Fortitude Amicitia

Chapters

XCOM and Its Allies
The Ranger and The Monk
The Thief and The Doctor
The Inventor and The Captain
The Dusk Guard

XCOM and Its Allies

What have we gotten ourselves into? Captain Steel Song couldn’t help but ask himself for the fifth time in as many days as he continued to immerse himself in every scrap of information he could get on the conflict that the Dusk Guard found themselves involved in.

It had been just over a week since Shining Armor and Star Shot, Steel’s counterparts in the Royal Guard and Night Guard respectively had been summoned by the recently crowned Princess Twilight to the memoratorium chamber. As neither Star Shot nor Steel had been properly introduced to the new royalty, they had simply assumed the gathering was for that reason, though the choice of meeting place was odd. While introductions were made by Princess Celestia and Luna, what they did not expect was the impassioned plea from the newest princess about the plight of the 'humans' that she had spent the last two months with. The memoratorium was filled with her memories as she spoke about the friends she had made there as well as the horrors that they were fighting; horrors that she herself had fought.

The princesses had maintained their stoic expressions throughout the entire presentation, no doubt through centuries worth of practice. Star Shot's reaction was subtle, but her clenched jaw and wide eyes betrayed much of what she was feeling. Shining Armor showed just as little, though the mask cracked when he embraced his sister at the end of her request. That was all Twilight had: a request that the Guard be mobilized to assist. With the Royal Guard being under Celestia's command, the Night Guard under Luna and the Dusk Guard jointly under both, the newest princess had little in the way of authority over them.

Such authority wasn't necessary. Shining Armor had immediately agreed, as had Star Shot and Steel Song.

Contact and formal agreements had been made with the humans, more specifically a division of the human guard that identified itself as 'XCOM'. At first the distinction hadn't seemed to matter to the captain until he had immersed himself in the mountains of information they had been provided. Much like Equus, each nation on the world maintained its own standing army to protect itself and its interests, and while several multi-national organizations were created with the expressed objective of presenting a united front against any threat, these were often bogged down by bureaucracy and more often than not heavily supplied by a mere hooffull of nations as opposed to the dozens who were officially members.

XCOM, however, was something that Steel Song both respected and feared. The organization was created to combat threats from outside their world, and was not publicly supported or endorsed by any nation that they protected. On the one hoof, this freed them from the crushing bureaucracy of oversight and approval from those nations, but on the other hoof they were an armed organization that launched operations around their world without any permission given. Song's brief conversation with Commander David Bradford had done much to alleviate his concerns about potential misuse of this extraordinary organization, but when asked about the 'Council' that had originally created XCOM he had evaded the subject.

To Steel Song, who was so used to a completely transparent and accessible chain of command, not knowing exactly who was above Bradford was something that bothered him greatly. But like any good captain, he didn't speak ill of this arrangement. Steel's research had shown that XCOM had thus far been the most effective force in fighting the monsters that were attacking their world, so he bit down on his complaints and resumed his research.

A three-tone chime issued from the door to Steel's office and he lifted a hoof to tap a button on his desk. The door opened a moment later and a tan coated pegasus in casual uniform cantered in before shutting the door behind him. “Have a seat, Hunter. How are the others adjusting?”

Hunter looked around the mostly barren office before trotted over to Steel's desk and gave the hard metal chair a glare before hopping up into it. “Is it bad for me to miss your office back home already? This place feels so... cold.”

“It's summer outside and it's nearly eighty degrees in here.”

“You know what I mean,” Hunter brought his attention back to Steel. “This place just doesn't have any personality to it, and the metal walls make me think of a prison cell.”

“From what I understand, the humans didn't spend as much time with the surface buildings as most of their work takes place underground to maintain secrecy. They're taking quite a risk allowing us to occupy the buildings on the surface; I expect it's a rare concession to any comfort but it's a welcome one,” Steel explained as he pushed his research material aside and turning to address Hunter directly. “And you still haven't answered my question, Lieutenant.” As Steel finished his statement he pulled the pendant and necklace around his head and set it on his desk. The translation pendants are convenient, but if the humans have a way of hearing our conversation I’d rather not share too much of my thoughts with them.

The mention of rank made Hunter straighten up just a bit and clear his throat as he removed his own translation pendant. “Dawn's currently down in the Medical wing running tests on healing spells as well as familiarizing herself with the humans' medical equipment to make sure that we don't accidentally kill each other trying to render first aid. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for her report into the specifics but the humans don't seem to have much in the way of healing in the field beyond bandages and pain killers. If anyone gets seriously hurt it'll be up to Dawn to keep us alive long enough to get back here.”

“Understood, continue.”

“Sky Bolt's about ready to lose her mind over all the technology the humans have. She apparently found her way into one of the testing centers in the base to--”

“She was trespassing?” Steel interrupted with a sigh as he brought up one hoof to rub his temple, “We've been here less than a week. If we're going to help the humans at all they have to trust us and they won't do that if we barge into places they don't want us.”

“Understood, though I don't think it will be a problem again.” When Steel raised an inquisitive eyebrow, Hunter continued, “The area she got into is where the humans apparently test their golems and she had a bit of an episode.” Steel's wince was all the confirmation Hunter needed that the point had been made. “Things may have worked out in the end though, the chief engineer was present and was able to calm her down. He helped me escort her back to the upper levels where he set her up with one of the 'computer' things like what you've got there. She's been splitting her time between researching everything she can access in it and upgrading our helmets to share information with the humans.”

“What's the status on that?” Steel asked before adding, “And did you get a chance to see the golems? I'm afraid I haven't gotten to their more recent developments...”

“Basic information is now shared between our helmets and the humans, friend and enemy tagging as well as radio communication too. I heard it's something like the minotaurs cooked up recently. You can talk to anyone who also has a radio that's dialed in apparently,” Hunter looked down and to the side as he approached the other question. “Regarding their golems, I didn't get to see much other than they're big and loud. Weapons are similar to the other humans except for scale. The few targets I was able to see at the firing range were in various states of rubble. Apparently they're using Princess Twilight's petrified monsters for target practice.”

“They let you into a testing area? That's surprising considering how zealously they've guarded most of their restricted areas. Wait, Bolt got into there, didn't she?” Again the hoof rose to Steel's temple. “When she makes her report about the helmets, tell her to give it to me personally. She may have learned her lesson, but I want to be sure.”

“Understood. And speaking of zealously guarding secrets, I asked the chief engineer how the golems were controlled, and he rather poorly tried to dodge the question. I’m afraid I don’t have a clue but the process isn’t very pleasant.” When Steel again raised an eyebrow, Hunter could only shrug.

The pegasus cleared his throat and continued. “Sabra's adjusting quite well. He's asked his question of several of the humans and got various answers, though from what I understand he's down in the mess still talking with a couple of them about it. Kang? Chang? Zhang... Zhang, that's it. The one with the scars. The other one looks like a bear, though I didn't catch his name.”

Steel glanced to his own notes on the humans he had met so far before nodding. “And Nova? Of all the Dusk Guard I had assumed he would be the most likely cause for trouble.”

“Nova Beam was last seen in the company of one of the soldiers from our last drill. The short one.”

Steel again glanced at his notes. It's been less than a week but it feels embarassing that I don't have the names down yet. “That would be Major... Fujikawa?” He asked while enunciating every syllable in the name.

“No no, the other short one. With the metal arm? Silly grin? Apparently she's a bit of a practical joker which might explain why they're getting along so well.” Hunter explained.

“Perhaps you should have Nova report to me also...”

Hunter's face broke out into a grin. “Way ahead of you boss. I actually warned Captain Harris about the potential mischief they would get into and he was surprisingly accepting of it. He said so long as their jokes don't affect base security or the health of base personnel the policy is to let things slide. Apparently it's good for morale.”

Steel took a moment to process that bit of information before nodding. “Be sure to inform Nova that if he conspires with this person to perpetrate pranks, the same rules apply here as back home. If he's caught with black or white paint, or photography equipment, he's going to be assigned to kitchen patrol until the end of time. Make sure he knows the humans eat meat, too.”

“Duly noted,” Hunter said with the smallest of smirks, and Steel had no doubts that his second in command was taking just a brief moment to relive the aftermath of that particular prank. “Well, as for me, no issues, though my weather control is all out of whack. I don't think I'll be able to manage precision lightning strikes but with the Mark III armor I should be able to stay in my usual form and I suspect the others will be too if the recent exercises are any indication.” Hunter took a moment to run a hoof along the collar of his uniform. “I am feeling a rash of insubordination coming on about these uniforms. I know we have to wear them because of the culture clash with the humans to make them comfortable, but what about our comfort? Or more specifically my comfort?”

Steel chuckled at the expected complaint. “Would you prefer having conversations with the humans without the clothes? You read the cultural primer and you know what their culture associates with a lack of clothes. If it makes you feel any better, when Princess Twilight got the cultural primer she apparently turned red as a tomato and couldn't speak in coherent sentences for an hour. She didn't have a scrap of clothing the entire time she was here.”

“If she can get away with it, then why can't I?” Hunter asked petulantly before throwing his hooves up in surrender when Steel fixed him with a flat stare. “How are you doing, boss? I know you put on the strong front, but how are you really doing?”

How am I doing? Steel couldn't help but ask himself as he leaned forward and took a moment to collect his thoughts. “These people scare me, Hunter. I see a lot of what makes us great in them, but I also see what they've become because of what they don't have.” He looked up to see Hunter was again sitting straight up and all joviality in his expression was gone. “We've had Celestia watching over us for over a thousand years. She's watched over our development culturally as well as technologically and she's kept an eye on the other nations of the world as well. This has kept our technology from reaching the level of the humans but Equestrian culture has stayed mostly positive and harmonious for a significant amount of time.”

“I can sense a ‘but’ coming,” Hunter stated as much as asked when the moment of pause dragged on.

“Do you remember how Bolt is when she's working on the Hummingbird? And how long it's taken our culture to make airships?” Steel asked, and when Hunter nodded he continued. “These humans created their first flying vehicle just over a century ago. Now they have airships capable of flying higher than the eye can see that can carry enough conventional explosives to destroy every square inch of land from Canterlot to Ponyville. They invented cannons less than a thousand years ago and now they're effective enough to hit a target the size of my house in Canterville from beyond the horizon. And that’s their technology from over thirty years ago. Celestia knows what they’ve come up with since then.”

