No Rest For the Weary

by The Grey Pegasus

Rating: mature
Tags: Dark, Thriller, Alternate Universe, Drama
Length: 14177

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[Needs short and long description.]

[Additional things to be taken care of on the doc.]

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-02-22 06:03:27 UTC

[01]-'Twas a Dark and Stormy Night...

No Rest For the Weary

[1]-[Chapter Title]

Script Version

No Rest For the Weary

< 1 >

[Chapter Title]

Operation Gold Obelisk

Griffon Capital, Talos

2100 Hours

Overcast, heavy rain

It is suspected that there will be a high-ranking general in the Claw skyscraper tonight. He is thought to have intelligence about a secret Griffon mission that command would like to know about. Specter team will provide overwatch fire for Arrowhead team, who will drop from rooftop to the fortieth story of skyscraper to capture VIP griffon, or if he is not required, to dispose of him. Enemies have not been alerted to presence, but weapons are free. How you execute is entirely up to you, Innocence and Command will not be able to send support or even be contacted during ops. Don’t get caught.

The rain battered down from the gloomy skies, reducing visibility to a short thirty meters. The droplets battered down on a certain fire-red mare as she crept along the outside of the ventilation shaft, keeping it between her and the Griffon patrol on the roof.

“I tally four. Two on the rocks, one near the lip and the other coming for us.”

“No noises,” Orion whispered. “Knives only.”

The non-reflective blades slid silently out of their sheaths, clutched in pairs of very capable hooves.

“Yelena, take the lip, make sure he doesn’t fall over and alert the ground. Lynx, closest one.” Green lights lit up in her HUD. “Wait for next flare...”

Lightning flashed. In the bright light, the three leapt from behind cover, racing towards their targets with silent flaps of their wings.

Orion saw her Griffon detect them. The stages were always the same, first uncertainty, then realisation, bewilderment and finally fear. He reached for his radio to squawk, when Orion’s blade landed with a ‘thud’ right in his throat. The mare spun, ripping the blade out in a gory spray and embedding it in his friend’s sternum.

Orion straightened.

The thunder roared.

“Check in?”

“Clean.”

“Clean. On me.”

Lynx had one hoof holding a vent open, another on her Vector sweeping the area. Orion hefted the bodies and dumped them in.

“Figure a week?” She closed the cover, locking it with zip-ties.

“We’ll be long gone ‘fore they start to smell,” Lynx smirked.

The duo trotted over to Yelena, who had already set up the sniper’s nest. A small tarp covered the area, keeping it relatively dry for the two high powered rifles. A XM500 and a L115A5, along with a spotter’s telescope.

Orion settled in behind the XM500. Lynx took the L115A5.

“Distance?”

Yelena scanned the glass building in the valley below. “Adjust for a kilometer. Engagement between the fortieth floor to the top.”

The scope clicked, and Orion hugged the rifle. “Give the infiltration team the go. Specter has set up overwatch.” She sighted in on the roof, seeing the blue dots.

“Heads up, mission is go. We’ll cover you, but you gotta light up targets for us...”

:::::

"Alright, Arrowhead, that's our signal. We are go."

Four pegasi stood atop the roof of a skyscraper. Through the optic over their left eye, they found friendly markers over on another rooftop far away.

"I still don't know why they had to get a separate sniper team," a white pegasus remarked.

"Buck up, Sharpie, they're just promoting interservice cooperation," a grey pegasus answered. "Match, ready?"

"Ready when you are, Stardust," a darker gray pegasus replied. "Let's go hunting."

"Comet, Sharp, ready on those grippers," Stardust said as he looked down the side of the building. "We don't want any noise on entry."

"Ready, Cap," a dull blue pegasus answered.

"Weapons ready?"

"Since when aren't they?" Match said with a hint of a smile.

"Exactly," Stardust agreed. He turned his gaze back to the blue markers through the rain. "Specter, Arrowhead ready for insertion. Confirm synced data feed."

"Confirmed."

Stardust addressed his team. "We drop under the fortieth floor, let them take out any targets, then infiltrate."

"Copy."

"Let's rock."

The four pegasi leapt off the roof, disappearing into the mist, falling with the raindrops around them.

"Target ahead."

On cue, they flared their wings and stopped right under the large glass windows of the floor.

Match signaled to his squad. "I'll take a look." Cautiously, he peered up into the windows. Two griffons were on guard in the hall a little ways to the side. "Specter, targets marked. Take 'em out."

"Copy. Stand by."

Bullets piercing glass were barely heard amidst the weather. Peering into the glass, he found both dead.

"We're clear. Dust, let's go."

The two grey pegasi moved up the window and brandished knives. On mental command, the edges glowed with magic.

"Comet, Sharp, ready."

The other two moved up and attached grippers to the window. On signal, the other two plunged their knives into the glass, Match above and Stardust below, each moving around in a semicircle until a clean cut was made. Stardust motioned for Match to give the glass a tap.

Complying, the pegasus used his weight to pop circle of glass into the building, carefully supported by Comet and Sharp. Gently as possible, they laid it on the floor.

"Arrowhead, weapons check."

"Locked and loaded."

"All clear."

"Clear, Captain."

"Specter, we are in."

