[Story/Chapter Tester]

No Rest For the Weary

[2]-[Chapter Title]

Script Version

Note: ‘Zebratown’ is used here.

No Rest For the Weary

< 2 >

Orion was up before the sun rose. In her experience, the breakfast queue was always short at that time.

“Morning, Captain,” the chef greeted her as she entered the mess. “Late night?”

“You bet.” Orion collected the offered tray, before moving to a table to eat. She buried her muzzle in the pancakes, savouring the fluffy texture, knowing full well that it was likely she would be away from the ship and these pancakes for a extended period.

“Hey. You’re up early.” Lynx slid into the opposite bench, wearing her trademark pink and blue headphones around her neck. The form fitting sweatshirt she wore showed evidence of running.

“Surprising.” Yelena dropped in as well.

Orion finished the pancakes, picking up the apple. “Well, you know how Bastion is.” She pointed at Lynx with the apple. “No less than perfection, ladies,” Orion growled, doing her best impersonation of the CO.

Lynx giggled into her juice packet. Yelena just rolled her eyes.

“In any case, we’ve got maybe two hours? Wanna run?”

Orion shrugged. “Why not? Let me get changed, meet you in the gym.”

A shrill bell went off.

“Critical mission brief for Team Arrowhead and Team Specter in Conference Room C. Report immediately. This is not a drill.”

Orion, Yelena and Lynx looked at each other.

Lynx broke the silence, voicing what was on their minds. “That can’t be good.”

The door flew open as the three mares raced out of the mess hall. Ponies pressed themselves against the walls as they galloped past, headed for their bunks.

Orion burst into her room. Instantly, she flung open her cupboard, pulling on a fresh set of fatigues. A combat vest slung into position, and she loaded up on several .45 ACP magazines for her Vector SMG. The XM500 case took its usual position on her back.

By the time she exited her room, Lynx and Yelena were around the corridor. A red light strip came alive, lighting the way ahead of the team and giving advance warning to any ponies in their way.

“Room A... B… C! Here!” Yelena skidded to a stop.

The door slid open effortlessly.

“Specter. Enter.” Bastion looked up. A grizzled pony pushing sixty years of age, Bastion was as good as commanders went. “We’re waiting for Arrowhead,  but go ahead and start reading your files. This mission is going to be tough on both of you.”

“Beg pardon, sir, but can I ask about the other teams?”

“Valhalla and Caprice are running ops in the Northern and Southern section of Talos respectively. Exodus is critically wounded, in medbay. Foxtrot has not returned, presumed KIA.”

:::::

“Aw, for fuck’s sake, what now,” Stardust mumbled as he opened the door to the conference room. He carried no equipment with him, but he and Match smelled of a mix of a shower and cordite and lead.

“New day, new mission,” Match said.

The two grey pegasi stepped into the room, the three mares from yesterday already present. “The other two of our team should be here shortly.” Stardust kept walking towards the table. “So, are we still debriefing or is this critical enough that we’re just going to step into whatever this is?”

Just as he finished asking, the door opened behind them, revealing a white pegasus and a frustrated-looking blue pegasus.

“Lieutenant Skystreak, 2nd Lieutenant Crosser, let’s go. You didn’t miss anything yet. Comet, how’s your wing?”

Comet tested his right wing. “Bit sore, Cap, but they did enough to get me cleared for flight.”

“Sharpie?”

“He’ll be good to go, Captain. We flew a bit this morning to get ourselves woken up.” Sharp looked at the other three mares in the room slightly suspiciously. “So, shall we get started?”

“You got anything else to say, Lieutenant?”

Sharp paused. “No sir. Just wondering why us and not some other detachment, or some other team altogether.”

“It’s the price of kicking ass too effectively. Be proud of it.” Stardust turned his attention back to the rest. “Let’s get started then.”

Orion eyed Arrowhead Team. It wasn’t the fact that they didn’t know each other, all teams were bound to rub against each other sooner or later.

