Manehattan Wire
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Meteor Shower sat back in the Guardian’s pilots seat with a wry grin. In the matter of five minutes, he had managed to figure out how to use the guns, and managed to move the ship out of the hangar. “Not bad for the old timer, eh Sparkle?”

Twilight, while standing less than a foot away from the former unicorn, was much more distracted by the many different scenarios that she had began running through her head once the hangar doors were blasted clear into next week. All of that stopped once the engines started spooling down.

“Alright, party’s over.” said a new voice. Twilight looked up and saw that Dusk had opened a cabinet on the wall and shut off a rather large circuit breaker.

With a thud, and an audible crunch, the Guardian was reunited with solid ground.

Dusk only groaned, knowing that there was another thing added to his laundry list of problems to fix. It was then he noticed a blinking light on the main console. “What the hell?” Dusk walked over, pushing Meteor and Twilight out of the way. The light was connected to the communications systems on the Guardian, indicating a transmitter error. Dusk immediately began tweaking the systems, attempting to deal with the apparent error.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” asked Meteor.

“I built the bloody ship, so yes.” quipped Dusk. Returning to his work, the error light shut off, but there was an immediate burst of static through the cockpit speakers.

zzzzzzzz… UNzzz zzris zzzzzttt.

Dusk furrowed his brow, and went to work trying to clean up some of the static, and a male voice was heard.

zzzzzzz… UNSC Paris zzzzttt. zzt zzurse with unknown planet. Wounzzzz zzzard. Requezzzzttt zzzzzance. This message repeats zzzzzzzzttttt

“Did he say unknown planet?” asked Twilight.

Dusk nodded. “Yes, he did.” Dusk made one final attempt to clean up the message, making sure to set up the communications gear to record the message. His continued efforts to clean up the signal were soon rewarded.

This is Commander Baxter of the UNSC Paris. We’re on a course to an unknown planet. We have wounded aboard. Requesting assistance. This message repeats from start date of October 21st, 2552.

Dusk was sitting at the desk in his office. He seemingly deep in thought, and was unfazed by the small group assembled in the room with him.

“Uh, Dusk, you planning on doing something?” asked Dart. “Anything would be preferable.”

Dusk turned to face the assembled group. Besides Dart, he was joined by Blueblood, Steeljack, Twilight, Celestia, and (much to his disdain) Meteor Shower. “Tell me Dart, but what are we facing down?”

“An interdimensional invasion?”

Dusk nodded. “Correct. We’re significantly outnumbered, outgunned and all-around screwed.”

“Yet you don’t seem too concerned about an alien invasion.” snarked Meteor. “I thought I taught you to prioritize better than this.”

“And prioritize I did.” corrected Dusk “We know that we are dealing with ‘aliens’ that somehow speak our language, have wounded and are cut off from home. If you can fly between worlds, what’s stopping them from having weapons that could make ours look like pointy sticks?”

“Nothing at all.” quipped Blueblood, concern clearly evident on his face.

“If I may,” interrupted Celestia “You think that a potential for mutually assured destruction would be a reason for a potentially hostile species to side with us?”

Dusk smirked. “Right on. So, simple plan then. Myself, Dart and Steeljack take the Guardian to find that ship. If the ship’s computer is correct, they landed on the coast about five miles from the San Palomino Desert, right over the border in unclaimed territory. Our best place to start would be the stretch of forest about twenty miles from Las Pegasus.”

“But didn’t something break on the Guardian?” asked Twilight.

“Just one of the hydraulics on the forward landing strut.” replied Steeljack. “The bracket that held it to the hull sheared at the main weld. Nothing that can’t be fixed, but it can wait. There’s three of those pistons on the forward strut, so we just lost some redundancy.”

“Inevitably it doesn’t matter. This ‘UNSC Paris’”, said Dusk “needs to be investigated. We know the plan. Steeljack, Dart, we’re airborne within ten.” With that, Dusk left the room.

______________________________________________________________________________

Flash Sentry was engrossed in a card game with two of the Lunar Guards, when a Solar Guard cadet walked into the factory looking rather concerned.

“Gents, let’s take five” said Flash as he rose from his seat to go meet the cadet. As he got closer, the cadet clearly looked rough. His armor was dusty and dented, and he had a number of scratches on his face. “Something wrong?”

The cadet jumped, seemingly startled. “Bloody hell!”