:::::

“Roger, confirm clean insertion,” Orion murmured as the four dots entered the building. “Target was last spotted on that level, south-western side, about five minutes ago.”

A small PDA sat in front of the trio, displaying a blueprint feed of the building. Targets would show up, and either Lynx or Orion would sight in, depending on their location.

“Arrowhead, hold. Elevator has two hostiles.” The four dots stacked up at the corner of their corridor and the elevator lobby. “Lynx?”

“Bad shot," Lynx said. "Needs to penetrate walls twice. Can’t confirm will penetrate and still hit with the 115. Both are yours.”

Orion scoped in. The integrated HUD synced, showing the Griffons as light red shadows past the concrete.

“Favor, Arrowhead. Lead, could you duck your head for a second.” The blue outline looked around, before quickly dropping. The twin high speed shells struck the concrete where the pegasus’ head was a second before, overpenetrating the wall and making quick work of the heads of the guards.

“General is through that door," Yelena said. "Be warned, when we were here earlier this morning, we spotted him moving with no fewer than four elite Shockers.” She was referring to the heavily armed Griffon infantry, the best choice for protection. “Sniper Fire will also be marginal, the wall is reinforced with rebar, no telling where the shots will go if they penetrate and bounce.”

“They could blow the wall,” Orion idly suggested, adjusting her sights.

:::::

"Hey, Captain, still happy working with them?" Sharp quipped.

"You kiddin'?" Stardust answered. "I'd go down for any lady," he grinned, eliciting rolling eyes from his comrades.

"Yeah, until your wife finds out, I bet."

Stardust gave Sharp a light punch. "Copy, Specter, we can handle ourselves."

"Ready to go hot, Dust?" Match asked his friend in a whisper. He checked his rifle, a Mark 14 EBR.

"You going auto?" Stardust asked as he checked his own weapon, identical to Match's.

"Nope."

"Alright. Sharpie, Comet, you two got the target."

"Fantastic," Sharpie grinned. His hooves rested on his SCAR-L, but they all knew he'd much rather get in the faces of the enemy. He was quick to pounce like that.

"Hey Cap," Comet spoke as he checked his L85A2 and a revolver, "Specter suggests we blow the wall if we want sniper support."

"No, let's not," Match answered. "Stay as quiet as we can."

"Negative, Specter, we'll handle it on our own," Stardust radioed. "Optics to magnetics, let's see what's inside," Stardust ordered.

"Just like they said," Comet noted. "Rebar in the walls, four Shockers standing guard in this small room. Door to the target is right past them. Breach?"

Stardust nodded and Sharp and Comet got to work placing special breaching devices. Instead of explosives, it used a pulse of magic to knock the door right out from under it. Relatively silent and efficient.

"Floor's awfully quiet for a general here," Sharp remarked.

"Likes his privacy," Stardust said as he positioned himself by the door. "This floor's sparse with guards, but floors above and below are crawling with them. Over this city block, an entire regiment. Don't want to wake that up."

"Because infiltrating the capital city is a good way to avoid that."

"Well, that regiment would be inside an entire building if we weren't in the capital, so take your pick."

"Okay, Cap, ready for breaching."

"Line up around the door. Mark your targets. Aim for headshots," Match told them. "Our subsonics might not pierce their body armor."

They all gave affirmatives and stacked around the door. In their optics, they marked their targets.

"Cap, on your call," Comet said, one hoof resting on a detonator.

"3... 2... 1... Blow it."

There was a solid thud as magic pulsed from the devices placed on the door. A split second later, the four pegasi peeked around the doorframe, quickly taking their shots.

Multiple shots hissed from their suppressed rifles, not taking chances with leaving any of the heavily armored griffons alive.

They rushed in, going up to the fallen griffons, and confirmed their kills.

"Nice and smooth, Arrowhead," Stardust said. "Specter, we're outside the suspected location of the target. Keep our backs clear."

:::::

“Ayeffirmative.” Orion watched the building. She quickly swapped the magazine for a fresh one, leaving not much to chance.

“Hey, Ri. Check out the ground,” Yelena whispered.

Orion looked over the lip of the building. This far away, even she could spot the problem immediately. “Who kicked the nest?”

The ground floor was swarming. Well, not really swarming, but four troop carriers was nothing to scoff at. The unit was disciplined, proceeding up the steps orderly but with intent.

“Stay quiet, they might just be here for something else.”

Lynx and Yelena stared at her.

“What? It’s possible!”

A heavily armed helicopter flew overhead, close enough to make their cover shiver.

“... Yeah you’re right. Call it in, I think we’ve been compromised. Ask them what they’ll have us do.”

:::::

“Arrowhead, accelerate the schedule. We have forty, count forty enemy troops headed possibly your way, and one armed helicopter. How engage?”

“Just leave us an exit.” Stardust kept watch over Comet as the other pegasus worked. “You heard the lady, get crackin’.”

“On it, Cap.”

“Are we still taking a prisoner?” Sharp asked.

“Well take care of that when we get there,” Stardust answered. “Right now, we go according to plan.”

“Breaching device set, Captain,” Comet notified them.

“You two are up. Me and Match are right behind you.” The four assembled around the door once more. “Do it.”