No, Orion just felt like the Stallions across the room were… Different.

In a bad way.

“Alright teams.” The projector spun up. “Your mission yesterday was a success. You got us the intel we needed. However, that intel is nothing but damning.”

A couple of images flashed onto the screen. Orion ran a trained eye over the contents.

“Maps?” She whispered. “Canterlot, Ponyville, Stalliongrad, Cloudsdale...”

“Check out the list,” Yelena whispered back. “Shipment plans.”

“I don’t like this...” Lynx shivered. The other two mares looked at each other with a worried expression. When Lynx shivers, something bad was going on.

“The intel you recovered mentions the word ‘HYDRA’ several times, too many to be insignificant. We believe that this HYDRA is a weapon of sorts, and this correlates with the maps and timetables recorded by 2nd Lieutenant Crosser. However, this link is unconfirmed, as well as the nature of HYDRA.”

Another click. A new slide.

“The last frame captured some information about the possible storage locations of HYDRA. We’ve already had Valhalla and Caprice toss two of the reported locations, though. No trace of anything resembling a weapon.”

Another click.

“This is your target and the last location we determined. The old GriFEx Stock Exchange. They’re storing the HYDRA in there, along with several other stockpiles of weapons. You need to infiltrate the region, find samples of HYDRA and any more intelligence concerning this weapon, and exfil cleanly.”

“Sir.”

Bastion turned. “Yes, Captain?”

“Do we need two teams?”

“The Stock Exchange is crawling with troops. Expect to meet more than Griffons this time.” The topic was closed, and Orion knew it. She sat down, crossing her hooves.

“Any questions?”

“What’s the region like?” Stardust asked. “What are we expecting? How are we planning to operate?”

“Or how loud should we expect to get?” Match asked.

“Close quarters, urban. Expect to see some dragons, smaller ones, possibly D.dogs. Keep your head on. Go loud if you need to, but your best bet is to stay quiet.”

“That’s just bloody fantastic,” Sharp grumbled.

“Someone missed his morning tea,” Stardust commented. “In any case, we stay silent, we reduce our problems.”

“Let’s get maps and floor plans up,” Comet suggested. “Get that into our heads now.”

The requested items were pulled up onto the screen and the four stallions studied them intently. After a minute of scanning, Stardust leaned back. “Alright. Oh—and something for the analysts.”

From a pocket, he pulled out the metal case from the night before. “Three memory cards, couple of notes inside.” He set it down on the table. “Now, when do we move out?”

“Sir, Specter team requesting usage of our Exos.” Orion asked.

“Basis?”

“We’ll be going in close with Dragons and D.dogs, sir. Our armor won’t take a hit from either. We need the extra mobility and offensive strength.”

Bastion considered it. “Alright. you’re clear. Head down and tech up. Arrowhead,” He turned to the stallions, “Time to go. I’ll have an Osprey on deck in fifteen minutes. Grab what you need and report.”

Orion gathered up her rifle, now depleted of its use, being a close combat situation. “Specters, machine room, stat.” They left the conference room in a hurry.

They took a fast route, dropping down staircases and ladderways into the bowels of the ship.

They entered a thick steel door, with the words ‘Specter’ laser etched into the surface. “Alright, suit up.”

The spindly metallic hydraulic struts slipped into place about Orion. A familiar weight settled on her back, the battery pack and onboard computer units, all compressed into a package not much bigger than a novel. Thin armor plating covered most of the vital areas, though those wouldn’t stop much.

“Loadout?” Lynx asked from across the room.

“Close range, grab one SMG and a shotgun each. I’ll take the SMAW, two of you decide who’s bringing the det charges and who’s holding the drone.” Orion hooked the metallic tube into place on her right, the HK CAWS and the Vector slipping neatly onto her right. The weight was substantial, but she comfortably carried the loadout. “Pack the unexpected loadout, we’re going in blind.”