Flash grew more concerned at the cadet’s stance. “I’ll just take that as a yes. Now what the hell happened?”

“These things… I don’t even know what to call them. Just came out of nowhere and started… Oh god!” The cadet started breaking down, rocking back and forth on his heels.

“Cadet, where were you stationed?” inquired Flash

“Dodge Junction” replied the Cadet, who went back to rocking back and forth.

“Damnit…” Flash looked over at the lunar guards and motioned them to come over. “Get this kid to Canterlot. He’s going to need a shrink and a doctor.” The guards nodded, and the cadet followed with no fight.

“That didn’t sound good.” pointed out a grizzled voice. Flash turned around, finding that Meteor Shower had been watching the whole debacle. “Kid, grab your gear and meet me out front in five. We’re going on a field trip.”

“I’m sorry, but a field trip?” Flash never got his answer, as Meteor teleported away. Flash just shook his head and made the short walk to his room to grab his armor and rifle.
______________________________________________________________________________

Flash Sentry was waiting out in front of the factory, tapping his foot rather impatiently. He had elected to take his Royal Guard armor, as opposed to his newer combat armor. His modified rifle, however, was slung across his back in the place of his spear.

“Flash, what the hell are you doing out here?” Flash turned, and saw Dusk, Steeljack and Dart all decked out in full combat gear.

“Me and the kid are going on a field trip” said Meteor as he walked outside. It was evident why he needed time, as he had reclaimed his old set of armor and his sword from the pedestal in Dusk’s office. “Some cadet stumbled in here. Said that a group of guards got slaughtered by something down in Dodge Junction. We’re going to investigate.”

Dusk narrowed his eyes for a moment before he pulled a small black box out of a pocket on his armor and handing it to Meteor. “Here, take this. It’s a two-way radio optimized for long distance communication. We’re running as Alpha Team, you two run as Beta. Just let me know when you find something. ”

“Something that slaughtered Royal Guards, and got a cadet to make a fifty mile run to Manehattan? Damn right someone’ll hear about it.” replied Meteor.

“I’d expect that person to be me. Anyway, we did let our guests know that we’d be stepping out for a bit, and Blueblood has the whole factory on lockdown until we get back.”

“Then I wish you the best of luck.” Meteor turned to Flash. “Ready to go?”

“I guess?”

“Good” Meteor’s eyes developed a pale glow, before an audible pop was heard, and the duo were gone in a flash.
______________________________________________________________________________

Half an hour later...

“How the hell did you do that again?” asked Flash.

Meteor just chuckled. “I had to reteach myself. Life without a horn meant I had to adapt in order to make use of my abilities. Took me nearly ten years just to reteach myself an illumination spell, and nearly twenty just to relearn that teleportation spell.”

The younger guard only cocked an eyebrow in response. “Now, are you going to keep asking stupid questions, or are we going to keep moving?” asked Meteor. “Dodge is just over that hill” he said, pointing out the small hill that obscured their view of the town. Silently, the duo began their hike to the top. The higher up the hill, the more they began to take in; first came the smell of burning wood, then the faint columns of smoke. The two didn’t have to say a thing as they quickened their pace. Meteor was the first to the top, and was clearly speechless. Flash was right behind him, left in a similar state of shock. There wasn’t a town before them, only smoldering ruins and burnt out buildings.

“No reason staying up here.” said Meteor as he began his walk into town, his young companion on his heels. As they got closer to the town, they saw the bloodied corpses of two royal guards. Meteor paused, and knelt down to examine the corpses. “Flash, do any of these wounds look clean?”

The younger guard took a knee and examined the wounds of both guards and paled at what he saw. “Not in the slightest.”

“These two got skewered by something… And I doubt these wounds were lethal.” said the elder of the pair. “Poor bastards. They bled out.” observed Meteor as he rose to his feet. “This is bad. Very bad.”

“No kidding.” quipped Flash as he pulled his rifle off his back. “Now might be a good time to call Dusk.”

Meteor wordlessly pulled out the radio that Dusk had given him and clicked it on. “This is Beta calling Alpha. Anyone there?”

The radio crackled to life. “Alpha here. Go ahead Beta.”

“We’ve hit Dodge Junction. The town’s rubble. We’ve already found two dead guards, both have been seriously wounded and bled out.”

Flash tapped Meteor on the shoulder. “I’ve got movement. Something in black, three hundred feet northeast.”