The door was kicked from its hinges and Sharp scrambled in first. As expected, the lone griffon inside didn’t even see it coming. The first strike was to his chest, the second to his head. The griffon was dazed, allowing Sharp to grab a hold of him. “Comet!”

The second pegasus, who had followed behind closely, drew his revolver and fired at the griffon. There was no report of a gunshot—it was loaded with special non-lethal rounds. Instead, on contact, the griffon fell limp, but remained conscious.

Stardust walked up to him. “Good evening, general. I think you have an idea what we’re here for.” The pegasus walked past the griffon, hearing a mumbled reply. “Match, you deal with this guy. Sharpie, Comet, sweep the room. We’re short on time.”

The room contained scattered files, maps, and all sorts of items that were definitely not for Equestrian eyes. “Specter, by any chance, is there anything in particular you want from this goon? Because it’s a gold mine, and we only have enough time for a few nuggets.”

:::::

“Negative, no particular.” Orion grunted as the heavy bolt cycled. Both her and Lynx had be pilling bullets into targets. Already, two of the four transports were on fire, shots from the XM500 igniting their engine blocks. “Suggest take photos of everything and let intel sieve later.”

“Disable the lifts!”

“Gotcha.” Orion lifted her rifle, sighting in on the motor winches at the top of the building, highlighted by Yelena. Her rounds punched straight through, destroying them.

“Lift lobby, 38th floor,” Lynx reported calmly as her L115A5 chuffed, making another bloody spray. “They’re proceeding on claw, some have taken flight.”

“Check the chopper?”

Yelena swiveled. “Circling. I don’t think it can open fire without causing collateral damage.”

“Yet. They won’t take this lying down...”

:::::

“Already on it,” Comet said. He was already busy with a camera scanning through documents even before the suggestion came through.

“Match?” Stardust called.

“Griffon won’t talk,” his friend replied. “We don’t have time for him.”

“Let’s look through the room. Go through drawers. Filing cabinets. Just take something that looks important.”

“I love working without any prior intelligence…” Sharp remarked.

Stardust went over to the desk over to the side. Lavishly furnished, he noted. Rummaging through the drawers, he didn’t find much, but he did find a metal box that might have been of interest. He took that with him.

There was a cabinet drawer on the bottom of the desk. Locked. Deciding there was no time for any fanciful unlocking, he took his rifle and shot through the hinges.

“Cap, they’re getting close,” Comet said. “Think they’ll find that hole in the window we cut?”

“Let’s not take chances.” Stardust grabbed whatever was in the locked drawer and ran back to his team. “Pick this guy up.”

Sharp tried to make an objection, but could think of nothing to say. So he just did as ordered and slumped the angry yet motionless griffon on his back.

“You doing what I think you’re doing?” Match asked.

“Probably,” Stardust answered.

“Why don’t we just do it ourselves?”

“Ah, he deserves more than that. We ready to make an exit?”

The others gave affirmatives.

“Specter, is our exit clear? Is our entrance compromised or is it still viable for exit?”

:::::

“Affirmative, they’re coming up the stairs though.” Orion reloaded. “Your concern will be the chopper, he’s patrolling your airspace. Recommend using elevator shaft to cover escape to roof, then fly vertically upwards into the clouds. Rendezvous at exfil location Echo.”

“The midair one?”

“Why not, we are all pegasi, aren’t we?” Orion disengaged her rifle. “Pack up the non-essentials, let’s prep to move.”

Yelena snapped the recovery beacon, setting it to Echo. It sent a ultra-low frequency burst back to the Innocence.

:::::

“Hold up a bit, Specter, we got one more request from you.”

The four were scrambling back towards their exit, griffon general with them. They could hear the wind and rain from outside—they were getting close. One more turn of a corner and it was a straight run.

Stardust signaled for them to halt, then motioned for Sharp to drop the general on the hard surface of the cut out circle of glass.

With an audible grunt, the general was unceremoniously dropped. Stardust leaned down to him. “See this, general? This was our entrance. It’ll be your exit as well unless you decide to tell us something important.”

“I will die loyal to my country, with no regret,” the griffon muttered.

Stardust shrugged. “Well, it was worth a try. Prop him up against the hole.”

“With pleasure,” Match grinned, knowing exactly what was coming. “Come on, you fat fuck.”

They caught a glimpse of the griffon’s eyes going wide from surprise, but he kept his beak shut. His expression turned to pain as his neck was dropped onto the bottom of the circular hole. He gave more sounds of discomfort as he was still paralyzed.

“Specter, if you’re still there, target marked. Arrowhead, let’s make our exit.”

They ran off towards the elevator shafts, leaving the griffon to fate.

“That was your plan, Captain?” Sharp asked.

“That’s right, Lieutenant,” Stardust answered. “We’ll let him live in fear, confusion, and uncertainty for the last few moments of his life.”

“Specter was packing up. You sure we should’ve done that?”

“Come on, Sharpie, I don’t think you’re giving other services enough credit. We all want these fuckin’ griffons dead. They’ll make it happen.”

They reached the elevators. Stardust and Match pried one of the doors open and the team promptly flew in. “Think we’ll encounter any resistance, Cap?” Comet asked.

