Chapter 4: Escape from the Eagle

E.N.T. Eagle

Over three hours after crash

“I’m gonna place the ID number for my pipbuck in this holotape. You should be able to find me with it.” The recording ended. Thunder Dasher and the rest of the group stood around inside a storage room. Lightning Strike playing the recording through his armor. Everypony looked to Thunder Dasher.

Helmet in hooves, Thunder Dasher looked up at Lightning Strike. “We need to go get them.”

Lightning Strike looked over to the room’s entrance. “I agree. Windshear and Star Shimmer need to be pulled out of this damned city. I can’t let you just run off though.”

The team looked to Lightning Strike. “I’m sorry sir?” Tornadowinds asked.

Thunder Dasher stepped forward. “Lightning, what are you saying?”

Lightning Strike stared Thunder Dasher in the eye. “Thunder, how much fuel do you have left in your tank?”

Thunder Dasher paused, raising an eyebrow. “What?” Thunder Dasher looks over his fuel tank. “Little under half a tank.”

Lightning Strike looked around at the rest of the team. “Does anypony else have backup tanks?” The team members shook their heads. “That’s what I thought. Even with the countless raiders you’ve already burned to a crisp, there’s still hundreds more waiting right outside. Do you really think you can fight through all of them?”

Thunder Dasher took a step forward. “I sure as hell can. Lightning, I’m not gonna just leave them out there.”

“I’m not saying to.” Lighting Strike stared Thunder Dasher down. “You’ll be of no use to them if you just run out and get blown up though.” Thunder Dasher lowered his eyes, the reality of the situation hitting him. “I would, however, be more than willing to send all of my forces to plow a path for you. All I need is to get to the control room. I have a team up there to see the current situation there. Once that’s dealt with, you’ll have an army to get your wife and daughter back.”

Thunder Dasher looked up at Lightning Strike, frowning. Walking towards the general, Thunder Dasher slapped on his helmet. “You better.”

Lightning nodded. “You have my word.” He looked to the rest of the team. “Is that understood?”

“Yes sir.” Tornadowinds and Cloudy Storm said in unison. Sky Snake nodded.

///

The Eagle had fallen silent since team Chimera started towards the bridge. The echo of their hoofsteps the only sound they could hear. Rounding the corner, they pause as a radio transmission is picked up on their armor. “To all remaining soldiers within the Eagle.” Captain Tsunami stated. “You are to return to the main hanger and enter a transport, we are finished here.”

Lighting Strike activated his transmitter. “Captain Tsunami. This is General Lightning Strike. I am currently being aided by a team originally tasked to with your operation.” He motions for the team to continue, he trots a few paces behind them. “The soldiers are the still active members of team Chimera. I will hold onto them until we return to New Hayven.”

There was a short pause before Tsunami replied on a private channel. “Understood Sir. We will see you at the base. Fly safe.”

“To you as well.” Deactivating his transmitter, Lightning Strike caught up with the team.

“Thank you for the ride sir.” Thunder Dasher said.

Lightning Strike smirked a bit. “Of course, why would I-” His smirk dropped. “Are you gonna be like this the entire time?”

Thunder Dasher turned his head to Lightning Strike. “I thank you for helping me save my family. I’d rather we just deal with the current situation at hoof though.”

Lightning Strike lowered his head. “It’s good to see you too.”

Silence fell upon the team for an uncomfortable length of time. Cloudy Storm decided to fix this. “Uh, so General Lightning Strike, sir. Why are you here? On the Eagle I mean.”

Lighting Strike perked up a bit. “As I have said to Thunder Dasher. My soldiers and I are working on repairing the Eagle. It would be best to not let it just sit here for the raiders to have. Currently we have my team in the control room and another one that was sent to the engine room.”

Cloudy Storm and Tornadowinds looked at each other. “Do you really think they can get it to fly?” Tornadowinds asked.

Lightning Strike nodded. “It is a possibility. It’s best we not find out.”

“And if you can’t get it airborne?” Cloudy Storm asked.

“My soldiers are equipped with high explosives. They’ll set them in key locations. Then we’ll scuttle the ship.”

“I see.” Cloudy Storm nodded.

Thunder Dasher turned to Tornadowinds. “How much further?”

Tornadowinds checked the map. “If we take the staircase around the next left, we’ll be right there.”