“I thought the humans had some form of higher power to answer to,” Hunter asked as he briefly closed his eyes. “The cultural primer mentioned several gods that influence their lives. Certainly--”

Steel shook his head slowly which stopped Hunter mid sentence. “They are nothing like Celestia or Luna or even Discord. From what I can tell they exert their influence through a series of texts that are thousands of years old, and don’t care to correct their followers when they stray from their teachings. Almost every one of those gods also tries to assert that he is the only one that is real, and their followers frequently do barbaric things to each other in the name of their chosen god.

“The one thing, the only thing that consistently brings the humans together is a perceived threat. The last great war on this world was started by a man who’s rhetoric about a particular group of humans convinced his country that they would be doomed if they didn’t strike at them. He and his friends killed millions before they were stopped, Hunter.” Steel paused to emphasize his point, and Hunter’s wide-eyed expression was confirmation that the number had registered with the Pegasus. “If it weren’t for the monsters that are attacking the humans now, I would fear for Equestria and Equus as a whole if they became aware of us.”

“Why’s that?” Hunter whispered the question, as though he was afraid of the answer.

“Then we would be the perceived threat.”

Nearly a minute passed as the two simply sat and digested the conversation before Hunter finally spoke. “Boss, do you know the difference between a pony and a herd?”

The question gave the captain pause and he leaned forward in his chair. “I suspect the difference is more than numbers?”

“Yep. A pony is an intelligent creature. It can be reasoned with, and most ponies are inherently good folks. They’ll do the right thing when the time comes because it’s in their nature,” Hunter explained. “A herd of ponies, however, is a panicky and mindless monster that’s liable to stampede for the slightest excuse. I think these humans are the same, though they might not admit it. Each one is a rational individual but when put in a group they surrender just a little bit of their free will to it. Someone with a proper amount of charisma could turn the mindless mob into a monster capable of just about anything.”

“That’s rather insightful of you.” Steel said, though he arched an eyebrow as Hunter raised one hoof to interrupt him.

“Your own description of us fits into this analogy. We’ve become an inherently good culture because Celestia is also good. But before her there was the Unicorn Council, and before that was Queen Solaria. You might not know this but a few years back one of my ranger contacts let me in on what’s probably the discovery of the century. They found the abandoned ruins from Solaria’s time, and the archaeologists that got there were able to identify it as one of the late queen’s dungeons. Do you know what they found inside?” Hunter asked as he looked Steel in the eye.

“Bones of prisoners?” The captain stated as much as asked.

“Statues. Over ten thousand petrified ponies, with their list of crimes etched into their bodies. Further analysis showed that the etchings were cut into the ponies before they were petrified. Some of those crimes were as simple as ‘gazing upon the queen without permission.’ My point is, well, it’s just something else we have in common with the humans. They have their heroes and monsters just as we do, and the monsters don’t always look like something that grew up in Everfree,” Hunter finished before hopping down from his chair and grabbed his translation pendant with one hoof. “I’ll admit what you’ve found is cause for concern, but we have some of our own skeletons in the closet, so to speak. I should probably head back out to make sure Nova’s not getting into too much trouble. We know what he can do, but the human might be a bad influence on him. Anything else, boss?”

Steel couldn’t help but chuckle before he spoke. “Just one thing, Hunter. You were right, I hadn’t heard anything about that dig site, and I would have suspected such a find would have made the papers in some form. Do you know what happened?”

“Princess Celestia shut them down,” Hunter answered, and he continued when he recognized disbelief on his superior’s face. “The moment word of the discovery reached her; she offered the researchers posh teaching positions in the schools that she manages for an extremely limited time. Most of the researchers jumped at the opportunity, and the ones that were left couldn’t get the funding or interest to continue their dig. One of them even had the backbone to ask her during the Day Court why she gutted the expedition using such means. She told him, ‘past sins should stay buried and forgotten’ before the Royal Guard escorted him out.”

“Thanks, Hunter,” Steel said sincerely as he felt a bit of the building tension in the back of his mind disappear. “I guess I just needed some perspective. Don’t forget to remind Nova of the rules. If the princesses can make Twilight into an immortal alicorn then I’m pretty sure I can convince them to do the same to Nova.”

“Kitchen patrol. Forever!” Hunter laughed as he headed to the door. He had almost made it before one of the communicators on Steel’s desk buzzed.

The captain slipped his pendant back on and tapped one of the buttons on the desktop communicator with a hoof. “Captain Steel Song here, go ahead.”

“Captain, Dusk Guard has the green light,” Shining Armor’s voice reported crisply and both Steel and Hunter straightened. “Armor up and report for deployment in ten minutes. You will be briefed in the air. Good luck, Steel.”

Six helmets of various colors, but similar styles all sat neatly in a row beside Sky Bolt. The cluttered remains of several radios peppered the rest of the table’s surface, though the Pegasus didn’t pay them any attention. Her gaze was locked firmly on the computer screen as she tried to gorge herself on the mountains of information the humans had provided.

Joining the Dusk Guard had been a means to an end in the beginning, a way to fund her true passion. Sky Bolt’s ambitious mind had seen the creation of the airships, the Dusk Guard’s armor as well as several other inventions that would leave her hoofprint in Equestrian history for hundreds of years. Should she choose to she could live the rest of her life off of the royalties and profits that her inventions had born without lifting a hoof to ever work again, not that she intended to. She was Dusk Guard now, to her core.

And as she looked at the humans’ achievements, she felt… humble.

Looking back on their history, there’s a slow and steady progression, but then they just seemed to jump ahead, Bolt thought as she tapped the touch screen with a hoof to start a video of one of the humans' airships in action. In her eyes it was just a bit ugly, all edges and flat surfaces and looked about as aerodynamic as a brick with wings. Despite its lack of aesthetics, it still lifted off the ground easily and then shot off like an arrow and disappeared into the distance before turning and flying past the camera at full speed.

In her mind’s eye, she imagined the Hummingbird, her pride and joy, getting passed by the human airship as though it wasn’t even moving at all.

Challenge accepted, Bolt said to herself before closing the video and pulling up everything she could find about the human’s aircraft. Part of her mind, her pride, rebelled at the thought of making breakthroughs with her own inventions by standing upon the already proven methods the humans had used. An even bigger part of her mind, her curiosity, won out.

Her research was interrupted by a hoof gently tapping her on the back, which startled her enough to almost fall out of her chair. She whipped around and was immediately greeted with an apologetic-looking Sabra.

“Samahani. I did not mean to startle you, Sky Bolt,” The Zebra said before looking over to the helmets on display on the table. “Did you finish your work on the helmets?

“Helmets? Uh… yes?” Bolt floundered before she followed Sabra’s gaze and to the table. “Oh, yes! I’ve finished the modifications and additions to allow the helmets to talk with the humans helmets and electronics. Friend and foe ID is shared, and they are now capable of radio communication as well! I also worked with one of the engineers to work with the humans targeting systems as well. Since they rely almost exclusively on ranged weapons while you, Steel and Hunter like to get a bit closer, your helmet will warn you if you’re near an area the humans are targeting nearby you by pinging the enemy they’re shooting at.”

“Very impressive,” Sabra said as he walked over to look down at his black and white Mark III helmet. “Is there any change in the weight?”

“Nope!” Bolt answered before amending it, “Well, not that you’d notice. The only addition to the helmets in terms of hardware was the radio bits, and the humans have managed to miniaturize it to a surprising degree. I was able to further cut down the weight by removing the humans standard electronic power supply and rigging a converter so it will draw magic similar to the armor mods and never run out.”

Sabra nodded and picked the helmet up in his hooves and turned it over to inspect the interior. Unlike the Royal Guard and Night Guard helmets, which were simple beaten metal with a few enchantments for durability or comfort and had open faces, the Dusk Guard helmets were a cut above in virtually every measurement. Formed from a complex lattice of crystal layers, the Dusk Guard armor plates and helmets boasted unprecedented levels of magical resistance. The under-suit that the plates were attached to also enhanced the strength of the wearer more than enough to allow the wearer to move as though they were wearing no armor at all.

The most obvious difference from the armor of the conventional forces was the appearance. Unlike the identical armor that the Royal and Night Guards, which were used to reinforce uniformity and organization, each of the Dusk Guard’s armor suits mirrored the pony that would be wearing them.

“Hunter informed me that there was some… trouble earlier. Is everything alright, Sky?” Sabra asked as he looked back at the Pegasus.

A human strapped to a table screaming against the restraints. A half dozen observers doing nothing to help. The body goes limp and the massive metal golem beside it starts to rise. A shadow falls over her, followed by a harsh metallic voice. “YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE.”

“Fine! Everything’s fine!” Bolt answered perhaps too quickly as she mentally kicked herself for allowing herself to be so easily distracted by a computer. Should I tell Sabra what I saw? She asked herself before waffling. What was really happening back at that lab? If I raise a fuss over a misunderstanding then it’ll just cause more problems than I already have. “Everything’s perfectly fine!” Bolt stated again before deciding to change the subject. “How was your conversation with Mister Zhang? You and he were talking for almost an hour. I take it his answer to your question wasn’t a simple one?”

“Indeed, it was not,” Sabra answered after a brief moment and a smile.

Not willing to let the change of subject go, Bolt asked, “What was his answer, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Purpose,” Sabra closed his eyes in thought. “That was his answer. All creatures are given life in the world and can maintain it by meeting its body’s needs, but finding one’s purpose and fulfilling it allows them to live as few dare to dream.”

“That’s… well, I gotta say that’s impressive,” Bolt said truthfully as she recalled the scarred and somewhat aloof human.

“Wisdom is born from experience, and Zhang has experienced much,” The Zebra opened his eyes and nodded. “He came across this piece of wisdom when he felt he had lost his own purpose and found himself down a dark path. I apologize that I cannot explain further as it is not my story to tell. He did express a small amount of envy over the marks we earn, though he was very… what is the word? Indirect?”

I suppose we’re lucky that way. We come to realize our strengths and earn our cutie marks because of them, but what do the humans get? I suppose it does make a world of difference when somepo—somebody finds their purpose in life and is able to use it, Bolt thought as her eyes drifted to the cutie marks on the neatly stacked armor to the mark on Sabra’s flank.

The door to Bolt’s workshop whooshed open and Steel Song galloped in, followed shortly by the rest of the Dusk Guard. “Specialists,” The earth pony captain said with a brisk nod to both before heading to his armor. “We’ve got a mission. Is the armor ready?”