“I’d like to ask you your gut feeling on that, 2nd Lieutenant Crosser. We’re all Scouts here; you tell me.”

“You two Captains are the vets,” Comet said. “Experience to make that judgment.”

“Well here’s something. This is the griffon capital. Let’s not underestimate them. Always expect the worst.”

:::::

“Lynx. Execute.” The L115A5 chuffed once. Once was enough.

“Specter is disengaging and exfiltrating.” Orion hefted the XM500, taking flight.

:::::

The four pegasi broke through to the roof. “Clear shot up. Let’s gain some distance from this place.”

However, as they looked up, they knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.

:::::

“How’s the skies look like?” Orion asked over the heavy rain. The three had began a steady and slow climb upwards.

“We’re in the clear.” Yelena scanned the clouds. “Arrowhead...”

Orion looked over.

A squadron of Griffon was descending from the cloud cover to engage the ponies. Below them, the chopper was alerted, heading upwards quickly.

“Specter, set up.” Orion hovered midair.

“You sure? The recoil...”

Orion hugged the XM500. “We’ll have to deal with it. They aren’t going to make it with a squadron on top and a chopper below.”

:::::

“Switch to aerial. We’re engaging.”

Their optics switched overlay modes to aerial, ready to assist them in combat.

“Cap, we got a helo on our ass,” Comet remarked.

“No shit,” Match replied.

“Let’s make quick work of these griffons,” Stardust ordered. “Sidearms out, weapons free.”

“Captain,” Sharp said, “Do these griffons have flight equipment?”

“Magnetics say they do,” Stardust replied. As he did, bullets whistled past him. “They’re engaging!”

One was headed straight for him, visible only through the optic. Timing it perfectly, he flipped himself as the griffon came upon him, drew his knife, and expertly slashed at his assailant. The griffon made no effort to recover.

“Okay, splash one.”

The four pegasi kept up the twisting fight, both against each other and the weather. It was a dogfight, fought by pegasi and griffons in the midst of a storm. Three-dimensional fighting was an art to be mastered, and the pegasi were trained in said art much better than the griffons. With an effective combination of both ground tactics and aerial combat tactics, the four pegasi held off the more numerous griffons.

Over the course of barely two minutes, the Equestrians turned the fight in their favor.

“Arrowhead, ammo check,” Stardust radioed.

“Three mags left,” Match answered.

“Two full,” Sharp said.

“Hell, I’ve got one in my gun and one in reserve before I’m winchester, Cap,” Comet said.

“I see you coming below me,” Match said. “Catch.”

A single magazine for their pistol was dropped through the cloud, right where Comet was flying towards. “Thanks Captain. Griffons regrouping?”

“We should too,” Stardust said. “Helo’s nearly here. We can’t run—guns will cut us down.”

“So we stand and fight off at least six griffons and a helo?”

“Yeah,” Match said. “It’ll be fun. We brought grenades, right?”

:::::

“Six Griffons, one helo,” Yelena confirmed.

Orion pulled the trigger. The XM500 recoiled, knocking her back a distance. She recovered in time to see a dead Griffon spiral down.

Lynx’s L115A5 had less recoil, and she stayed roughly in position as the rifle chuffed. However, less recoil meant less power. “Damn it, missed the target.”

“Lynx, you got the Griffons.” Orion spun upside down, pointing downwards. “Yelena, scan the helo, give me things to shoot!”

Immediately the outline lit up. Orion wasted no time as she sighted in and pulled the trigger. The first shell pinged off the armored hull of the helo. Readjusting, the second burst through the canopy, embedding itself in between the legs of the pilot.

“Last bullet,” Orion grunted, keeping the rifle steady.

The trigger clicked, launching the round. It spiraled through the air, on course…

The bullet slammed into the rotor mast, ricocheting and entering the engine on its way out. immediately, the helo started whining. Not a kill, but it’ll buy some time.

“Keep heading upwards,” Orion ordered. The trio restarted their steady climb upwards, disappearing into the clouds not long after.

:::::

“Looks like Specter’s just given us some last support.”

“Come on,” Stardust told his team, “Let’s clean this up. Griffons first, then the helo.”

They tracked the griffons as they flew around, making themselves hard targets. “Match, if you don’t mind, now would be a good time to do your stuff.”

“Keep ‘em occupied,” Match said. “And off me would be nice.” He split off from the group, presumably to perch himself on a cloud.

“You heard him—we’re playing bait.”

They flew off in a different direction, and quickly, the griffons latched on.

Stardust was the lucky one to get two on his tail. As he flew, gunfire pierced the air. He knew they were both shooting at him. But he did wish they had tracers to make it easier to tell. “Match…”

“One down.”

Stardust looked back to find one griffon gone. Taking matters into his own hooves, he spun fully and closed his wings, dropping. It was slightly awkward to pull out the rifle into firing position, but when the sights were trained onto the target, he pulled the trigger.

A burst of fire erupted as the marker in the optics passed through the gunsight. The griffon began losing altitude. “Alright, splash one. Comet, Sharpie, how are you two?”

“Captain Grade’s already done.”

“Nice work, Match.” He waited for a response. “Match?”

“Yeah, one big problem here!”

In his friend’s direction was the chopper.