“Alpha, be advised, we’ve got movement in the ruins.”

“Copy that Beta. We’ve made contact with our targets. -”

Meteor and Flash didn’t catch the rest of the message, as bolts of red energy began flying past their heads. Noticing a rock wall behind the two, Meteor dragged Flash over the wall and forced him down. “Alpha, be advised we’ve got hostile contacts using unknown weapons. We’re engaging.”

“Copy that Beta. We’re inbound. I’m handing the comms over to Baxter for the duration.”

“Who?” asked Meteor?

“Beta, this is Commander Timothy Baxter of the UNSC Paris. Alpha is on the way, and I’ve sent some of my men with them. What’s your status?”

Flash grabbed the radio out of Meteor’s hand. “Commander, this is Beta-Two. We’re pinned by an unknown number of hostiles. They’re in the ruins north of our position and are advancing.” Flash poked over the wall with his rifle and started shooting in the direction of the incoming shots before ducking back down. “We’re going to run out of breathing room really quick!”

“Copy that Beta-Two. I’ll get Longswords in the air.” The radio went silent for a moment before sparking back to life “Beta, be advised, Alpha-One is tagging along with my men on one of our birds. Alphas Two and Three are returning to base to get reinforcements. Alpha One is five minutes out, Alphas Two and Three are fifteen at minimum. Air support will be on stating within two minutes. How copy?”

“Copy that Baxter. We’ll hold the line. Beta-Two out!” Flash tapped his comrade on the shoulder. “Dusk is five minutes out, but Baxter is sending air support. They’ll be here in two minutes.”

“Who the hell is Baxter?” asked Meteor.

“How the hell should I know? I’m just focused on surviving, so I really don’t give a shit!”

______________________________________________________________________________

Twenty minutes earlier

Dusk was looking out the windscreen of the Guardian, having issues comprehending what he saw. In the forest below was a large grey object, looking more akin to an oversized gun than what he would think of as an alien ship.

“So…” asked Dart. “Were you expecting a flying saucer?”

“Would it be a problem if I said yes?” asked Dusk

“Just means that you don’t get out enough.” replied Dart.

“Dart, now isn’t the time.” Dusk was examining the ship in front of them when he noticed a large green object just below them. Slowly, the object rose until a large green ship was blocking their view. “Uh? What the fuck?” asked Dusk when he gestured towards the ship now in their way.

Suddenly the radio crackled to life. “Unidentified vessel. You are to follow us or you will be shot down.”

“Dart, don’t say a damn thing.” Dusk went for the radio. “Copy that.” As the other ship began to turn away and move towards the larger ship, Dusk put the throttle forward and made an effort to follow the ship. The closer they got to the ship, they noticed a large door on the side of the ship slide open, revealing a large hangar with a number of other ships. Dusk flew the ship into the hangar, and went for the nearest open space before putting the ship down and killing the engines. “Alright, I’ll go out first. Steeljack, Dart, both of you stay behind me and keep your eyes open.”

“Should we be armed?” asked Steeljack.

“We’re in a hangar on an alien ship because we were told if we didn’t come here we’d be shot down. Sure, let’s just bring some cupcakes!” snarked Dusk. “Yes, grab the rifles. And no, don’t point them at anyone unless they start shooting at us first.”

Dusk walked back to the rear hatch, and at Steeljack’s thumbs up he hit the button to lower the ramp. On the other side were four creatures in armor that covered all of their features. The armor was a stark black, with a shiny silver plate where their faces should be. The moment Steeljack saw the weapons trained on Dusk he jumped in front and pointed his rifle at the nearest being.

One of the creatures stood out due to red markings on his armor. He stepped forward, keeping his weapon up. “Alright, drop the weapon.”

“Only if you drop yours.” responded Steeljack.

For a few seconds, there was a tense silence, before both Steeljack and the creature lowered their weapons. “I take it we’re meeting in the middle?”

“Looks that way.” Steeljack stepped out of Dusk’s path and motioned for him to come forward.

“Alright, bad introductions aside my name is Dusk Light. Tall dark and brooding over here is Steeljack, and the mare behind me is Dart. And at risk of sounding cliche, we come in peace.”