Both the Pegasus and the Zebra straightened upon being addressed by rank, and Bolt had to suppress a blush as she realized she had been staring at Sabra’s flank. “Yes sir! I’ve also tested the hard points for the undersuit with the weapons the humans send over to us, and it will work with the modified foreleg armor for most of us. I’m afraid I couldn’t get it to work with your gauntlets without significant changes, and I don’t know enough about the human weapons to safely try that. I also figured you didn’t want me to tinker with your gauntlets without approval…”

“That’s fine, I’ll make do with the shockwave mod,” Steel nodded as he removed his uniform and donned the armor undersuit. The armor plates followed next, which attached to the undersuit to cover his vital areas and limbs, followed by the helmet. The foreleg gauntlets stood out from the rest of the armor, being made of more conventional steel than the crystal lattice of the rest of his armor as well as showing significantly greater wear through hard use despite impeccable maintenance.

The rest of the Dusk Guard equipped their armor just as quickly. Hunter’s was a mix of Mark II and III armor, and his chosen weapons were a pair of retractable claws on his foreleg armor as well as a ranged weapon the humans had called a ‘plasma pistol’ attached to his right foreleg. Nova Beam had chosen to pass on melee and ranged weapons in favor of relying on his magic and other tricks. Dawn Triage had originally refused the use of any weapons, but chose a plasma pistol in the end after the first briefing about what they might face in the field. Sabra (who Bolt tried and mostly failed not to eye as he put on his armor) had politely declined the offered weapons in favor of his fimbo staff. This had earned some odd looks from the humans, which the Zebra had either not noticed or ignored.

As for Sky Bolt, her weighted wrench was stowed within easy reach in one of the pouches on her armor, but she intended to use the plasma pistol she was given. Like Dawn, the Pegasus hadn’t intended to use anything she wasn’t already familiar with until she had seen some of the recordings of what they would be fighting. Steel is a master of such fighting skill that even the Griffons recognized it, Hunter can easily strike and retreat with impunity and I almost pity any enemy that came within striking distance of Sabra. But me and my wrench? Bolt asked herself and she suppressed a sigh and double checked the hardpoint connections to the plasma pistol as her thoughts drifted back to her earlier conversation with the Zebra. With the human emphasis on ranged fighting it might be better to adapt and let the masters handle the close fighting.

“Radio check,” Bolt heard Steel say through the tiny human electronics in her helmet as she slipped it on. The enchanted visor activated as soon as the helmet was secure and began to display information about her surroundings which included floating tags above the other Dusk Guard marking them as friendly. “Radio check, acknowledge.” Steel asked again, and the captain’s tag pinged as he spoke. A chorus of return messages was heard and all the corresponding tags pinged.

“Radio’s looking good, sir. All green,” Bolt reported.

“Good. Form up on me. We’ll be briefed in the air,” Steel ordered as he galloped back out of the room with the rest of the Dusk Guard not far behind. Pony volunteers from both the Royal and Night Guard made way for Steel’s group as they galloped to the base’s hangar access. The hangar was bustling with human technicians that swarmed around the aircraft that sat in the center. Idling engines filled the cavernous chamber with a dull roar that drowned out anything that might have been said but one of the humans standing at the ramp at the back of the aircraft waved them forward.

“Captain Song? Sergeant Eversman,” the human shouted to announce himself as he walked up the ramp. “I’m crew chief of King Fisher. We’ll be delivering you and Strike Two to the mission area then overwatch for the duration. Do you have any questions?”

“Not at this time, just the mission details,” Steel answered as he took his seat on the right side of the passenger bay. Sabra and Dawn took their seats beside the captain, while Nova, Hunter and Bolt filed into the seats on the left.

“No questions? Good, cause then I might be worried,” Eversman chuckled as he secured the safety restraints around the captain and those beside him before turning to the others. “Mission details are sent to us by Bradford mid-flight. I don’t know the specifics but Interceptors were scrambled earlier and scuttlebutt has it that they took down a scout. We’ll know more once we’re near the mission site. So, ever flown in the Skyrangers before?” the question was asked as the human turned to the left side.

“No, sir. Just airships back home,” Bolt answered as she felt the restraints come down on her.

“That so? Well, what King Fisher lacks in comforts it more than makes up for in speed and power. We’ll get you there, keep you covered and get you home. All you have to do is put up with the prima donnas in the cockpit and you’re fine.”

“I heard that, Eversman,” a disembodied voice said over the radio.

Any further banter was cut off as four more humans walked up the ramp and into the passenger compartment. Unlike Eversman, who was wearing cloth fatigues and an armored vest, the new arrivals were clad in heavy plate armor. Flat deflective surfaces covered their chests while curved plates covered the shoulders and thighs and armored gauntlets and boots completed the armor. All four had a weapon slung over their right shoulder and a helmet in their left hand, though the last in the group had a few noteworthy differences.

The last in the group was half a head taller than the rest of the humans and a prominent brow and strong jawline that translated into grim features even for Equestrians, which was completely at odds with the bright smile that appeared once he caught sight of the other passengers in the cabin. The armor and gauntlet on his left arm was also stripped down and replaced with a different type of glove and a bundle of cables that ran up his shoulders and into his armor. A purple stripe and starburst emblem also adorned his right arm.

“Aha, Dusk Guard!” The last man in the line laughed. “It’s Yuri, from last exercise! Heard this mission was going to be little fish, so it makes sense for this to be first mission for you, yes?” Yuri asked as he took his seat beside Sky Bolt. The Pegasus had just enough time to wonder if her translator wasn’t working quite right before he started talking again. “Introductions! Yuri Romalov you know, this is Captain Uther, Sergeant Briand, Corporal Roland.”

The three other humans ran the gamut of emotions that Sky Bolt had seen when first meeting the humans. Captain Uther was tight-lipped and avoided looking at the Dusk Guard, Sergeant Briand had a dazed look on her face, and Corporal Roland had broad grin on his face to rival Yuri’s. Before anything else could be said, Yuri made the last introduction.

“Ah, and here comes Beowulf.”

The clank of metal feet on the ramp caused Bolt’s heart to skip, and she turned to see one of the human golems stomping up the ramp. Unlike the matte black armor that most of the humans wore, the golem was painted in vivid red with black and white highlights. A massive triple-barreled weapon rested in its metal hands while a belt feed wrapped from the weapon to a drum on its back. Human lettering was scattered all across the golem but the most noticeable ones were the letters ‘B-E-O-W-U-L-F’ stenciled across its chest and ‘O-L-D” “I-R-O-N” across its left fist along with three neat rows of stylized alien heads beside it. Its head was armored and with a gold visor like the other humans, and it looked at each of the Equestrians before finally settling on Sky Bolt.

“YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE.”

“Bolt, are you alright?” Dawn’s voice was quiet in the pegasus’s ear, and it took her a moment to realize that she had opened up a private radio channel to ask the question.

“Yes, ma’am. One hundred percent,” Sky Bolt answered as she forced herself to look straight forward and ignore the golem that was still staring at her. She took a long breath before letting it out again. “Thanks for asking though.”

“Fischer, Eversman. We’re secure back here and ready for transit,” The crew chief said as he finished strapping in the last of the humans and stepping past the golem to the ramp controls. The ramp slowly rose and the bustling hangar was eclipsed as it locked into place.

The Ranger and The Monk

It hadn’t taken long for Hunter to decide that he liked Yuri, though coming to that conclusion had been an odd journey.

As the Skyranger had taken off and zoomed to wherever they were headed, the human had tried to make conversation with the Dusk Guard by asking about Twilight Sparkle. At first Hunter was put off at the question, having first come to the conclusion that the loud and apparently over-friendly human was asking about Equestria’s newest princess purely to gossip. When Yuri had revealed that he had the opportunity to train in his skills briefly with her while she was on Earth, that judgement shifted to that of a blowhard dropping names to garner favor by association.

But then Hunter had seen it, a flicker of genuine concern buried deeply beneath the forced smiles. Corporal Roland, who had also remained silent through most of the trip but couldn’t stop stealing glances at the Dusk guard, had also asked if she had recovered from her injuries. Yuri had then commented on the regrettable nature of Twilight’s injury but had been cut off from any further comments by a hissed command by Captain Uther.

Guilt had flashed on all the humans faces then, and Hunter made a mental note to ask Yuri some questions as to just what had happened to Twilight. Any further small talk was cut off when the monitor at the front of the crew cabin turned on and Bradford appeared and began the briefing without preamble.

“Interceptors shot down a small scout just outside an urban center, and movement has been confirmed on site. Crew sizes for a ship of this size are no less than four and no more than eight though injuries or deaths from the crash may reduce that number. Sectoids and Floaters are the anticipated opposition, as well as at least one Outsider.” Pictures of the indicated aliens appeared in the display, not that they were necessary. Steel had drilled the Dusk Guard repeatedly on the potential enemies they might encounter in any given situation. “Captain Song, you are in provisional command of this operation. Captain Uther will be providing support if necessary though if the situation deteriorates then he will assume command. This operation will be to test the viability of join operations between our organizations but if you feel there’s a chance that the mission will fail, fall back and the aircraft will sanitize the site.”

“Understood, sir,” Steel nodded to the monitor.

“Very good. Interceptors also report civilians in the area, so check your targets before--”

When Bradford’s instructions halted midsentence, Hunter wondered if the connection had been lost. That suspicion was dashed when he saw the commander’s eyes widen and his mouth slowly close. The humans at the end of the crew cabin had also gone completely still to stare at the monitor. Whatever’s happening, it can’t be good, Hunter thought before lamenting the lack of wood to knock on.

“King Fisher, be advised your mission has changed. New coordinates are being sent to you now and I need you there now,” Bradford said quickly, and Hunter could feel the airship turning for a new heading. “Strike Two, multiple terror missions are going to take place and you will be needed to mount a defense. Any organized resistance you can coordinate on the ground will have to hold until I can get reinforcements to you. Local law enforcement and national guard will be present. Expected opposition will be alien ships, Sectoids, Mechtoids, Floaters, Thin Men, Chryssalids and Sectopods. Captain Song, I’m transferring command to Captain Uther as of now.”

Any rankled feelings Hunter might have had at having command reassigned so abruptly was quashed by the rising certainty that things were going terribly wrong. Shouts and alert claxons could now be heard through Bradford’s link to the Skyranger.

“Sir…” Uther started to ask a question but Bradford cut him off.

“Unknown, captain. The attacks are worldwide and we’re looking at eighty percent deployment. As soon as reinforcements become available you’re first on my list. Good luck, Strike Two. Command out.” The monitor clicked and went dark, and the humans in the crew compartment let out a collectively held breath.

“Volunteer for the easy mission, they said,” Roland groused as he loaded his laser rifle and pistol before double checking the pouches around his waist and legs. “You’ll just be observing, they said. The ponies will do most of the work, they said.”