“Hold on, we’re coming!” Stardust barely reached their position when one of its engines burst into flames and shrapnel. ”Shit!”

Match flew up next to him. “Damn. Too fucking close. The hell happened tho—wait—is that—“

“Dammit, dammit, dammit, fffuuuuu—“

“Comet!”

They sped towards the falling marker. But again, they were beaten by someone else. Sharp flew back up to them, carrying a pained Comet.

“2nd Lieutenant, what happened?” Stardust asked the blue pegasus.

Comet winced in pain. “Well, it turns out trying to surprise attack a helo while it’s shooting isn’t smart. Least it sucked in the grenade.”

“Wounds?”

“I’m a lucky stallion, Cap. 20 millimeter hole in my wing, couple of shrapnel. ‘Bout it. Can’t fly, as you might’ve saw. Nerves must be shocked.

“Alright, soldier, let’s get out of here.”

:::::

The clouds lit up periodically, as lightning flashed. Within that white light, a set of red and green flashed and two white circles hovered in the air.

Orion crouched at the ramp of the hovering V-22 Osprey, keeping a trained eye out for Arrowhead. Inside the craft, Yelena and Lynx were repacking and cleaning the rifles.

“Captain, we can’t hang around much longer. The weather is clearing up, and we need to keep inside cloud cover.”

“Give Arrowhead a couple more minutes," Orion answered the pilot, who shrugged and waited. “They’re either coming, or dead.”

:::::

“Extraction, 2 klicks out,” Sharp noted.

“They’re waiting on us,” Stardust said. “Comet, you still awake?”

“Not dead, Cap,” the pegasus in question replied.

“Don’t be lying about what your ARCANE diagnosis says.”

“Hole in my wing, and a couple of shrapnel. Promise I’m not dying.”

“We’re almost there. Match, how about you get over there and tell them our situation.”

“On it.” Match sped ahead and headed for the V-22.

:::::

“There.” Orion watched the blue dot resolve itself.

The stallion alighted cleanly on the ramp, “We’ve got one wounded. Should be about 1 klick out.”

“Then we better get moving,” Orion answered, watching the remaining dots come out through the clouds.

Stardust landed on the open ramp first. After quickly shaking the rain from his mane and wings, he turned to assist getting Comet down. “Someone get us a medkit. Sharp, check up on his wounds, see that they’re really not critical.”

“Yes, sir.”

Meanwhile, he walked up to Match. “Thanks for getting over here.”

Match shrugged. “Wasn’t much. You want me to deal with Comet while you go and debrief with Specter?”

Stardust mulled it over. “Alright. Get me all the things we looted.”

:::::

The half-hour ride back out to sea was uneventful. Orion leaned out the door, looking for the landing lights on the pitch-black ocean.

“1 o’clock. Put us down, pilot.”

The Osprey came in, landing on the dark rear deck of the ship. Immediately, the floor began lowering itself, dropping the helo into the cavernous hangar bay of the Innocence Eternal. A roof slid into place, sealing the ship up once again.

Orion grabbed her rifle kit and left the Osprey, sliding past a bunch of medical personnel. The three of them disappeared into one of the many doorways leading to the hanger, entering the warship proper.

They moved in the general direction of their bunks. It wasn’t very far, but with the ponies moving around the tight confines, a five minute stroll became a fifteen minutes hassle. Finally, they reached their individual bunks.

Orion was closing the door when a cyan hoof stopped her.

“Yes, Yelena?”

“The eggheads will be looking at the intel, so debrief at 0800 hours tomorrow. Conference room C. Don’t be late," the cyan mare grinned, bringing up an old incident. Orion smiled back, show a bit more teeth than usual, before closing her door fully.

“Another day, another mission.” The XM500 went into the small armory cupboard, joining a small arsenal of other weapons. Orion quickly stripped down out of her fatigues, tossing the wet uniform onto the floor. Decorum suggested putting something simple on, but she couldn’t be bothered. Orion sprawled out on the small bed, closing her eyes.

The subsonic thrum of the ship’s engines quickly lulled her to sleep.

:::::

Stardust and Match left the hangar deck. Sharp had offered to accompany Comet on the way to the medical center, reasoning that the captains needed the rest more than him.

"Hey Match, you know what we forgot this time?" Stardust said, wearily.

"What?"

Stardust ran a hoof through his dark grey spiked back mane. "Our hats. We fuckin' forgot our hats."

Match just smiled. "Dammit, we did forget our boonies. The rain didn't forget to come though."

"Always the damn rain."

The two tired stallions walked down the corridors to the section reserved for their unit. "Notices for mission debriefs will be posted."

"Yeah. Get up early and get to where we need to be."

The two neared their rooms. Somehow, the ship had enough space for the luxury of separate accommodations. Small ones, but personal nonetheless and with just enough space to work.

Stardust sluggishly opened the door to his, the metal door creaking on its hinges. "'Night, Match," he told his gunmetal gray friend entering the room besides his.

"'Night, buddy."

With a tired sigh, Stardust stepped into his and closed the door. There was the bunk off in the back, a few drawers and cabinets to the left side, and a sizable desk to the right. The grey pegasus dropped into the seat by the desk.

