gun at the private who had pressed down on her.
"You... YOU did this! We had her stabilized, and because of you it broke what little resistance she had left!" The sound of the gun charging normal rounds could be heard from the room. Aric and Tanno didn't intervene, but simply watched. Nathaniel was still their CO, and they were intent to go with whatever he was planning.
Twilight, about ready to begin her questioning, came into the room with a frightened royal guard cowering from the monster, who looked to be charging the device in his hands.
Twilight Facehoofed, she wasn't going to get anywhere anytime soon today..
Author's Notes: Sorry it's been so long guys, I've just been really busy, might take me a long time to pump out another chapter as well. This chapter also might not be up to par, I've always been pretty bad when it comes to talking between groups, so I hope I did alright! As always, criticism is welcome below!