The creature just chuckled. “If anything, that’s a cliche that I’ve been waiting fifteen years for.” The creature took off his helmet, revealing an aged man with tan skin and short salt and pepper hair. “Sargent Devon Tremble, 15th Marine Force Recon.” Then the creature held out his hand.

Dusk returned the handshake. “Do I want to know why you’ve been waiting for something as simple as ‘we come in peace’?”

“Son, I’ve watched worlds burn. Buried more friends than I can count and put twice as many covenant sons-of-bitches on the road to their little ‘great journey’. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a cake walk.” replied the Sergeant. “Now, if you don’t mind coming with me, I think the Commander would like to meet you three.”

The trio followed the Sergeant out of the hangar and into a long corridor. As the three walked in silence, the passed a handful of other creatures, all of which stopped and saluted the Sergeant as they passed. Dusk noted that most of them appeared to be working on wiring in the walls and ceilings.

Steeljack broke the silence as the group arrived at a closed door. “So what happened?”

The Sergeant hit a button on a wall, and the door slid open to reveal an elevator. “Pertaining to what?” asked the Sergeant as he motioned for the group to step in to the car.

“All of… This.” said Steeljack, as he motioned back to the hallway.

“Well, ‘This’ is the result of us making a run at a Covenant carrier as it tried to jump into slipspace.” said the Sergeant as the door closed. He then hit a button and the elevator began to rise. “One of their leaders made a run at our homeworld and landed in one of our cities. We call it New Mombasa. Some Marines had pushed back the Covenant troops when their leader decided to bug out. One of our ships, In Amber Clad, tried to make a run at it, thinking it would escape. Imagine how we shit our pants when the bastard went to make a slipspace jump inside the city.”

“And what the hell is slipspace?” asked Dusk.

“It’s a form of faster than light travel. It’s the only way that we can travel between star systems in a decent amount of time. So, the Commander decides to try to follow In Amber Clad, so he ordered us and the two other ships in our formation, the Coral Sea and Redoubtable to follow us into the slipspace rift that the Covenant opened.”

“But if your people can travel between stars, how did following that ship do all of that damage?” asked Dart.

“We didn’t set up to make the jump ourselves, so we were just riding in their wake. Coral Sea and Redoubtable dropped out of slipspace with us in this system, but they were heavily damaged. The wounded we mentioned in our transmission were the handful of survivors that we managed to save from the other ships before our engines began to fail. This being the closest planet, we put down here to save our own skins. That was two years ago.”

Dusk and Steeljack exchanged worried looks. Soon enough, the elevator door opened, revealing a wide open room with a number of other creatures working at a number of terminals. As the three ponies followed the creature, they noticed one man at the center of the room, wearing a white uniform conversing with another creature.

“ - and the maneuvering thrusters work? Best news I’ve heard all day.” The creature noticed the group approached and developed a perplexed look on his face. “Sergeant, these three off of that ship?”

The Sergeant nodded. “Yes sir. And for once, aliens haven’t tried to kill the first humans they saw.”

“I don’t know whether to be relieved or concerned Tremble.” The ‘human’ approached Dusk and seemed to try to size him up before extending his hand. “Commander Timothy Baxter.”

“Dusk Light.” replied Dusk as he returned the handshake. “Now are we just going to shake hands, or are we going to get down to business?”

“Alright…” responded the Commander. “While I don’t know if you represent your species, but we need some help. I don’t see us leaving this planet any time soon, and our food supplies are running low. We’re in a similar pickle with our medical supplies. If there’s anything you can spare, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

“Really? Just food?” asked Dusk. “That’s easy. But I need your help. My associates and I have been tracking a group of slavers operating in Equestrian borders. Now, you might want to sit down for this part, but they aren’t from around here.”

“So, you’re facing an alien force?” asked the Commander.

Dusk shook his head. “No, we’re facing forces from another universe.” Dusk noticed the incredulous look on the commander’s face and cocked an eyebrow. “I take it that’s the weirdest thing you’ve heard all day?”

“I’d list it in my top five.” replied the commander.

“Commander, I could go with these three. See what they’re talking about.” added Tremble.

Just then, Dusk’s radio crackled to life. “This is Beta calling Alpha. Anyone there?”

“Alpha here. Go ahead Beta.”

“We’ve hit Dodge Junction. The town’s rubble. We’ve already found two dead guards, both have been seriously wounded and bled out.”

“Well that’s fucking great.” groaned Dusk.