The Mk14 EBR was the first to go on the desk. It clattered down, and he made quick work of inspecting it and prepping it for storage in the locker across the desk behind him. Sidearm was next. He threw off his combat gear and left it out on the ground to dry.

Finally, he was left with his pack. Although he was incredibly tired, he was still curious as to what he might have found.

The first was the metal box from the desk. He cracked it open, finding three memory cards inside; however, there were slots for four. He dumped the contents, searching the inside of the box more. Underneath the foam padding that protected the cards were a few notes. Preferring not to process any of it, he put it all back in and left it for tomorrow.

Still curious, he checked to see what else he got, much of it from the locked cabinet. Among the various items, there was another metal tin, larger in size. Opening it, he found cigars.

"You know what? I'll end my day on that." Closing the tin, he went over to his bunk and rolled on.

2

No Rest For the Weary

[2]-[Chapter Title]

Script Version

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.

3

No Rest For the Weary

[3]-[Chapter Title]

Script Version

Note: ‘Zebratown’ is used here.

No Rest For the Weary

< 3 >

“Cap, I don’t know how you expect us to get to the nerve center of this place,” Comet said. “It might be early in the morning, but there’s already going to be too damn many.”

“Unless we kill our way through, of course,” Sharp suggested.

“Don’t want to kick the hornet’s nest while we’re in the nest,” Stardust said. “Comet, you sure about how many griffons are already milling about?

“Cap, we turn this next hallway ahead of us, and we can make it to a hallway overlooking the trading floor. We can make our judgements from there.”

“Good enough.” They turned the next corner, also devoid of any griffons. “Let’s take a look.”

At the end of the hallway, they could see windows. And outside the windows, they found what they expected to be the upper walls of the trading floor below. Stardust peeked around the corner. “Two contacts, thirty-five meters, moving away. We’re clear.”

The pegasi slipped over to the window. Down below them were banks of screens, numerous, numerous desks, and what could only be described as a warehouse where there was space.

“Shit, Cap, we’re going to need to find something telling us what’s where if we’re going to get anywhere.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Are the crates marked?”

“Might have some shipping papers attached to some of them,” Match said. “Not going to do us any good up here.”

“If we make our way through the griffons fast enough, we might be able to get to the operations center, get down there, and exfil before they realize something’s up,” Sharp said.

“Not that many griffons up right now. Most are probably asleep.”

“Well…” Stardust considered. “Ain’t exactly a ghost town, but it’ll have to do. Arrowhead, make a course for the operations center. Weapons free.”

The four set off at a quickened pace down the hall, headed for their original destination. As they passed one intersecting hallway, a griffon was walking down it, barely twenty meters away. They passed in front undetected. “Sharpie, watch our six. That bird gets too close, execute.”

“Copy.”

The four kept up the pace to the hallway intersecting theirs and passing by the back wall of the trading floor. There was the sound of a suppressed round firing and a bolt cycling. “Target neutralized.”

A quick check back revealed the griffon bleeding out on the floor. They reached the corner without any further distractions. “Place is starting to wake up,” Stardust noted. “Everyone get in firing positions, we’re making lots of shots here.”

“It won’t take long for one to stumble over a hall of dead bodies,” Match said.

“Then we get in and out quick,” Stardust said. “By the time they notice, we’re making our way to the trading floor.”

“They’ll be on alert for our entire time here.”

“It wasn’t going to matter anyways,” Comet said. “Griffons just noticed there might be something suspicious going on in the basement levels,” he said, listening to the enemy comms.

“We’ll make this quick then.” Stardust peeked into the hallway again. “Group of three, over there. Mark and execute.”

Within four seconds, the command was carried out. Turning the other way, there were much more griffons. “Just kill ‘em all.”

Their rifles began spitting bullets, each one catching a griffon. Some tried to scream for help, and they might have gotten it off. But within twenty seconds, the hall was cleared. “Let’s go, let’s go! Operations center on the right, middle of this hallway.”

“Cap, comms just got busy. We kicked the nest.”

“Let’s get out of this area fast then.” They came upon the conference room. “Magnetics shows seven griffons, two dogs, and… that’s a dragon.”

“Make these shots count,” Match simply said.

“Door’s not reinforced,” Sharp said. “Breach?”

“Stack up. Sharpie, get the door down.”

“Aye, Captain.” The three others positioned themselves around the door. Sharp flew into the door, bringing it down with his weight. Immediately, the other three poured in, executing the surprised targets. Care was taken to get the dogs and dragons with shots to the head.

Stardust looked around. “Alright, we’re in.” The room was filled with various computers and documents. “Comet, can you get anything from here?”

“Can hack into their computers. See what I can get.”

“Do it. Match, search these corpses. Especially the dogs and dragon. Let’s see if they know what’s up. Sharp, guard outside. Kill anything that gets close. I’ll look through and see what they have out right now. Get to it.”

While he rummaged through the various documents, he radioed it in. “Specter, Arrowhead, we’ve broken into their operations center and we’re searching for intel and seeing if there’s a map of the shipments below. We’ve intercepted comms and they might be onto your position. What’s your status?”

:::::

“Sleeping tightly,” Orion radioed back, keeping an eye on the corridor. So far, no enemies had bothered to investigate, but Orion had the feeling that was about to change.