She grabbed a gas mask, a respirator, small medpack, flares, anything that may come in useful later. This all entered the left saddlebag, whilst ammo and rockets sat in the right.

“Take the lift, we’ll avoid ponies.” Orion strapped down and jumped several times, ensuring the items were all not going to fall apart. The Exo hissed quietly, working its magic. Her last act was to slide down her visor, obscuring the top half of her face.

The open elevator groaned as it took the weight of three fully armed troops, bringing the team directly up into the hanger. “Hey, what do you think Arrow is packing?” Yelena leaned over.

“They were going quiet, but I don’t know,” Orion shrugged. “We taking the underwater route?”

“I guess so, we’ll have the Osprey drop us directly over the river, then we’ll swim in through the sewers and pop out in the basement, moving upwards and into the main trading hall.” The maps showed up in her HUD.

The lift ground to a stop. “Alright then.” The doors slid open and Orion stepped out. The Exo looked foreign, and some of the hangar crew turned and looked. Steel clinked against steel as the trio found their Osprey.

“Load up, Specters.” Orion settled into one of the drop seats. “Gonna be a long one.”

:::::

The four stallions set down the hall at a quickened pace. “Exos,” Comet commented. “Ain’t that great for them. So what’s our plan, Cap?”

“Still sticking to the shadows as much as we can. Sure, an exo would be great for your wing, but so is not getting shot at in the first place.”

“Gee… thaaanks.”

“You know the drill,” Stardust said casually. “Crosser, you’re on tech. Sharpie, we don’t know if we might go loud. You’re on demo and weapons. Match, you know what you’re doing.”

“Anything special you want us to bring?” Sharp asked.

“Since we’re going silent, CARDs," Stardust said, referring to their standard issue Cloaking Armed Reconnaissance Dress. "Specter goes loud, we can use that as a distraction.”

“So while they fight it out, we’re hiding away?” Sharp quipped.

“You know it isn’t like that, Lieutenant. You know how we fight. Brute force comes last. If you’re so inclined to go guns blazing though, you’re more than free to go ask to tag along with them.”

“I’ll decline the offer, thank you very much.”

“I want you all in the armory in two minutes,” Stardust said as he entered his room. Closing the door behind him, he gathered the mission essentials. Rifle, sidearm, whatever he had left the night before. It wasn’t exactly sticking to procedure, what they did last night, but what’s done was done.

Inside one of the closets was a uniform in what appeared to be plain urban camo. In fact, it was much more complex than that. Its fabric would provide them with active camouflage on a thought.

Stardust slipped it on and this time, remembered to bring along his boonie hat as well, also covered in active camo fabric. He picked up the head mounted optic from the previous night off his desk and left for the armory, having gotten everything he could from his quarters.

In the armory, he found Comet working on his equipment. “Cap, you want the mini-drone or not?”

“Bring it along,” Stardust said. “Never know if we’ll have to use it.”

“Sure thing.” The blue pegasus turned and searched for the item in the various storage around them.

Stardust went over to the table and placed his own equipment down. Glancing over at Comet’s gear, he found the pegasus’s usual L85A2, and around it, various attachments not yet attached. Next to it was a silver revolver. It was chambered for .357 Magnum, but the gun scarcely fired them. Because beside said revolver was a case filled with various non-lethal ammunition. Stun or sleep, to cover the general gist of the different ammo types.

Still scattered next to the weapons was the agreed-upon standard M1911. Nothing special of note. Laid down next to it was a small tablet, which was really Comet’s specialty on the team. He was their tech specialist, and they couldn’t ask for better.

And finally, dropped down next to it was a mini-drone. “Found it, Cap. Now to get this all packed up. You want me bringing along breachers?”

“If you’ve got room,” Stardust answered. “If not, leave it to Sharpie.”

“If so, how many grenades you want me hauling around?” Sharp asked, walking in. His SCAR-L gave a solid thunk as he placed it down on the table. “Rifle grenades, hoof grenades, how many?”