“Alpha, be advised, we’ve got movement in the ruins.”

“Copy that Beta. We’ve made contact with our targets. We’ll be there as soon as we can” Dusk looked at Tremble. “Still want to come?”

Tremble nodded. “I’ll get some of my men and a Pelican ready.”

Dusk’s radio crackled to life again. “Alpha, be advised we’ve got hostile contacts using unknown weapons. We’re engaging.”

“Copy that Beta. We’re inbound. I’m handing the comms over to Baxter for the duration.” Dusk tossed his radio at the commander. “Just take that. I’ve got a spare back on my ship. I’d rather stay in touch.”

The Commander just sighed before clicking the radio back on. “Beta, this is Commander Timothy Baxter of the UNSC Paris. Alpha is on the way, and I’ve sent some of my men with them. What’s your status?”

“Commander, this is Beta-Two. We’re pinned by an unknown number of hostiles. They’re in the ruins north of our position and are advancing.” For a brief moment there was the sound of rifle fire over the radio. “We’re going to run out of breathing room really quick!”

“Copy that Beta-Two. I’ll get Longswords in the air.”

“Steeljack, Dart. I need you to go back to the factory. Get Star and her friends to Dodge Junction. You’re Alpha-Two and Alpha-Three. I’ll go with Tremble.”

“Beta, be advised, Alpha-One is tagging along with my men on one of our birds. Alphas Two and Three are returning to base to get reinforcements. Alpha One is five minutes out, Alphas Two and Three are fifteen at minimum. Air support will be on stating within two minutes. How copy?”

“Copy that Baxter. We’ll hold the line. Beta-Two out!”

Tremble put his helmet back on and tapped the side of it. “Zulu Company, double time to the hangar. We’re wheels up in one minute!” The sergeant turned to the group. “Time to move!”

The ran for the elevator and made their way back to hallway on the hangar level. The moment the doors opened, the four broke into a dead sprint. “Clear the way!” yelled Tremble as he barreled by the same humans that the group had passed on their way in. By the time they reached the hangar, a group of nineteen other humans in similar armor to Tremble were running for the ship that had previously escorted the Guardian into the hangar.

“Dusk, what about your rifle?” yelled Steeljack.

“I’ve got extras on the Pelican.” replied Tremble. “Now get moving!”

The four split up, Tremble and Dusk running for the Pelican, which was already starting to float off the ground. Tremble jumped onto the ramp at the rear, then turned and grabbed Dusk and pulled him into the back of the ship. “Evans, take us up!” yelled Tremble. Without a word, the ramp on the Pelican rose up, and a hatch dropped into place. Tremble took the opportunity to open a compartment along the ceiling above one of the other humans, and pulled out an odd shaped rifle. “This is a M392 DMR. It’s semi-auto, so you’ll need to pull the trigger with each shot.” Tremble reached back into the same compartment and pulled out five clips. “These clips hold the ammo for the gun. When you run out, the rifle will make a hollow sound. You hit the read button behind the trigger to drop the clip. Once you drop it, pop a new one in and pull this rod back. That’ll load a bullet into the chamber. Questions?”

Dusk took the rifle from Tremble and shook his head. “You answered ‘em.” Dusk took the clips from Tremble, putting one in the rifle, whille sticking the other four in his duster. Once he put the clip in and loaded the chamber, he noticed a screen with the number fifteen on it. “What’s the number for?”

“Ammo count.” replied Tremble. “Just there to remind you how many shots you have left.”

“Nifty.” Dusk looked over the rifle some more, before grabbing one of the seats along the wall next to two of the other troopers. Tremble sat opposite of Dusk, polishing a shotgun. “That thing have a name?”

Tremble just smiled “M90A. Better known as my lucky charm. I’ve had this since I grabbed it off a dead marine during the Battle of Kholo.”

“And it’s saved you from every covie bastard you’ve met. We’ve heard the story before sarge.” said one of the troopers.

“Good to know you payed attention Wilson.” Tremble stopped talking for a moment before he looked at Dusk. “We got a problem.” Tremble hit a button on his wrist. “You’re on commander.”

“The air support I’ve promised is dead on arrival. The longsword just caught fire when they went to take off from the deck. The flight crew is fine, but the bird is scrap. Until I can get an alternative established, you marines are on your own. Baxter out.”

“That’s just wonderful.” groaned Dusk.