“Stow that shit, corporal. I don’t need your whining, especially before a terror operation.” Uther snapped as he loaded his ‘lance’ rifle.

“What’s a ‘terror operation’, sir? I don’t ever remember the term being used during any of our briefings or training,” Hunter asked, and was rewarded with a tight-lipped expression that the pegasus recognized as tightly controlled fear.

“Terror operations are indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations. Local law enforcement doesn’t have the training or gear to defend against such an attack. National Guard has the numbers but they can’t deploy as fast as we can. Usually comes down to us to hold the line until they can get there,” Sergeant Briand explained before pulling out a small golden cross from a fine chain around her neck and closed her eyes.

Nova spoke next as he asked, “Why attack civilians? It seems…” The unicorn struggled for the right word before finishing, “… wasteful.”

Uther, Roland and Briand were silent as they donned their helmets. Like their armor, the majority of the helmets were pitch black and non-reflective though the visors were a brilliant gold. The one exception was Yuri, who forced a smile as he provided the answer. “Two theories for terror operations. One, attacks on civilians undermines confidence in leaders and spreads chaos. Two, aliens know we are only ones who can stop them and they know attacks on civilians forces us to expose ourselves in defense.”

“Which do you think is right?” Hunter asked as Yuri checked his weapons and picked up his helmet in his hands.

The grin Yuri gave him did nothing to ease Hunter. “Both,” was the answer before the Russian’s face disappeared underneath his helmet. Unlike the other humans, his helmet was almost completely black tinted glass and sported a ghoulish depiction of a skull where his face would be. “Do not worry though. We do this for living. Everything will be fine,” Yuri continued, this time through his helmet radio.

“Cut the chatter and sound off,” Uther snapped, and each of the humans then the Dusk Guard followed suit. Several minutes of tense silence passed before another voice came through the radio.

“Strike Two, King Fisher. We’re thirty seconds from lima zulu. It’s an elevated parking structure that looks clear of enemies, but thermal scopes can pick up a lot of movement on the streets and weapons fire through the rest of the city. Once you’re on the ground we’ll do what we can to establish enemy positions.” The disembodied voice of the pilot reported through the radio.

“Solid copy, King Fisher. Any luck contacting the local Guard units?” Uther asked.

“Long range radio communications are a mess at the moment but we’ll keep trying. King Fisher, out.”

The door at the front of the crew cabin opened and Sergeant Eversman stepped out and made his way to the back of the cabin beside the golem. “Ten seconds to showtime, ladies and gentlemen! We’re going to be on the ground for less than ten seconds so don’t drag your feet on the way out. If the devil himself is waiting for you at the bottom of the ramp, you knock him down and use him for cover, alright?” The crew chief hit the ramp controls before pounding a fist on the golem’s shoulder. “Beowulf, you’re up!”

The armored head nodded and the golem stepped back… and off the ramp. It disappeared from sight but a faint crunch of cracking stone could be heard even over the roar of the airship’s engines. The straps for their seats released and they all rose as one just as the smooth stone surface of the parking structure rushed up to the ramp.

“We’re down! Go go go!” Eversman shouted and the humans sprinted down the ramp with their weapons raised, followed closely by the Dusk Guard. As the humans and Dusk Guard took cover Hunter looked back to see the airship already taking off into the night’s sky.

“Strike Two, King Fisher. We are assuming overwatch now. We’re picking up a small pocket of police holding out—" The airship pilot’s report was quickly aborted as a bright orange line of fire sliced through the night and cut cleanly through its right wing. The engine at the base of the wing exploded brilliantly and the airship tumbled from the sky. “King Fisher, we’re hit! Right wing, right VTOL is gone! We can’t—BRACE!” The last word came through the radio as a scream that abruptly cut out as the stricken airship disappeared behind the buildings in the distance.

“Command, Strike Two Actual,” Uther said through the radio, and nothing but silence came back to him. “Command Actual, respond. Shit. Radio with command is down, our signals went through King Fisher. Okay… okay. We need eyes in the sky. If there are survivors at the crash site I am not going to leave them to the tender mercies of the aliens.” The human captain finished before looking to Hunter then Sky Bolt, then finally to Steel Song.

“Hunter, get some altitude and check the airship crash site, and keep an eye out for enemies or whatever shot them out of the sky,” Steel ordered briskly, and Hunter had already spread his wings and leapt into the air as he finished.

“On it,” Hunter said as he flew into the evening sky. The city sprawled out in every direction and as far as he could see, with mostly four and five story buildings that were occasionally punctuated by parking lots or lonely collections of trees. King Fisher’s trail was painfully easy to follow even in low light. The airship had clipped the roof of one building, crashed into the side of another before coming to a stop on its side at an intersection.

“I see the crash site but no sign of the shooter. The crash site is approximately six blocks west of your position. I’m not seeing any… scratch that. Movement at the crash site!” Hunter said as he saw the airship’s ramp fall open and two figures staggered out, and his helmet visor quickly marked them with blue circles. “I have two survivors and they’re marked on the HUD.”

When a quartet of yellow diamonds appeared at the corner of his vision, Hunter turned and spotted four figures worming their way through the wreckage littering the street towards the Skyranger. Two were carrying rifles and wore black armor from head to toe with the human lettering ‘S-W-A-T’ stenciled on them. The third and fourth wore uniforms with words too small for the Pegasus to make out from the air but golden badges on their chests were easily recognizable. “Four civilians are making their way to the crash site, looks like police. What do you want me to do?”

“Continue observation and relay their position if they take cover in a nearby building. We’ll need to link up with them and the survivors as soon as possible.” Uther replied.

“Understood. I first spotted them leaving a large brick building with a pointed tower and cross on top. It should be visible from our landing zone.” Hunter reported as he eyed the building in question. His eyes were torn away from the structure when his visor updated with a quartet of red triangles that crested over a nearby building followed by several more running along the rooftops. “Captain, I have Floaters and Thin Men making for the crash site! They’ll be on the survivors and the police in ten seconds. Permission to engage?”

A brief moment of silence passed before the answer came. “Green light! Delay or divert them as long as you can, we’re double timing to your position. Good luck.”

Hunter rolled over through the air and tucked his wings in as he dove towards the Floaters. Like the pictures he had seen during the briefings, Hunter could easily make out the twin rocket engines mounted into their shoulders and torso. Further details resolved themselves as the distance disappeared, such as the mutilated nature of what little flesh remained in the creatures and the glowing green plasma rifles they held in their hands.

The first Floater died before it realized it was under attack. The enchanted claws from both of Hunter’s forehooves connected solidly with the back of the monster’s neck, and its corpse was launched unceremoniously downward as the Pegasus brought his rear hooves down to kick off and change direction. The second Floater turned to acquire the target that was attacking them and was rewarded with a set of claws that drove straight through its face and into its skull. Hunter’s other foreleg pointed his plasma pistol at the third and downed it with a single shot.

A quick kick sent the second Floater’s corpse flying as the Pegasus turned to engage the last one, only to collide in mid-air as it charged him. Incoherent screaming from the Floater filled Hunter’s ears as he struggled to disengage from it. The floater’s metal claws scraped across his crystal armor even as the pair struggled and tumbled through the air. A small degree of panic took hold in Hunter’s mind as he registered the claws finally finding purchase around his helmet. Both rear hooves found solid connections with the Floater’s torso and a kick finally send the pair apart. The Floater careened through the third story window of a nearby building with Hunter’s helmet still in one claw.

The Pegasus let out a war cry and charged after the Floater as it righted itself and raised its plasma rifle. Hunter was quicker though and the claws from both of his hooves sank to the hilt in the monster’s face and neck. The pair’s momentum carried them into the far wall where Hunter pinned it and brought his hooves down twice more on the Floater’s skull. The screaming finally stopped and the Floater’s engines died and Hunter stepped back to let the corpse fall to the floor.

“…now and at the hour of our death, Amen.”

Hunter whipped around and brought his forelegs up defensively even as he spread his wings to dodge whatever horror that was going to attack next, but stopped once his mind caught up with his adrenaline fuelled reflexes.

Two humans cowered beneath what Hunter realized was likely their kitchen table, a mother and child holding each other tightly while looking at him in terror. Further details became clearer about his surroundings such as the family pictures on the walls as well as the worn and well used furniture. The final detail Hunter noticed was his helmet sitting on the kitchen floor. He dropped down from his defensive stance and took one step towards it.

“Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee…” The mother started as she held the child close to her, though her speech fell apart into sobbing Hunter took another step towards his helmet. She brought one hand up to cover the child’s face even as she tried to shield the rest of his body.

Hunter slowly reached out and scooped his helmet up before stepping back into the other room. “Sorry, ma’am,” He said quietly before securing the helmet and backing out of the room entirely before turning and leaping out the window and back into the chaos of the battle outside.

“Green light! Delay or divert them as long as you can, we’re double timing to your position. Good luck.” Uther shouted through the radio as Strike Two and the Dusk Guard made it to the bottom level of the parking structure. “Crash site is six blocks west of us, so we should… oh fuck me.”

Sabra pulled up short as he caught sight of what had elicited the expletive from the captain. The street and the sidewalks beside them were completely blocked with crashed and burning vehicles, which created an impassible barricade of twisted metal and fire between them and their objective. That could be… problematic, the Zebra thought to himself.

“Okay, new plan! Beowulf, you’ll advance along the rooftops to the crash site, we’ll find another way around,” Uther said as he looked both left and right to try and find some way around the destruction.

The golem had nothing to fear from fire and metal proved no hindrance as it stomped its way across the vehicle graveyard before leaping two stories into the air on a column of fire and smoke to reach the top of the building.

“Sabra, help the golem. We’re useless just waiting here,” Steel added, and he acknowledged the order with a nod before picking his way through the wreckage with an acrobat’s grace before activating his strength mod and leaping up to the second story after the golem. A fast gallop brought him alongside the war machine despite its impressive gate of speed.

The pair wordlessly traversed the buildings until the Sabra heard the crackle of human weapons fire in the distance as well as seeing the occasional bolt of plasma go flying into the air. The golem held up a fist as they approached the edge of the three story building they currently stood on. The golem’s legs folded and it lost a third of its height as it approached the edge. Sabra followed and looked over the edge.

A pack of human-like creatures were clustered on the building next door, one story shorter but overlooking the crash site. Slicked hair, glasses and business suits couldn’t hide the blatant wrongness of them though, and the plasma rifles in their hands all but confirmed their allegiance even as they fired on the humans that were retreating down the street.