The group began to take the next turn. “Good, we can stop-” The loud crack of a rifle and resounding force against Thunder Dasher’s helmet silenced him. His head whipped to the side. Before Thunder Dasher could react, somepony pulled him backwards. A hail of gunfire erupted from around the corner.

“‘Hoo-wee, come get us ya’tin cans!” a gnarly mare’s voice called out.

Cloudy Storm crouched next to Thunder Dasher plugging into his armor, checking his vitals. She sighed. “You’re clear.” Cloudy Storm patted Thunder Dasher’s shoulder. “Lucky stallion.”

Shaking off the pain, Thunder Dasher stood up. Tornadowinds and Lightning Strike watched him as he got to his hooves, meanwhile Sky Snake stood at the edge of the intersection. Thunder Dasher smirked. “Don’t worry, I’m not dead yet. What are we dealing with?”

“All I could see was a blockade before we pulled your ass to safety.” Tornadowinds said.

Thunder Dasher looked over to Sky Snake. “Do some recon.”

Sky Snake nodded, and a second later he vanished.

“The fuck are they doing!?” The voice of a raider called out.

“Shut up, they might hear you.” Another one hissed.

Sky Snake appeared on the other side of the intersection. He began tapping his hoof in morse code.

‘Five.’

‘Mini.’

‘Sniper.’

‘Three Yards.’

Lightning Strike nodded. “Well, we need to get them out of here.” he looked around at the rest of the team. His eyes stopped on the missile launcher on Thunder Dasher’s side. “Thunder, that ordinance isn’t part of your original loadout. Does it work?”

Thunder Dasher smirked. “Only one way to find out.” Thunder Dasher trotted up to the edge of the hallway. “Chimera, give me coverfire.” Thunder Dasher jumped out into the intersection, his companions rounding the corners. Gun fire and incinerator bursts filled the hallway. Thunder Dasher planted his hooves firmly on the ground and aimed at the barricade.

The barricade was primarily made of beds and desks, most likely taken from the nearby rooms. One of the raiders looked out over the barricade at Thunder Dasher. It was a unicorn, and it held the minigun in it’s magical grasp. With a horrific smile, the raider unleashed a torrent of bullets.

Through the hail of bullets, Thunder Dasher let loose a missile. The missile soared true, hitting the center of the barricade.

KRABOOM!

The explosion ripped the barricade apart. Bodies and debris being thrown all about. The hallway fell silent after that. Thunder Dasher looked around at his team, stopping on Lightning Strike. Lightning Strike nodded. Thunder Dasher started forward. “Alright Chime-” A searing pain laced through the side of his torso, forcing Thunder Dasher to stop.

The rest of Chimera walked up to him. Tornadowinds looked Thunder Dasher up and down. “Y’alright Thunder?”

Thunder Dasher took another step. The pain lashed out again. He grunted and kneeled down. “I think I’ve been hit.”

Cloudy Storm sped over and plugged into Thunder Dasher’s armor again. “Oh dear.” She looked at the rest of the team. “A bullet got through. Nothing important was hit, but I need to pull the bullet out.”

Lightning Strike looked down the hallway. “Let’s get somewhere safe, this area’s too open. Saddle him and let’s get to the bridge.”

“Yes sir.” Cloudy storm nodded. She looked down to Thunder Dasher. “You ready for armor lock sir?”

Dealing with the pain Thunder Dasher laid down, folding his legs under him. “Yeah, I’m ready.” Before he finished his sentence, his armor became rigid.

Cloudy Storm unplugged herself. “We’ll get you.” She trotted behind Thunder and began to set up the saddle.

As this happened, Thunder Dasher’s eyes scanned the hallway ahead. The emergency lights extended vision for about a dozen yards before the hallway ended in complete darkness. Thunder Dasher looked to the hallways to the left and right. Empty.

A click sounded behind Thunder Dasher. “There we go, let’s head out.” Cloudy Storm said. Soon enough Thunder Dasher began to be dragged.

Thunder Dasher returned his attention to the hallways ahead of him, and froze. The darkness had filled in more of the hallway. Now it stood about ten or so feet away. From this distance Thunder Dasher watched as it rolled across the edges slowly, like water. He squinted. ‘What the...’

“Chimera.” Thunder called on the team’s comm. “We might have something on our six. Don’t look, just hoof it to the bridge.”

There was a short pause, then the dragging continued. “What exactly do you see?”

Thunder Dasher looked it up and down. “Some sort of wall of darkness. Possibly a spell of some sort.”

“Tell us if something changes.” Lighting Strike chimed in.