“Drones away.” Yelena handed Orion a control. Lynx kept her Vector trained down the hallway.

The drone flew down the hallway, fading from view.

“Ventilation shaft?”

“Big enough.”

The .50 made short work of the grille, allowing the drone to sail through into the tunnel beyond.

Orion reorientated the drone. Flying it along the shaft was hard enough, the wings frequently scraping the walls.

“Left at this fork, and another right.”

The drone dipped, following directions. It emerged overlooking the trading room.

“Arrowhead, there are enemy troops headed your way from the trading room,” Orion reported, watching the ghostly white figures pass through the doors at the opposite end of the room. “Pick up the pace. Grab your intel, head down and find HYDRA. Give us the signal once you’ve found a sample.”

Yelena pulled out a PDA. “The barracks is swarming, Arrowhead.” The live satellite feed wasn’t assuring. “We’ve got ten minutes, tops, ‘fore they swarm us.”

:::::

“That’s just great,” Sharp grumbled.

“Comet, no time for window shopping. We need something telling us where those shipments are.”

“Just go it, Cap.” An image was pulled into their optics. “They’re sectioned by desks. Pick any from those farthest ones to the middle.” He motioned to the window.

“Those crates all HYDRA?”

“According to this, sir.”

“Match, you get anything off them?”

“Just that it’s apparently secret enough that even they don’t know,” Match said. “Orders are basically ‘handle with care’. Not even explained.”

“Well, I’m guessing they’re not too happy about that either. Sharpie, we clear to move out?”

“Aye, Captain,” the lieutenant said. “Hall’s still clear.”

Stardust grabbed what documents were spread out, finding nothing that revealed the nature of the weapon. “Comet, grab what you got from the database. We’re leaving.”

“Already done, Cap.”

The four made their exit. They ran for the hallway and stairwell from which they entered the floor. “Contacts, up ahead,” Match whispered.

Their camo kept them hidden from the eyes of the unobservant griffons. “Execute.”

Quick work was made of the enemy squad, allowing them a clear path to the stairs down. “Cap, some shipments should be right out of the stairwell.”

“Noted.” As fast as they could, they made it down to the trading floor. “Guards are all around. MG nests in various desks.”

“We have to get one of the crates open,” Match said.

Sharp scoffed. “Bloody hell, we don’t even know what’s in the damn things.”

“We’re gonna have to find out.” Stardust lead them through the shipments, finding a spot in the middle. On the crate next to them, a label informed them that it was their objective. “Sharpie, Comet, get that crate open. Match, we’re covering.”

Sharp motioned for Comet to get over next to him. “Knives. Cut shallow.”

They took out their knives. The blades began glowing with magic, allowing faster cuts through the wood. Meanwhile, the two captains rested their rifles on surrounding crates. The desk near them was empty, but another one slightly farther away had an MG position.

“Shit, Dusty, look up front.” Where Match was looking, squads of griffons were assembling.

“They’re going to sweep the area,” Comet said while he worked. “Their comms are frantic.”

“You two almost through?” Stardust asked.

“Just now,” Sharp said as he lifted the lid off. “It’s a metal box, Captain. Magnetics won’t let us see through it.”

“How does it open?”

“Might be a latch on the side,” Comet said as he started cutting the side of the crate.

“Make it quick.” The two captains kept their rifles pointed at the approaching griffons.

:::::

“They’re playing with fire in there,” Orion murmured, maneuvering the drone into a better position.

Suddenly, something caught Orion’s eye. The drone twitched, zooming in. A particularly well-muscled Griffon barged past the assembled ranks, followed by a well-armored D.dog.

The onboard programming began to match the faces. Orion waited as hundreds of known Griffons were compared.

The console beeped. A match.

“Oh shit,” Orion breathed, as she stared at the glowing red words. “Trouble.”

“Who is he?”

“Spec ops spook. Gregor. ‘The Light’.” Orion watched Gregor pull something roughly off the harness of one of the assembled soldiers.

The pin flew out and the grenade skittered into the room.

Orion spotted the blue band. “Shit, EMP!”

:::::

Stardust spotted the grenade go out. There was nothing they could do as their optics fizzled out and their camo dropped. “Oh shit.”

He looked up back to the operations center, where griffons were setting up, clearly noticing them. “Bigger oh shit.”

He flipped the optic out of his eye’s way, as the others had already done. Although they no longer had a synced data feed, they still had their ARCANEs to pick up the slack on everything else.

“Dusty, we gotta cover for them. Comet, how much longer?”

“Trying to find the right side of the crate, Cap…”

“Okay, Match, who first?” Stardust asked as they unscrewed suppressors.

“Windows.”

“Going loud on your shot.”

Match aimed in on the window. “Fire.”

Gunfire erupted from the floor, and the fight had begun. Bullets impacted the crates, sending splinters around them. “We’re gonna get surrounded here, Match. I’m not too keen with the idea of throwing explosives in a room full of weapons.”

“Specter, we need a minute. Give us a distraction.”

:::::

“Aye, distraction it is!” Orion stood up. Her CAWS clicked. Orion rose up to two hooves.

“There’s an MG nest right behind this wall,” Lynx reported. “Highlighting Griffons.”