“They’ll scatter as soon as I start shooting,” the golem explained as it hunched further down behind the edge of the building. “I can take at least two before they scatter or run for cover. I’ll take my shots then drop down to engage. Can you flank them and flush them out of cover?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Good. And don’t chase them. If they start running I’ll gun them down and you do not want to be in their general vicinity if that happens.” The golem turned to look over the edge again before rising to its full height and bringing the massive weapon to bear. “Go now.”

Without a moment’s hesitation Sabra leapt over the edge and fell to the lower level. A quick flick of his hooves brought his fimbo to bear, and with a soft click it extended to its full length. As the building came rushing up to meet him, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

The crackle of fire was all around him, and he filtered that distraction out. The popping of the human rifles ahead of him was a good point of reference as to where they were, but not important at this point. What was important was the slow whine of the golem’s weapon as it spooled up, and the roar of plasma weapons ahead of him. His keen ears pinpointed no less than seven distinct shooters spread out along the roof, including the ones that weren’t visible from his previous vantage point on the other building. The zebra gave a silent blessing for the skills he possessed, and the surety of his purpose here.

“What is life?” Zhang repeated the question that Sabra had posed to him. He leaned back in his chair and considered for several minutes before finally answering. “Purpose. There’s a significant number of human beings who are born, live their lives and then die without a purpose they believe in. They often struggle with this deficiency in their lives until the very end. Some try to fill this void with vices and are often consumed in their pursuit. Others try and forget the void’s existence by trying to convince themselves it isn’t there with work or family. A precious few, however, find their purpose in life, and it is they who truly live.”

“Samahani, I do not mean to argue, but many of my people find their work and their families very fulfilling.” Sabra replied.

Zhang’s response was to close his eyes and run a finger along the network of scars on his face. “I did not mean to say that work or families can’t be fulfilling, just that some try to use those as a substitute for what they could be doing or what they should be doing. We humans often have to experiment for years before finding something that truly fulfils us. I was once a part of an organization much like your Dusk Guard, where I helped protect the people of my nation from those who would harm them. I learned many skills during my time there.”

Sabra took a moment to consider before asking, “So the skills you have define your purpose?”

“No, skills do not define purpose,” Zhang didn’t hesitate a moment to give his answer. “When I was forced to leave my previous position I lost my purpose but retained my skills, and my skills are in very high demand for those with dark intentions. I killed. I stole. I committed crimes against the very people I swore to protect because I had lost my purpose. I consider myself fortunate to have found a second chance at my purpose here. Skills can make you more successful at your purpose but for some it is merely a happy side effect. My father enjoys gardening more than anything in his life but he is rather terrible at it.” The human finished his explanation with a smile and a laugh before growing quiet again. “Purpose is many things, but it often comes down to being where you should be and knowing you should be there.”

“You have given me much to think about. Thank you for your time.”Sabra bowed and took his leave of the human while pondering just how his own purpose had changed since joining the Dusk Guard.

Sabra was at many times many things. Friend, scholar, warrior. He was also blessed with being aware of the purposes he fulfilled in his life. At that moment, only one purpose mattered. He more than capable of pursuing it now.

BRRRRRRR!

The golem’s weapon spat fire and death as Sabra’s hooves connected with the building below, and in the blink of an eye he galloped towards the collection of Thin Men. One of the aliens outside of Sabra’s line of sight evaporated as the golem’s attack connected while the rest turned to address the new threat. As the golem predicted they scattered to hide behind the various objects that littered the rooftop even as a second one fell to the golem’s weapon.

Even as Sabra closed in on the first of the hiding aliens he heard the golem step off from its perch to descend to the lower rooftop, and he heard the rooftop give way under the golem’s weight as it landed. He even heard the golem shout, “Oh come on!” as it disappeared into the building beneath his hooves. Anything else the golem might have done, Sabra filtered out of his hearing as it was no longer relevant. What was relevant was his first target.

The Thin Man rose to its full height as Sabra rounded the corner and closed to within striking distance. The plasma rifle hummed as it gathered lethal amounts of energy to hurl at the Zebra before his fimbo lashed out and knocked it high into the air. The Thin Man snarled and swung a closed fist, which Sabra easily met with his own armored hoof. The crackle of bones filled the air as the two connected, followed by the snap of its arm breaking as Sabra brought his fimbo under the now outstretched limb. Even as the monster recoiled from the injuries it had suffered, Sabra set the fimbo beneath him and rose up to plant a spinning hoof across its head. He paid his first enemy no more thought as the momentum of his kick carried it over the building’s edge to fall to its death.

The Zebra went into a spinning leap to evade the burning bolts of plasma from the second and third targets, and as he landed he lashed out with his staff at the still humming plasma rifle that was finally descending down to earth. It connected with a plasma bolt just as it left one of the enemy’s weapons and exploded with a thunder clap. Both screeched horribly and went silent, and Sabra again gave thanks for the fortuitous if unexpected development as he leapt over their corpses.

The fourth alien rose from cover to fire at Sabra but missed as he zig-zagged his way across the rooftop. In what it probably thought was a clever move, the Thin Man side-stepped to keep its cover between it and Sabra. The cover itself was a large block of metal and machinery that would have no doubt impeded most close range attackers. Unfortunately for the Thin Man, Sabra was not most close range attackers.

Sabra swung his fimbo like a scythe mere inches above the top of his enemy’s cover, and the Thin Man bent impossibly backwards to avoid the strike. The zebra had anticipated the dodge and allowed the momentum of the swing to spin him around and in position to plant a strength modded kick into the cover itself. The metal and machinery flew out of its housing and nearly caught the alien as it continued its dodge. The alien’s backward movement turned into a hand stand then a leap upwards as it pushed off the rooftop to successfully evade Sabra’s follow-up attack.

Samahani, Sabra apologized silently, but you cannot dodge while in the air. The zebra’s staff continued its circuit as he rotated and slapped the Thin Man squarely in the torso and sent it flying to its death on the street below. Only one remaining now. Sabra set his hooves and turned to pursue the last of his enemies, when a curious sound came to his ears.

Ping!

For the first time since the fight started, Sabra opened his eyes. The retreating form of the last of the Thin Men was marked with a red triangle, and above the triangle was the word, ‘Warning!’ The nature of the warning became apparent when the familiar whine and roar of the golem’s weapon reached his ears, and the rooftop around the Thin Man exploded.

“I am reading no active targets on my HUD,” The golem reported through the radio. “I don’t have an easy way of getting back to the rooftop so I’ll be heading down to street level. Do you have eyes on any enemies up there?”

“No, I do not,” Sabra answered as he scanned the skies and the neighboring rooftops. He caught sight of Hunter taking flight again as well as several yellow markers indicating the humans on the street. The Zebra craned his neck to follow the humans as they retreated but immediately ducked down when several shots came his way. “The crash survivors appear to have been recovered by the other humans. Perhaps we should report our success?”

Before any further discussion could be had, the distinct bass thump of the weapon that destroyed the airship echoed through the city, followed by the radio flooding with new reports.

“Captain Uther is down!” “Scatter! SCATTER!”

The Thief and The Doctor

Never thought part of my duties in the Dusk Guard would involve garbage removal, Nova thought wryly as he telekinetically shoved another burning hulk out of the way to allow the humans and Dusk Guard to pass. The group had been forced to go to one of the corners of the parking structure to find a section of road that hadn't been completely covered with the fused and tangled wreckage of human vehicles. Nova had offered to simply blast them out of their way or use his ice beam to create something passable for them but Steel had vetoed the suggestion.

The path he had created was narrow and would likely have been quite unbearable with the proximity of the flames nearby, but the group was able to slither through and into one of the relatively clear alleyways.

The tension slowly began to rise as the group filed through the alleyways without a single enemy spotted. Reports from Sabra and the golem tickled his ears, and Nova couldn't help but look to the rooftops for any potential enemies descending from above. The formation came to a halt as the alleyways terminated at a large four-lane street that was miraculously uncongested save for a few burned-out hulks scattered along the roadway.

“It's a long run to the other side of the street and I don't want us all out in the open. Mel, Will, you're on point.” Captain Uther said, and the humans who had been introduced as 'Briand' and 'Roland' nodded nodded. “When they reach the other side of the street, they'll cover Steel and Dawn. Once Steel and Dawn are across, I'll follow with Nova. Bolt, Yuri, you two are tail position.”

“Da, Captain,” Yuri nodded, Nova couldn't help but note Sky Bolt fidgeting with her plasma pistol. Once she noticed the attention she stopped and assumed a watchful stance.

Nova couldn't resist the dire expectation of raining plasma fire or some other mishap from befalling the two humans as they leap-frogged their way across the street. The predictions proved to be incorrect as the humans reached the other side without so much as a shot fired. The two took positions at the mouth of the alleyway on the next block before giving a quick signal for Steel and Dawn

The pair shadowed the humans steps as they crossed the street and again there was no reaction from the city. As though any further tension was needed, Steel turned and looked back into the street after he was safely in the alley. “Be advised, there's something big out there. I can feel its footfalls in my hooves.”

Just as the captain finished his warning, Nova heard what was likely the source of that warning: A rhythmic sound of metal striking stone, followed by what sounded like a collision and metal being torn asunder. You just had to say it, didn't you? Nova dearly wanted to snark through the radio, but it was now his and Captain Uther's turn to cross the expanse. Every galloping step that Nova took, he could swear the sounds were getting closer until the pair had reached a destroyed wreck in the center of the road.

Both Uther and Nova turned instinctively as a flicker of motion could be seen amongst the wreckage at the far end of the street. A bass hum reached Nova's ears but before he could comprehend the significance the human Captain planted a solid kick in the Unicorn's barrel to send him stumbling a few body lengths away. Nova turned to ask just what the attack was for but Uther cut him off.

“SCATTER!” Uther screamed before disappearing in a flash of crimson light.

Nova's reaction time with his spells was extremely sharp due to the action he had faced plus the hellish training that the Dusk Guard had put him through. Less than a quarter second after the crimson light appeared, his strongest shield spell flickered into focus around him. Despite the protection, his visor polarized into almost complete opacity and he felt the heat of the attack through his armor and the shield. The visor slowly returned visibility to reveal a molten trough cut through the street that had completely vaporized the cover that Captain Uther had taken cover behind. Of the captain, all that remained as a single melted boot and the faint smell of ashes.

And at the far end of the street, Nova caught sight of the attacker. Sectopod. The alien golem looked like a nightmarish metal toad as it stomped forward. A hooffull of black-eyed gray aliens swarmed around it like pilot fish around a shark.