“As much as you can carry without getting bogged down, Lieutenant,” Stardust told him.

“Number I can carry without getting bogged down or without making noise?”

Stardust rolled his eyes. “Just get ready, Sharpie.”

The white pegasus began taking supplies from the supply cabinets. “You want a shotgun with me?”

“Might as well,” Stardust said as he himself grabbed grenades.

The door to the armory opened one more time. “Dusty, grab me a mid-range optic,” Match requested.

“Right here.” The requested optic was given.

“How much high-velocity you think we should bring?”

“Two-thirds,” Stardust answered. “We won’t need much subsonics. But we’ll need the HVs if we get into a firefight.”

“Fair enough.” Match also went back and grabbed a UMP and its suppressor. “What do you think Specter’s up to?”

“No clue. But at least it lightens our load, since I think they’re going to be carrying an armory.”

“Hey Cap,” Comet asked, “Did we grab anything telling us what HYDRA is? You know, just in case we can prepare in any way?”

“Can’t be sure. Could be nuclear, energy, or hell, it could be chemical. Maybe psychological.”

“Psychological?”

“Just throwing things out there.”

The four pegasi joined together at the table, finalizing their loadouts. Comet and Sharp put on helmets with a mounting point for their unified optics. Stardust and Match wore their own optics on supports, on top of which they placed their hats.

“Equipment check. Basic field kit?” All gave affirmatives.

“Specialized loadouts?” Again, all were ready.

“Check optics. Confirm data link.”

The four flipped their optics into position, hanging in front of their left eye. Comet checked their status. “Synchronized, Cap.”

“Alright. Check active camo.” A quick test proved that each one of theirs was working. Stardust flipped his optic back over to the left side of his head. “Arrowhead, ready?”

They all gave affirmatives.

“Let’s move out.”

:::::

The Osprey ride was uneventful, as usual.

“Cloak up, pilot.” The pilot reached over and toggled a switch, sending a charge through the photoreactive panels on the skin of the plane. They shimmered, and faded from view.

The Osprey came in fast, following the winding river. In the early morning, there were very little enemies out and about to notice the slight ripple on the water of the river, or the fact that a door seemed to open out of nowhere and release three ponies, before sealing up again.

Orion waited for the bubbles to dissipate, before looking around the murky river. The weight of her gear kept her on the riverbed, which was more of a boon than a hindrance.

Lynx tapped her shoulder, turning the party towards a particular tunnel. Even with the magnifying force of the Exos, walking was slow underwater.

Twenty minutes passed in the submerged tunnels. Their flashlights played over the smooth walls.

A shimmer of light. As one, the three crouched, moving even more slowly towards the opening. On a gesture, Orion surfaced slowly, looking around the dimly lit room. Seeing no resistance, she pulled herself up, gear and all.

“We’re under the Exchange, there should be an access ladder somewhere around here, that’ll leave us in the vehicle parking bay.”

The Vectors came out, clips checked and firing mechanisms reset. Orion flicked hers a few times, ridding it of excess water.

“Is somebody there?”

The three mares spun. Immediately, the SMGs barked, painting the inquisitive Griffon red.

“Move out, hurry.” Orion dragged the body in and dumped it into the sewer.

“Are we going in loud?”

“We’ll remain silent as long as possible.” The trio galloped down the tunnels. Quickly, they ran across the remainder of the Griffon patrol.

Orion tackled the middle one, bringing him down onto the hard floor and unloading into his face. Behind her, Lynx gutted her target, while Yelena rose off the bloody floor.

The ladder wasn’t hard to find. As Orion scaled the structure, she swapped out for the CAWS. The ladder dumped them, as promised, inside the vehicle bay, in one corner behind a Transport. Orion lay down under the Transport and paused.

“Yelena, send up the drone and take a look around.” Orion heard the sound of the hoofball sized robot taking off, before fading from view and going silent. “This is Specter. We’re inside the target building. How copy Arrowhead?”