“Sarge!” yelled the pilot. “I’ve got two heat sigs on the south side of town. Looks like they’re cornered.”

“Probably Flash and Meteor.” said Dusk.

“Evans, put us down as close to them as you can, we’ll leg it the rest of the way.” Tremble got up from his seat and went to the rear hatch, before he dropped the ramp, revealing the smoldering ruins of Dodge Junction below. Dusk walked up next to Tremble, checking his new rifle one last time. Tremble then turned back and looked at the assembled troopers, watching as they prepared their weapons. Then the ship hit the ground with a thud. “Get tactical marines!” yelled Tremble as he jumped out of the pelican.

Dusk was right behind the soldier, and took a knee once he hit the ground. “Damn, whole town’s trashed.” Looking around, Dusk noticed that the troopers had all disembarked, and their ship was taking off.

Tremble hit the side of his helmet, before handing a small radio to Dusk. “Paris, be advised. Zulu company is on the ground.”

“Copy that Zulu. You’ve got the green.”

“You heard the man marines, move out!” Tremble waved for the troopers to follow, heading towards the hill on the south side of town. As the group navigated through the burnt out buildings, the sound of a rifle was heard, as well as the soft chinks of energy weapons. Tremble took cover by a doorframe, while his men took whatever cover they could find.

Dusk got by a window opposite of Tremble, trying to get a look at what was shooting. Farther away from them, Dusk saw Flash popping up over rock wall, shooting at what seemed to be random. “What the hell is he doing?”

“He’s trying to hit the three shooting at him. Looks like they’ve got active camo.” Tremble looked at one of the troopers and motioned him forward before grabbing a small silver ball off of the troopers belt. “Alright, EMP in three, two…” Tremble tossed the ball out the door, and a moment later, a flash of light went off, revealing three armored pegasi.

Dusk took aim at the nearest one with his rifle before letting off a single shot, putting a bullet through the pegasi’s laser rifle. “Time to move!” Dusk broke out in a run, shooting his rifle from the hip while he made for the wall. But before he made it even halfway to his goal, one of the pegasi slammed into him, throwing Dusk through the wall of one of the many burnt out buildings.

“Marines, engage!” yelled Tremble as he charged the pegasi. The soldier elbowed the pegasi in the gut, before bringing the butt of his shotgun down on it’s helmet. Seemingly unfazed at the hit, the pegasi grabbed Tremble by the throat before he tossed him to the ground.

“Filthy vermin.” said the pegasi, as he knelt over Tremble. “I’m amazed that a bottom feeder such as yourself believes he might help stay our victory.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Tremble grabbed his shotgun, and slamfired three shots into the pegasi’s gut before kicking him away. Tremble got to his feet and walked over to his foe, all while ignoring the cacophony of gunfire from his soldiers. Once he saw the pegasi stir, he pointing his shotgun at its head before firing off a single shot.

By now, Dusk had dragged himself out of the rubble and walked over to Tremble. He looked at the dead pegasi, before looking at the blood-covered Sergeant. “I get the feeling you’ve done that before?”

“On more than one occasion.” Tremble turned around just in time to see the two other pegasi turn and fly off, just as the Guardian touched down behind them.

Steeljack and Dart were the first two off the ship, followed by Violet, Star and Lilith. Steeljack was the first of the group to notice the black armored corpse lying on the ground at Tremble’s feet. As the group got closer, Steeljack began to furrow his brow. Once he was close enough, he knelt down to further examine the body, before pulling a chunk of armor off of the damaged chest plate before tossing it to Lilith. “That look familiar?”

Lilith looked over the chunk of armor, before turning it over and noticing a symbol. “Yup.” Lilith handed the chunk to Star, who further examined it.

“Steeljack…” questioned Dusk “What is it?”

“It’s who you’re fighting.” said Star. “I don’t know if it’s good or not, but you’re at war with the Enclave.”

Author's Note

Ya, I threw a bit of Halo in there... For those who don't know, Redoubtable, Paris and Coral Sea went missing when they tried pursuing In Amber Clad, as outlined in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx. However, the most that the Paris and it's crew will provide some extra muscle, and the all important guns, that are needed to fight against the Enclave. You can't expect me not to try and find a way of evening the playing field just a bit... Including the Paris was the more logical of my ideas. From here, you'll start to see a bit more of Steeljack, and the aftereffects of being... Well, dead.