Nova didn’t hesitate for a moment as he faced the golem and fired his signature beam spell. A column of pure freezing energy lanced out of his horn and crossed the distance with blinding speed... only to impact against a second golem that stepped into the line of fire. The beam collided with a flickering shield around the second golem and ricocheted and scythed through the smaller aliens, freezing them solid. As the beam faded both the Sectopod and other golem, the Mechtoid, charged at the Unicorn while paying no heed to the Sectoids that were shattered in their charge.

The radio exploded with shouts and reports as both the humans and Dusk Guard opened fire on this new threat but Nova paid them little attention. What did demand his attention was the fact that he was now in what was essentially a flat plain with no means of protecting himself from a direct hit from a Sectopod. He needed a better position.

In his mad rush to find cover, he spotted a rope dangling from what appeared to be construction scaffolding just inside an alleyway nearby. Nova ran straight for it and did his best to ignore the torrent of plasma fire that sizzled nearby him. He ascended the rope almost as quickly as most Equestrians could run along the ground. Once safely on the roof of the building, made his way to the edge of the building and peeked over the edge to get a fix on his target's position.

He caught sight of the monstrous metal toad but before he could form his beam spell from his new vantage point, a turret atop it whipped to face him and began to shower his position in plasma. Nova ducked down and began to inch away from the rooftop's edge until he caught sight of several missiles streaking upwards from the Sectopod. “That's not even fair!” Nova groused as he turned and ran.

Okay. So attack from the front and the sides is out. Same for above. So what now? Think, Nova, think. No defense is impenetrable.

Nova received his answer as he caught sight of the destroyed street, and he vowed to thank whatever human god held jurisdiction over luck.

“Oh shit, the captain's gone. He's gone.” “Confirmed Sectopod, four Mechtoids, too damn many Sectoids.” “Missiles incoming! Scatter! SCATTER!” “Reloading!” “Where's Yuri?” “Fall back, fire and movement!”

The next few minutes were simply a blur for Dawn as they ran through the alleys, between buildings and wrecked vehicles. She hadn't gotten a good look at what had attacked them, but she did see the demise of Captain Uther. One moment the human had been there and the next there was nothing. The healer in her had cried out at such...instantaneous and total loss of life, but the rapid retreat from the scene gave her little time to dwell on it

Briand kicked open a door and waved for those following her to go inside. The door opened up into a darkened hallway illuminated with just the light from the doorway before that vanished as the door closed behind them. For nearly a minute all eyes and weapons were on the door and the only sound was their own labored breathing.

“I think we lost them. Do either of you have problems with low light?” Briand asked as she glanced to Steel and Dawn. Both shook their heads so she continued. “We should probably look for another way out.”

“Where's Sky Bolt? And Nova?” Dawn asked as the group slowly filed into the darkened building.

“The pegasus is with Yuri still so they should be safe,” Roland answered. “As for the unicorn... sorry, your guess is as good as mine. They--” Any further speculation was interrupted by an explosion in the alley that rattled the door they had just passed through. “Okay, talk later, move now. If we exit out the other side of the building we should be on track again.”

The group filed further into the darkness with Briand in the lead and Roland in the tail position. The gloom was absolute, and Dawn thanked Celestia for Sky Bolt’s hard work on their helmets. The visors amplified the no light conditions to enough that she could see bits of broken glass and trinkets that the humans apparently discarded when the attack began as well as what looked like a bloody drag mark leading from the hallway into one of the side rooms. Briand and Steel had just passed the doorway when Dawn came parallel to it before stopping. A pain-filled moan came from the other side of the door and the unicorn immediately turned and peaked past the ajar door and into the room.

Just on the other side of the door was a charnel house. Human bodies littered the floor in various states of mutilation and their blood covered the floor like a morbid lake. Sun above… Dawn said silently as she caught sight of a male human limping along the far wall and leaving a bloody trail along it as he leaned against the wall for support.

“Captain! There’s a survivor!” Dawn finally spoke as she pushed the door fully open and galloped inside while being mindful of the bodies along the way. Do not focus on the tragedies you cannot fix. Focus on the lives you can save, she steeled herself as she prepared her scanning spell to determine the extent of the human’s injuries.

“Where’s she… oh shit. Ma’am, get back here now!” Roland swore, and Dawn turned back to see the soldier hadn’t entered the room but was standing in the doorway. His weapon hung from his shoulder by a strap, and in his hands was a device she vaguely recalled as a grenade.

“What are you doing? Put that away!” Dawn snapped at the soldier before turning back to the survivor. The injured human had apparently sensed he was no longer alone and slowly turned to face the others in the room. Horrified comprehension filled Dawn as the human’s condition was now clearly apparent, and she didn’t need to complete her medical scan to diagnose the issue.

The injured human lurched forward and reached out to Dawn, and with a wet crack the limbs split open to reveal claws. He fell to the ground as his torso began to bulge. The meaty sounds of flesh tearing and bones shattering filled the room and what could only be described as a monster emerged from the pulverized body. Four blade-like legs lifted the creature out of the gore, while two claw-tipped arms picked the last remaining bits of its human host off of it before it turned two glowing eyes at the Unicorn.

Dawn Triage had been a field medic for the Rangers for many years, and had seen more horrors than she ever cared to recall. Ponies burned to death by dragonfire or torn to pieces by the many predators that still roamed the untamed wilds of the Badlands were some of the things that chased the doctor when the nightmares came to haunt her, and she knew at that very moment that another one would come to her in the nights to come.

The monster’s howl brought Dawn back to the moment and she switched her medical scan spell to another in her repertoire: Paralysis. The monster tumbled forward into a twitching ball of claws and gore-stained chitin, which she dispatched with two precise shots with her plasma pistol. These things, these Chryssalids are not living creatures. They’re a disease, a virus, but on a much grander scale. With her immediate work done, she turned and galloped back to the doorway. She felt several hands reach out to try and find purchase as she passed, and a chorus of moans followed them.

The moment she had cleared the doorway, Roland rolled the grenade into the room and slammed the door. “Don’t stop! RUN!” He shouted, and the group sprinted away from the room just as the grenade detonated. They didn’t stop even as they approached a door clearly labeled ‘EXIT’ in human. Briand shoulder-checked the door and barreled into the alley before sweeping both directions before turning back to the hallway she had just exited.

Anything she might have said was lost when one of the monsters fell upon her from above. Her rifle was twisted beyond usefulness by one claw, and the second drove through the chestplate of her armor as though it were nothing more than tinfoil. The monster tossed the now lifeless corpse down the alleyway and turned to block the rest of the team’s escape.

“Get BACK!” Steel shouted as he charged the monster and activated his shockwave mod. A wave of force blasted ahead of him and ejected the Chryssalid from the doorway and into the alley. The captain didn’t hesitate for a moment as he charged after it and rose to strike with his spiked gauntlets. The monster scuttled back up onto its claws and leapt out of range before committing to a counter-charge itself. Dawn and Roland exited the building and each raised their respective weapons but neither could risk a shot into the melee.

“Get clear, sir! We’ve got no angle!” Dawn shouted into the radio as she prepared another paralysis spell in addition to the plasma pistol on her foreleg. Both her horn and her foreleg tracked the monster but no shot presented itself despite Steel’s best efforts to disengage from it.

The Chryssalid itself was massive, dwarfing the juvenile that Dawn had shot in the building and it was easily as big as or bigger than the barrel-chested Steel Song and never allowed him a moment to set himself or achieve the right angle for a hoof-strike. Claws screamed as they tore gouges out of his armor and more than once Steel growled as they slipped in between the armor plates and drew blood. Steel’s skill won out of the monster’s ferocity as he planted a hoof-strike that sent the Chryssalid several feet down the alleyway. Now with enough room to maneouver, Steel set himself in the Stone Wall stance while Dawn and Roland lined up their shots. She had just lined up her shot when a bobbing blue circle appeared in her peripheral vision.

A split second later that blue circle identified itself as Beowulf’s IFF tag as the golem charged through the wall right beside the Chryssalid. The two collided and the monster’s claws scraped along the golem’s armored shoulders and arms but succeeded in doing little more than tear the belt feed that attached the golem’s weapon to the drum on its back. The golem tossed the Chryssalid down the alley with a swing from its weapon while brought its left hand back. The armored sections on the forearm slid into place around the hand to form a massive fist which began to glow with lavender energy.

The golem’s strike was aborted when the killing blow struck the Chryssalid from an unexpected angle. It had just recovered from the golem’s attack when Sabra’s fimbo shot downwards like a thunderbolt and impaled it vertically. A second later the Zebra followed and planted a strength modded kick with his hind legs. The kick drove the staff through the rest of the Chryssalid’s body and pinned it to the ground like a nail. Once certain of the kill, Sabra clamped both of his hooves on the end of his fimbo and backflipped. The staff tore itself free and landed in the Zebra’s waiting hoof after spinning through the air.

“Samahani, we came as fast as we could…” Sabra apologized as he relaxed his stance and trotted over to Briand’s body. Dawn had already moved to the woman’s side but it was apparent before she had even got there that she was dead. The zebra looked at the collected survivors before speaking again, “May I ask… where is Sky Bolt?”

The Inventor and The Captain

Sky Bolt fired as fast as the plasma pistol would allow at the hordes of aliens that were chasing her and Yuri. She had counted at least a dozen Sectoids plus other hulking figures that had begun pursuing the pair as they retreated through the alleyways following Captain Uther’s death. She thanked her lucky stars that the massive toad golem had elected to go stomping elsewhere in the city, though the hordes of lesser aliens were barely a better alternative.

“Bolt, fall back!” Yuri shouted through the radio and she caught a stuttering line of plasma streaking towards the aliens. She made one final shot which incinerated one of the charging Sectoids before she turned and ran to the next bit of cover. She turned and raised her weapon again, but she changed targets when a new one presented itself.

It was shaped like a human, if humans were eight feet of towering muscle and angry yellow eyes. The lower half of its face was an amalgamation of metal machinery while the rest was inflamed and scarred flesh stretched over its skull while massive green armor clashed with its skin tone. Those angry yellow eyes locked onto Sky Bolt and it became a race to see which would get their weapon in line first, the Pegasus or the Muton.

“Napadajte!” Yuri shouted, and the Muton’s head snapped back with a spray of blood. Its weapon, which Sky Bolt couldn’t help but compare to the steam stack of a locomotive, spat a massive blob of plasma that connected with the building beside her. A wave of heat and debris from the blast washed over her and she closed her eyes out of reflex as a brick slammed into her helmet.