:::::

The four stallions watched as the mares made their leap into the water. “Certainly not the fastest way in,” Sharp commented.

“Well, mares do like getting wet,” Stardust joked as the Osprey lurched to take them to their own drop point.

“And we like it fast and straight in,” Match said, eliciting grins or eye rolls while he kept a straight face.

Stardust stood. “That being the case, ready up. We drop in two minutes.”

The cloaked Osprey gained altitude as it flew closer to the stock exchange. “Prepare for drop, 10 seconds.”

As the message came through from the intercom, the ramp dropped down. “Arrowhead, 5 seconds! Camo on! Expect contacts on the roof!” Stardust told his team. Their bodies shimmered as their camo activated.

They ran off the ramp, wings closed. The stock exchange was marked in their vision and they began tallying the griffons waiting up top.

“Dusty, tally four MG nests, two triple-A positions, and a few other positions,” Match noted over the radio.

“Do not engage. Weapons tight. We want a silent entry. Sneak past ‘em.”

“200 meters from the roof,” Sharp said.

“Soft landing,” Stardust commanded. “Drop near the stairwell. Careful—two guards.” They flared their wings, allowing themselves to slow down and land lightly on the roof.

“What do we do, Cap?” Comet asked.

“You and me, Comet. I brought my own tranq rounds. Load short-term effect.” Stardust unholstered his own dulled black Redhawk, popping the cylinder open and checking that he had already loaded the specified ammunition type. “Line up for shots.”

The younger pegasus positioned himself next to his commander and aimed on the target Stardust didn’t. “On you, Cap.”

“Fire.” The revolvers hissed and immediately, the two griffons dropped. The team approached the fallen griffons cautiously. Checking the two, they confirmed they were knocked out and took the darts from their necks. “They’re the lucky ones today. Live another day and have no memory of being knocked out. Hopefully no one notices them dozing off for a five minute power nap.”

The door to the stairwell opened easily enough and the stallions slipped in. They deactivated their camo while they paused their movements.

“Hey, Cap, if you give me a moment, I can hack into their comms,” Comet said.

Stardust nodded. “Do it. Alright—let’s figure out our next move.”

“Weapons storage is likely in the trading floor,” Match said.

“We could also look through other rooms to gather intel,” Sharp suggested. “It’s our job, after all.”

“Specter entered through a subsurface route,” Stardust noted. “They might be closer to the main floor than we are unless we book it down there.”

“The question here, Captain Rapture,” Sharp said, “Is do you trust Specter to do the job right?”

“100 bits you wouldn’t last a night with one of them,” Comet quipped.

Sharp turned to the tech specialist, still tapping away at his tablet. “The fuck, Crosser?”

“You’re the one that seems intimidated by them. Or something. Want me to raise the wager?”

“Put some faith into them Lieutenant,” Match said. “We’re all spooks here. Once we get back radio contact, we’ll work it out.”

“Sharpie’s night endeavors aside, we should get moving shortly,” Stardust said. “Comet, how’s the comms going?”

“I’m in.” With a final motion of Comet’s hooves, griffon radio feeds started coming through their earpieces.

“How are we on time?” Stardust asked.

“Specter hasn’t reported in yet,” Match replied. “Seven minutes since their drop.”

“Okay. We got time, but we need a floor plan. Can’t waste our time aimlessly wandering looking for intel.”

“And where do we find one?”

“Well, griffons made this place a makeshift warehouse. They’ve got to have management somewhere. And management is probably in one of the largest possible rooms.”

“Fourth floor,” Sharp said. “Got a conference room and banks of computers right across the hall.”

Stardust inspected the map in his vision. “It’s just asking for trouble. If we go down there, we need to commit ourselves to a larger task.”

“Recon the area, see if we could get a layout of the stockpiles,” Match said.