“I plan too.” The group continued onward. Heading up a maintenance stairwell to the hallway next to the bridge. The wall of darkness following close behind.

As the team entered the hallway, Lightning Strike called out on open coms. “Breach team Omega, come in. have you finished your task up here?”

There was no answer.

“Breach team Omega, are you there?” Silence.

Tornadowinds looked over to Lightning Strike. “Is our shadow still there Thunder?”

“Y-yeah.” Thunder Dasher huffed.

The team now made it to the door of the bridge. A terminal bathed the area in green light. “Five caps says it’s a trap.” Tornadowinds said.

Lightning Strike nodded, walking up to the terminal. “Once we’re on the other side I’ll lock the door. We take out any hostiles on the other side. Cloudy Storm will then operate on Thunder Dasher. The rest of us take guard. Understood.”

“Yes sir.” Everypony answered.

Lightning Strike tapped a few keys on the terminal, and the door slid open. “Go!”

The team charged in. The door slamming behind them. Lightning Strike fiddled with the terminal on the other side as the rest of the team checked the room. Still facing backwards. Thunder Dasher watched as the darkness that had been tailing them started to deform. Tendrils wriggled forward, grasping at the air.

“Clear.” Tornadowinds called out. The door slammed shut, cutting one of the tendrils off. Cloudy Storm dragged Thunder Dasher to one of the corners and detached him. With a resounding thud, Thunder could see the rest of the bridge. The main windows had been covered by thick blast shields, causing the dim light of terminals and emergency lighting to cast much of the room in shadows. The room itself appeared to be only slightly damaged. Thunder Dasher also noticed that the room was void of all life other than his team.

Lightning Strike turned around and looked around the room. “Where the hell are they?”

“You think the shadow thing got them?” Tornadowinds asked.

A hiss came from Thunder Dasher’s armor. He looked down to see a section of his chest plate pop off. Cloudy Storm sat down in front of him, her medical kit in hoof. “Companion suit, activate med-X.” A confirming beep came from Thunder Dasher’s armor before it injected him with the chem. Within seconds the pain disappeared into a cloud of numbness.

Cloudy Storm pulled off her helmet, letting a curly blue mane fall down the side of her head. Taking a pair of hemostats in mouth, she began prodding the bullet hole. The pain barely an annoyance to ThunderDasher.

A large BANG came from the bridge door. All except Cloudy Storm turned to the sound. “So, could we get those blast shields down?” Tornadowinds asked. His flamer lit up. “Or should we teach’em a lesson?”

Lightning Strike ran over to one of the bridge consoles. “Give me a few minutes, I’ll have them open soon.”

Tornadowinds and Sky Snake took positions, using nearby consoles for cover.

BANG!

The door bent inward, darkness beginning to spill through. Cloudy Storm pulled away from Thunder Dasher, the bullet hitting the ground with a small clank. “There.” Cloudy Storm spat out the hemostats and put on her helmet. “Companion suit, activate health potion.”

Thunder felt his strength return as the health potion sealed up his wounds. Cloudy Storm placed the chest plate section against the armor, the suit’s systems realigned the piece and connected it to the rest of the armor. Cloudy Storm stood up and moved to Thunder’s side. Soon enough his armor relaxed, and Thunder Dasher could move again.

BANG!

A sizable hole appeared in the middle of the door. All that could be seen was pitch blackness on the other side. Thunder Dasher and Cloudy Storm ran over to the others. “Light it up!” Tornadowinds shouted. Everypony sprayed the hole with green flame. The darkness evaporated, leaving nothing but bright green light.

“Cease fire.” Thunder Dasher called out. Everypony stopped. The green flames licked both sides of the hole. Thunder took a step forward, looking through the hole. The fire illuminated the area right outside of the door, but not much else. The darkness appeared further back.

Thunder Dasher looked over to Lightning Strike. “How much longer?”

“Just. About. Done.” Lightning Strike looked over to the blast shields. The shields slid downward, revealing murky darkness. Lightning Strike backed up against the console. “What the hell?”

Thunder Dasher stared up at the darkness. This kind wasn’t as pronounced as the other was. Through it he could see faint outlines of the nearby buildings outside, along with a tall figure standing on the hull of the ship. Two red eyes looked out through the darkness at the group, and the figure moved closer.

“W-what’s the plan Sergeant?” Cloudy Storm said, looking from the darkness, to Thunder.

Tornadowinds looked out through the hole in the door. “The darkness is moving up again.”