The next few moments were a blur for Sky Bolt. Her ears rung. Black boots running towards her. The screech of the aliens drawing near. The shattered shards of her helmet’s visor on the ground beside her. The feeling of ascent then the lines of the sidewalk moving before her eyes. The sidewalk turned into tiles and she was slowly lowered to the floor. “We can’t get away without them running us down,” A voice said, and the pegasus was conscious enough to register the steel in the next statement. “I’m going out there. Stay here and stay down, the others will find you. Da svidanya, Sky Bolt.”

No! He’s going to get himself killed! She thought in a panic as she pulled her helmet off and clumsily felt the pouches on her armor. Healing crystal… healing crystal… there! One hoof snapped the crystal in half while the other pressed it against her head. The effect was almost immediate; her vision and thoughts began to clear and she caught sight of Yuri stepping back out onto the street.

The human had lost his rifle at some point, and he had his pistol in his right hand. Volleys of plasma flowed past him like leaves in an autumn wind and yet he continued to walk out into the street. A heat haze began to distort the scene though she caught sight of the cables along Yuri’s left arm beginning to glow. “Vashi poveliteli preduprezhdali Vas ot menya?” He shouted, and he raised his left hand. Every one of the Sectoids that was hiding in cover flew up into the air, and Yuri let out a barking laugh as he placed a single shot into each one. A moment passed before the suspended bodies fell back onto the street and Yuri turned back to the building that Sky Bolt was in.

The human had taken two steps before screaming in pain as his armor cracked and the tip of a blade emerged from his chest. The heat haze behind him flickered and resolved into a black-armored muton with its face hidden behind a featureless helmet that matched the rest of its armor. One of its hands had grabbed Yuri’s shoulder while the other twisted the blade even as it sank into the hilt.

Sky Bolt’s next actions were instinctual. She rose to her feet and charged while activating her speed mod before leaping into the air in a forward roll. As she tumbled through the air one hoof latched on to the weighted wrench in her pouch and let fly mid-spin, and the improvised weapon connected with the faceplate of the Muton at nearly eighty miles per hour. The faceplate shattered as the weapon bounced away and the Muton lost its grip on Yuri as it staggered backwards. The backwards stagger became a completely uncontrolled tumble as Sky Bolt’s flight through the air ended with all four hooves landing on the Muton’s chest. A quartet of plasma pistol shots cracked and melted its armor before a fifth put it down permanently.

“Yuri? Yuri!” Sky Bolt nearly shouted as she rushed over to him. He had fallen onto his side and was feebly trying to grasp the blade that was still embedded in his body. “Don’t touch it! We’ll get you to Dawn and she’ll fix you up just fine! Come on, up you get!” She got under one of his arms and to his credit he tried to get his feet under him but only succeeded in stumbling into the Pegasus. Bolt accepted the extra weight and they began to stumble their way into a nearby alley and out of the street. She spared but a glance at the corpses of the aliens that had chased them before the street fell out of sight.

A wet-sounding cough filled the radio followed by Yuri’s rasping breath. “Pushed myself too hard. My own fault. You should go ahead and meet with the others… I will be fine here.”

“No, no you won’t. That’s why we’re going straight to Dawn,” Sky Bolt commanded with as much authority as she could muster. She caught sight of the building Hunter had described and the pair started shuffling down another alleyway. When silence met her declaration, she raised her voice. “Yuri! Come on, don’t leave me hanging. How about some conversation? Do you have family?”

“My sister Petra, and her kids back home,” Yuri mumbled quietly.

“Nieces and nephews? That sounds like fun!” Bolt tried to keep her voice chipper. Silence was the only response. “My family’s a bit small, just my parents and me. Both of them are Earth Ponies but they’ve always been really supportive of everything I do…” The Pegasus continued to talk as she led them through the gaps in the buildings towards their destination, because if she didn’t she knew the journey would be made in silence.

Captain Song kept his eyes on the golem and Roland as they led the way. Both had been completely silent since Sergeant Briand’s death and they maintained their professionalism, though his experienced eyes could see the tension in Roland’s posture and every action he took. The golem was more of a mystery, as it was showing much of the same tension in body language, which seemed to imply that it was more than a simple automaton.

Any further speculation was put aside when the golem held a fist up as they approached an intersection. “The church is just around the corner. I have Eversman’s IFF tag in an office building next door.” The golem’s head turned to look back down the alley at the others. “I’ve tried raising him on the radio, but I’ve gotten no response. He may be injured or dead.”

“Well, crap,” Roland grumbled. “Okay, he’s likely being guarded by the civilians that helped him out of the wreck. I’ll lead, since if any of you do they might open fire out of a misunderstanding. Just… just stay behind Beowulf and we’ll explain things once we get there.” After taking a moment to steel his resolve, Roland rounded the corner of the building and was immediately greeted by a machine gun burst from one of the buildings. He swore and dove behind a crashed vehicle while those that were following halted before entering the street itself.

“XCOM?” Came a shout from the building, which Steel recognized as the crew chief of the Skyranger.

“It’s Roland, you fucking asshole! Check your IFF before you shoot!”

“I don’t have a smart visor, how would I do that?” Eversman shouted back with a healthy dose of snark.

“Oh,” Roland muttered as he smacked his helmet with his palm. “Well hold your fire, we’re coming to you!” After a moment’s hesitation he emerged from cover and began to weave his way through the wreckage with Beowulf close behind.

“Boss, be advised that there is law enforcement and civilians on site, and they are very jumpy,” Hunter summarized through the radio. “Don’t get shot, alright?”

“Keep your helmets on and communication to a minimum. If the humans think we’re golems too they’ll be less hostile,” Steel ordered in a low tone as he picked out at least two police scanning the area with their rifles at the ready. Part of me should feel offended at having to play at such a deception, but Hunter was right. This herd of humans is one scare away from stampeding.

As they approached the structure, Eversman slowly rose from cover with a grin on his face despite the trail of dried blood that originated from a hastily bandaged wound across his scalp. “I gotta say it’s damn good to see you. Where are the others?”

“Captain Thomas Uther and Sergeant Melanie Briand are KIA. Yuri got separated from the group, and he’s with… one of the specialists. One of the other specialists is in the air now,” Roland reported crisply, and the crew chief’s face sank as he realized he was now the ranking XCOM officer in the field.

“Nuts. Well, the civilians were able to locate a wide-range radio, and we’ve been trying to contact the national guaYEOUCH!” Eversman’s situation report devolved into a yelp in pain as Dawn used her telekinetics to pull the soiled improvised bandage off of his head.

“Shush, I’m replacing the bandage with a clean one. It’s also coated with a balm that should prevent infection and help ease the pain a bit,” Dawn said as she suited action to words. The old bandage, which looked like a simple shirt sleeve, was discarded and replaced by a clean white strip that wrapped itself around his wound.

“Eversman, are these the reinforcements you were talking about?” One of the black-armored policemen asked as he rounded the corner to finally meet the group. His eyes gave Roland a once over before his gaze was invariably drawn to the golem and its garish paint job. His attention wasn’t held for long as he quickly caught sight of the Dusk Guard. “What the hell are those?”

“Sorry, top secret. I can tell you they’re the next generation of ULVs, and they’ll likely be replacing the SHIV models we currently use,” Roland intercepted the question by burying the officer in acronyms, abbreviations and other military lingo that turned his suspicion into mind-numbing confusion.

“Boss, I have eyes on Sky Bolt. She’s carrying Yuri through the alleyways about a block east of your position. The human looks really bad…” Hunter reported, and Steel snapped in the direction that the Pegasus had reported.

Steel was loathed to draw attention to himself as Roland continued to confuse the policeman, but one of his Guard was in trouble. “Sergeant, our missing members have been spotted nearby, and they’re wounded.”

“Copy that. Let’s go get them,” Eversman said with a nod, and he moved to join the formation that filtered out of the building and into the block east of the refuge. No aliens were encountered as they finally caught sight of Sky Bolt and Yuri.

The Pegasus’s helmet was gone and blood from a head wound stained the coat around her face but otherwise appeared unwounded. Yuri, however, was completely limp and Sky Bolt struggled to keep his bulk on her back. When she caught sight of her friends coming toward her, she tried to increase her speed but only succeeded in stumbling and nearly losing her cargo in the process.

“Ease him down, gently!” Eversman said quickly as he and Roland moved to pull the human off Sky Bolt’s back, and all eyes locked on to the blade that was still embedded in his torso.

“Bolt, are you alright? BOLT!” Dawn shouted as she approached the Pegasus and scanned her.

The shout shook her out of her stupor and she looked at Dawn. “I’m fine. The healing crystals worked fine. Most of this blood isn’t mine,” Sky Bolt whispered as she looked back at the crimson stain that covered most of her barrel and wings.

With her scan complete and the answer satisfactory, Dawn moved over to Yuri and scanned him before exclaiming, “Sun above, he’s alive! Roland! I need you to undo the straps for his armor’s front and rear plates. If we’re going to extract the blade without killing him, I need to inspect the wounds with my eyes.”

Steel Song kept most of his attention on the alleyway that Sky Bolt had come from, but he did glance occasionally at the operation that was taking place to save the human. Like the Dusk Guard’s armor, the human armor plates covered the most vital areas of their body but the spots that required flexibility were still provided protection by a black body glove that covered every inch of their bodies up to their neckline. Any further analysis was interrupted by a heavy footfall behind him and the click of a human weapon being readied.

“What the fuck is that?” One of the policemen shouted, and Steel turned to see a rifle being leveled at Sky Bolt. “That’s an alien! Why the fuck are you people working with them!?”

Steel slowly moved into the line of fire to shield the Pegasus. “We are not your enemies, officer,” He explained calmly, and he immediately regretted it. The human with the rifle tensed and the barrel of the weapon was now centered on Steel’s face. The other officer had a sidearm drawn but pointed down at the street, though he looked no less afraid.

The police officer and Steel took a step back in surprise as the human golem stepped in between them both. “You should go back to the shelter. This is not your concern.” It stated, and while his view was blocked by the golem’s bulk, Steel could hear the retreating footsteps of both officers heading back to the building.

By the time Steel had turned back to Dawn, she had already extracted the blade and was in the process of channeling a healing spell on Yuri. “We’ll need to move him into the building, I don’t like the chances of enemies interfering with our present location. Where is that lout Nova when I need him?” She growled as her telekinesis picked the unconscious human off the ground and the group headed towards shelter. Their somewhat sedated pace became far more hurried as they heard the sound of rocket launches a few blocks away, followed by a volley of explosions.