“Sounds good. Let’s get on it while Specter gets over here. Camo up.” The four stallions had made their way down to the fourth floor undetected. The stairwell, fortunately, opened into a nondescript hallway. Carefully opening the door, Stardust peeked out. Finding no griffons in sight, he slipped out, the rest following.

“Down this hallway, make a right,” Sharp instructed.

“Noted.” Stardust lead them down the hallway, hoofsteps barely audible. However, as they neared a corner, they heard voices approaching. Switching his single optic to magnetics, he found two guards coming closer.

“Dusty, what do we do? Take ‘em out?” Match asked. Stardust unsheathed his knife, and Match took it as a signal to do the same. While Stardust hugged the corner, Match crouched in the middle to get a better angle on the farther guard.

As the two griffons passed the corner, Stardust took his target down on his side while Match tackled the other to the other corner, knife plunging at the same time.

“This is Specter. We’re inside the target building. How copy Arrowhead?”

“Tad bit later than us to the party, Specter,” Stardust answered as he dragged the body down the hallway, planning to hide it in a room or closet.

“Dusty, don’t forget to search these guys,” Match reminded him.

“We’re near the trading floor and presumed center of operations,” Stardust said as he rummaged through the griffon’s items. “Your location?”

:::::

“Looks like the supply garage. Only one lift, and one ramp.” Orion fiddled with the controls, sending the drone up and over the truck. Immediately, enemies lit up on the LCD screen. “Will secure exfiltration options while we’re here.”

“Short range jammer is up. They can’t squawk.”

The drone was equipped with a fifty calibre long rifle, which Orion proceeded to use to blow the brains out of several of the Griffons.

“Go loud, ladies.” She sprang up, spraying with the CAWS. Lead buckshot rained down on the unsuspecting guards, and coming from three CAWSs, there wasn’t much left of those who didn’t manage to take cover.

A leap carried the mare over behind another truck, giving her opportunities to flank. The shotgun clicked on empty, and Orion reloaded quickly.

Without radios to coordinate the defense or call for help, and under the combined and suppressive fire from three different directions, the defenders fell one by one. The last Griffon turned and tried to flee, realising that his comms were not working.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Orion threw her knife, strength compounded by the Exo, lodging it right in the spinal column of the retreating Griffon.

The garage fell silent.

Orion scanned the large room one last time, hoof on the trigger.

“Clear.”

“Clear.”

“Confirmed. Clear.”

“Yelena, find transport. Lynx, on me.” Orion reloaded her shotgun, moving swiftly to the elevator doors. The thin aluminium doors were puckered with bullet holes and splattered with blood, but the carriage still worked.

“Found a Humvee, it’s working and there’s a large gun mounted on top.”

“Bring it over to the elevator, then stack up.” Orion fixed a package to the ceiling, a small one barely bigger than a soda can.

With a rumble, the four wheeled vehicle reversed up to the door, to the left of Orion. Yelena hopped out, and the three piled into the lift.

Orion punched the button for the first floor. “This’ll dump us out in a service corridor that has a section of shared wall with the main Exchange room, where HYDRA should be.”

“Alright then.” Orion pulled out her Vector. “Do you think there’ll be enemies?”

“Unlikely. This is just a service corridor. They’re much more likely to be in the main room and all other corridors. Arrowhead will definitely see more.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Lynx went first, sweeping left and eyeballing the long empty corridor. Pallets were arranged neatly, their contents covered in packing film. Yelena executed the lights, plunging the corridor into darkness.

“We’ll wait for Arrowhead here.” Orion set up, lying down on the floor behind a pallet with her gun trained on the far corner. “Check your Exos.”

“Enough juice for a few more hours,” Lynx echoed out, looking at the readouts.

“We’ll only get in their way if we burst in guns blazing," Orion whispered. "Let them find any intel, then HYDRA. We’ll be their exfil plan.”

“Gonna be a long while.” Yelena rummaged around in her pack, pulling out a packet of oats.