Sky Snake readied his flamer.

Thunder Dasher and Lightning Strike looked to each other. “Get ready for a fight.” Lightning strike said as he moved between two of the bridge consoles. Lowering his head, he produced a greenish blue energy pistol from his armor’s holster. Thunder Dasher ran over to a nearby console, preparing the missile launcher.

Cloudy Storm jumped into to one of the corners, switching to her incinerator mode. Tornadowinds and Sky Snake ducked into cover against the figure at the window, pointing their flamers at the door.

A rush of darkness slammed into the door, finally ripping it apart. The door broke into two parts, one of which flew through the bridge, barely missing Sky Snake and Tornadowinds. The two soldiers ignited the doorway with flame. The figure at the windows began to glow.

Darkness rushed into the room through the door, enveloping the green flame. Tornadowinds let off a volley of fireballs. From the darkness came a black blade sinking into his flamer. The blade lifted into the air, Tornadowinds hanging from it.

A hiss came from the flamer. “Oooh Shi-!” A large green explosion ripped apart the flamer, shooting Tornadowinds across the room.

Sky Snake trotted sideways. Coating the darkness in green flame. A pained roar came from the darkness and the blade slashed at Sky Snake. He nimbly dodged it. Cloudy Storm joined in on the other side.

“Tornado!” Thunder Dasher moved towards Tornadowinds, his body an unmoving husk.

The being behind the windows vanished in a flash of light, appearing in the middle of the room. Thunder Dasher turned to the being. It appeared to be a large, muscular pony in strange armor. Atop their head sat a large horn covered in a deep blue aura, a black blade floated by them in the same aura. The unicorn turned to Thunder Dasher.

Thunder Dasher launched a volley of fireballs at the unicorn, who caught them with their magical grasp. They threw the fireballs back at him. Thunder jumped out of the way. One of the fireballs caught him on the back, covering him in green flame. Thunder Dasher landed, his armor warmed but otherwise unaffected. Thunder Dasher looked up, catching sight of the blade as it flew at him.

The blade sunk into Thunder’s chest with ease, cutting through the armor like butter. Thunder Dasher reeled in pain. “Gaah!” The blade began to lift, raising Thunder up.

“No!” Lightning Strike unleashed a torrent of blue magical energy from his gun upon the unicorn
The unicorn stepped away, turning towards Lightning Strike. As they did, they let Thunder Dasher slide off the blade. He hit the ground with a hard CLANK! Blood spurting out of his chest wound. The new, gaping hole in his chest made the gunshot feel like a mild itch. Thunder gasped for air, but only managed a small puff each time.

A woosh of fire brought Thunder’s attention up. Scorched and busted, Tornadowinds stood facing the dark unicorn. His flamer launching a volley of fireballs at it as Lighting Strike shot it from the opposite side. A second later the fireballs were replaced with a faint clicking sound. Tornadowinds looked to his flamer. "Shit."

Gritting his teeth, Thunder Dasher tried to hoist himself up, though he only managed to get onto one hoof before he was stopped by a coughing fit. Blood speckled his visor. ‘Shit!’ Thunder Dasher looked over to the dark unicorn before him. The unicorn still focused on the other ponies attacking it, Thunder leveled the missile launcher as best as he could ‘Grab this you crazy fuck.’

The missile flew straight and true, slamming into the dark unicorn before exploding its bits onto the surrounding room. Thunder Dasher smiled at the sight.

“Komaa!” The other unicorn screamed out, catching everypony’s attention. Looking to Thunder Dasher, the unicorn gripped him in it’s magical grasp, and began to throw him around the room.

Every smash against the wall pulled Thunder further from consciousness, the speeding world darkening quickly. Intense, bodily pain being replaced by growing numbness. “Take it out, now!” Lightning called out in the distance. A low whooshing came from somewhere near Thunder. “Don’t let it leave!”

A horrific, gurgled, scream rang out in Thunder’s ears. At this time, all he could do was watch as the last bit of his blurry vision faded from a blurry light blue, to a deep, endless black.

“Thunder!”

Level up! +7 Battle saddles, +6 Speech

Perk: Leave'em Toasty: Your Enclave Balefire training has made you a deadly advisory with the flamethrower... well, deadlier than a normal lunatic with a flamethrower. +10% damage against foes when using incendiary weapons!

Author's Note

thanks to my friends and family helping me out with writing through support. A special thanks to Dugolroth for help in editing.