“We’ve got to take out that Sectopod before it finds this place,” Roland said as the group made their way into the building. The police were on guard now more than ever, and a small group of civilians huddled together on the far side of the room they now found themselves in. “Beowulf, you think you can take it out?”

“Yes, but I’ll have to get in close,” The golem replied, and it looked down at the massive weapon in its hands and the severed belt feed that dangled from it. “I don’t like the odds of having to plow through the cannon fodder though.”

“Boss, this is Hunter. Nova just contacted me and he has a rather creative plan for taking down that Sectopod.”

The Dusk Guard

“Nova, are you where I think you are?” Hunter asked with barely contained amusement as the Dusk Guard and the surviving members of Strike Two made their way to Nova’s IFF marker.

“I don’t know where you think I am, but I’m at a party. Wicked beats, great atmosphere. You should join me, there’s plenty of room,” Nova answered with a palpable amount of snark in his tone.

“Comm discipline!” Steel snapped and the banter immediately stopped. “Nova, we’re near your location and I see your IFF, but I don’t see you. Where are you?” True enough, the unicorn’s IFF appeared to hover in the center of the street but he was nowhere to be found.

“I tried hitting the Sectopod from several different angles and got nowhere. It’s too well protected for a conventional attack from any of the conventional angles, so…”

“…you’re in the sewer, aren’t you? And you’re going to attack it from below?” Hunter interrupted.

Nova’s groan preceded his answer, “Way to steal my thunder. Seriously. There’s an access hatch directly above my position. What I’ll need you to do is lure the thing directly over me and I’ll hit it from below. Can you manage it?”

“I have eyes on the Sectopod two blocks east and one block north of our current position,” Hunter reported, and a volley of rockets launched as if on cue to mark its position. “I think I can act as a rabbit and draw him to our position. The small fries around the thing might cause problems though, especially for you if this doesn’t work, Nova.”

“If this doesn’t work then a lot of people will die, including any reinforcements XCOM might send our way,” Roland finally chipped in. The human had been mostly silent during their trip from the shelter, and even though his expression was hidden behind his helmet it wasn’t hard to imagine the determination that was no doubt there. “I say we go for it.”

“I agree. Sergeant Eversman, command authority was given to Captain Uther and with his death that responsibility has passed to you,” Steel nodded to the crew chief. “If you have no objections, I will assume command until the area is suitably secure.”

“No objections here,” Eversman shrugged, and a relieved look crossed his features.

“Right then. Eversman, Roland, I want you two on the rooftops nearby so when we engage you will have clear lines of fire on the enemies behind the front rank. Bolt and Dawn will join you. Sabra and I will engage the aliens the moment Nova disables the Sectopod.” Steel turned to the golem and addressed it by name for the first time. “Beowulf, I want to keep you in reserve. If Nova isn’t able to disable or destroy the Sectopod, we’ll be relying on you to handle it.”

Steel gave each of the assembled soldiers a look before turning back to the street. “Get its attention, Hunter. Everyone else get to your positions.”

Like clockwork, the team split up. The two humans kicked in the door of one of the nearby buildings with Bolt and Dawn close behind. Beowulf chose a larger building and shot to the upper level on a pillar of fire and smoke from its feet before hunkering down and out of sight. Sabra slipped into the shadows of a nearby doorway, which left Steel with ample places to set up his own place to ambush from. A collection of twisted cars occupied the center of the road which seemed to be just the right match for him.

Hunter’s form was barely visible in the night’s sky but the bolts of plasma he shot down at the Sectopod gave Steel some indication of where he was, and the impressive volume of fire that answered him was more than a little disconcerting. “I’ve got their attention now, leading them over to you,” The former ranger added somewhat needlessly. Judging by the angle of fire, Hunter descended to street level before sprinting around the corner and making his way further down the street.

True to his word, the aliens began to creep around the corner. A hooffull of Sectoids were first but were quickly followed by several Mutons moving between cover. Last but not least were the Sectopod and two Mechtoid vanguards. Every one of them split its time between firing at Hunter’s retreating form as well as keeping as close to cover as they could. Over a dozen red markers appeared over the aliens to mark their positions and Steel could hear Nova draw a breath through his teeth as the Sectopod approached his position.

The Sectopod continued forward, oblivious to the ambush. The turret mounted on its dorsal surface continued to fire on Hunter as it stomped down the street. The armored plates along the alien machine’s body split and folded into its sides to reveal the massive cannon that had erased Captain Uther from existence, and crimson energy began to gather as it prepared to fire a blast down the street. It set its legs in a sturdy firing position… directly above an access portal to the sewers.

Nova’s frost beam leapt out of the access portal like an icy geyser and began to engulf the Sectopod from the bottom up. The alien machine attempted to adjust its position but by then it was already too late. Solid ice had jammed every gap in it, inside and out, leaving it helpless on the street and it’s weapons useless.

“Dusk Guard, engage!” Steel shouted into the radio, and planted his strongest buck into the car he was hiding behind while again engaging his shockwave mod. The car flew several meters before tumbling into the alien formation like a bowling ball. Steel followed quickly behind it before charging directly at the closest of the Mutons without even bothering to finish off the Sectoids he trampled to get there. The Muton saw the Captain’s charge, but rather than use the weapon in its hands it slammed a fist against its chest armor before charging as well.

Rather than allow the melee to resort in a grappling match, Steel struck out with one hoof against the Muton’s leading knee which locked the limb before bending it backwards. The charge became an uncontrolled fall as the limb failed to carry the alien’s weight, and Steel helped the fall as he planted his next hoof strike in its face before leaping over the stunned monster and charging the next.

The second in line didn’t make its predecessor’s mistakes as it stood its ground and raised its rifle to fire only to catch a plasma bolt in the face from a high angle. The next in line suffered the same fate, and the third had fast enough reflexes to look up to see Hunter fire a precise shot into its face as well. “I’ve got your back, boss!” He shouted before breaking off his attack to avoid volleys of plasma from the two Mechtoids.

A loud crunch to the side announced Beowulf’s entrance into the fray. It took two steps before setting one foot underneath one of the cars at the curb and kicking upwards. The car lofted into the air before the golem landed a solid punch on it with its left fist which sent it flying. It collided with the first Mechtoid with enough force to wrap around the alien golem and carry it off its feet. The second golem turned its cannons unleashed a dozen blasts against Beowulf to try and stop its charge.

The green flames struck the human golem’s arms, legs and chest but its charge continued unhindered. As they pair closed, the alien golem raised one of its plasma cannons to try and crush it’s opponent but the strike met Beowulf’s blocking arm. The block prevented the attack from landing on its head or body but it twisted and shattered the human golem’s right arm in the process. Beowulf let out a roar that was part battlecry and part pain as its glowing left fist shot forward and connected squarely with the Mectoid’s chest. Its chest crumpled like a tin can before it flew off the street and into the storefront nearby.

Steel finished off the first Muton he had encountered with a quick buck before turning to survey the battlefield. With their armor and leaders dead, the Sectoids had broken and fled in all directions but were picked off by Hunter or the soldiers on the rooftops. As Steel watched his subordinate initiate the pursuit, he caught sight of something that filled him with dread.

“Fall back and get to cover! Enemy airship is approaching!” Steel shouted as he charged for the nearest alleyway. A massive wave of heat chased him into cover, and a glance behind him showed the street was now awash in green fire. A second shot from the ship struck the rooftop the others were using, and Steel caught sight of Dawn’s shield mod activating moments before the attack struck. Steel opened his mouth to again order them to fall back when new voices half masked by static could be heard.

“All QRF, Sky Eye; local units report engagement with enemy armor and personnel at the indicated coordinates. Saucer confirmed approaching their position. Fire mission danger close air support, how copy?” “Papa Gator, solid copy and oscar mike.” “Mobius, solid copy. I have eyes on the saucer, it’s firing!” “Pixy, solid copy and I have eyes on. Tally ho!”

Before Steel could try to decipher any of it, a cacophony of noise came from the saucer and a fourth of it seemed to evaporate from some unseen attack. It tried to rise or move away from the area but whatever had initially attacked struck again and it exploded spectacularly. A sound not unlike a growl filled the air, and a pair of human airships shaped almost like dragons cut through the sky before banking out of sight.

“Sky Eye, Pixy; confirmed one saucer down. I can confirm bodies and wreckage at the coordinates but no sign of friendly forces. Must have went to cover.” “Copy, Pixy. Sending you new target coordinates…”

“Dusk Guard, report in. Anyone hurt?” Steel asked as he tuned out the rest of the radio chatter.

“This is Hunter, I’m fine but the others might not be. The building they were in collapsed under fire from the saucer. Sabra and the golem are helping me clear the rubble.”

“This is Dawn. I have Sky Bolt with me and we’re mostly unharmed other than a few bruises and scrapes. Roland has dislocated his shoulder and Eversman’s leg was broken in the fall. As for the structure, we fell into a lower floor when the building collapsed and we should be able to limp out without having to dig through the rubble.”

“Nova here, and I’m perfectly fine. In the sewer. I’m assuming we won?”

“I think ‘winning’ in this situation depends upon our return to base safely, and that has yet to happen.”

“Strike Two, Command. Report status.”

Bradford’s voice coming through the radio was an unexpected but not unwelcome surprise. “Command, this is Captain Song. I have assumed control of Strike Two. Captain Uther…” Steel started, and was a bit surprised when Bradford interrupted.

“I know, Captain. Skyranger Harbinger is en route to your location with Strike Five, and National Guard reinforcements will be close behind them. When the Skyranger lands, you and your squad will return to base while Strike Five secures the city,” Bradford said, and Steel couldn’t help but note the relief that was present in his voice. “You did an excellent job, Captain, but it would be best if you weren’t there when the National Guard arrives.”

“Understood, sir,” Steel agreed before addressing the Dusk Guard. “You heard Bradford. Regroup at the shelter as quick as you can.”

The Skyranger landed in the church’s parking lot, and pair of MECs stomped down the ramp followed by ten black-armored figures who quickly linked up with the civilians inside the shelter. While almost all eyes were upon the new arrivals, the Dusk Guard and Strike Two’s survivors shuffled into the aircraft helmets came off and the six ponies shared a round of tired and relieved smiles before the crew cabin disappeared as the ramp closed behind them.

A nondescript businessman in a tattered suit and tie tapped his smart phone to stop the video recorder before tapping several more buttons and bringing it to his ear.

“Yes, Vide, they showed up,” he said, “They also brought friends with them…”