Three ghostly figures appeared in the wall.

Orion cocked her hoof. The hydraulics whined for a second.

“Execute.”

At her will, Orion punched through the concrete wall, the Exo giving her more than enough multiplicative force to turn concrete to dust. Her hoof wrapped around the neck of the Griffon, twisting it violently and ending his life.

“Blow the wall!”

Preset det cord detonated, blowing a hole big enough to allow three ponies to jump through at the same time. It couldn’t be more perfect. They were entering at a right angle to the Griffons, who turned their attention away from the four stallions in the center of the room to the dust storm in the corner to their left.

Orion rolled, coming up in a crouched position. Her CAWS barked repeatedly, turning soldiers into red mush with each burst. Yelena mounted the now liberated MG, lighting up the scores of troops.

Lynx vaulted into an MG nest, bucking the Griffon clean across the room. She took cover as a hailstorm of bullets slammed into the thick wooden desk.

Orion felt a sudden spike of heat across her right hindleg. Gathering energy, she lunged into cover behind another wooden desk. Checking to see that no Griffon could easily flank her, Orion looked down at the armor plating there. Sure enough, there was a neat hole in the metal, and red rivulets ran down the Exo hydraulics.

“More coming in from the front!” Yelena screamed over the gunfire. Orion canned the pain for now, rising again. She pulled the pin off a grenade, lobbing it high and into the narrow entranceway. There was a muffled explosion, and bloody feathers flew past her.

But, as surprising the attack was, they were still outnumbered. All three mares sported various wounds, none serious enough to incapacitate.

“Minute’s up, Arrowhead, how much longer you gonna need?” Orion shouted across the room.

:::::

“Got it open, Cap!” Comet lifted the hinged lid on the case. Inside were numerous metal cylinders, about half the length of their leg and just as thick. “And I don’t want to know what’s inside this right now.”

“We making our exit now, Captain?” Sharp asked as he suppressed the griffons up front.

“Toss out a smoke. We’re leaving.”

“Smoke out!” The grenade was thrown, giving them a smokescreen to run through.

Stardust let the others go ahead of him. “Specter, we’re headed towards your pos—“

He was interrupted as he was violently tackled into a crate next to him. A quick thought of ‘oh fuck’, and he moved his head out of the way of talons.

He wasn’t free yet though, as his leg was grabbed and he was thrown into another desk. “Ah… son of a bitch…”

“Dusty, where are you?”

He didn’t answer as a large griffon came upon him through the smoke. “Just go! I’ll get over there!” He felt a shot nick his wing as he took cover behind a crate.

A soldier’s silhouette appeared through the smoke next to him. HV rounds cut cleanly through his flesh, and Stardust made a dash to escape.

It didn’t work out very well because the next thing he knew, he was tackled against a crate again. “Oh, for fuck’s—“

He was interrupted as his head was slammed against the wood.

“Dusty?!”

“Bit fucking—“ Another interruption, and he made out the sound of the growling chuckle of a griffon on top of him.

“Heh heh… I’ve heard of you. What’s the name? Stardust Rapture? 1st RSD?”

“Kill this bast—“

Another slam against the wood.

“Hold up, we’re comin’ for ya! Specter, give us a moment!”

:::::

Orion could move faster than anypony else in the squad, thanks to the Exo. This she put into good use now as she sprang out of cover again. She zipped past the retreating—now turning—Arrowheads, making a beeline for Gregor.

“Move aside, punk!” Orion’s hindhoof made strong contact with the armored side of the Griffon, launching him with sheer kinetic force off of his victim. “I’ve had enough of this damn place!”

Orion drew the SMAW. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Arrowhead move off.

“Eat this!”

The rocket lanced out, entering the enemy fortification and detonating. The ensuing blast shrouded the area in dense smoke. Orion used the time to recover, moving backwards. It was now a retreating battle, with the Specters withdrawing in tighter circles until they were all in the corridor.

“Blow the escape charge!” Yelena tapped Orion’s shoulder three times.

The little detonator came up, and Orion pressed the button, simultaneously waving to the Griffons approaching.

Down below, the can shaped object flared. Thin blue lines of fire burnt a neat circle around the teams. When the circles connected, the entire chunk of floor dropped, with the team on it.

A brief respite.

“Humvee, load up. Yelena drive, Lynx on the gun!” Orion shouted.

“Dusty?” Match asked.

“None worse for wear. Face fucking hurts. Comet, you have the package?”

“Secure, Cap,” Comet answered. “In my bag.”

“Let’s get the hell out of this place. Specter, where’s extraction?”

“Head for the beach exfil point! Once we hit the road, turn right and follow the river!” Orion looked at the map.

The vehicle peeled out of the garage, jumping the barrier and landing on the road. Its tyres screeched as Yelena floored it. Orion reloaded the SMAW and popped open her hatch.

“We got company!” Lynx swiveled the turret and began chattering away.

Other Humvees followed, careening along the road. A well aimed burst shredded the tyres of one, sending it into the river, out of control.

“Tank! They got a tank coming over the bridge!” Yelena shouted.

Orion aimed the SMAW. The light rocket leapt out of its tube, impaling the armored vehicle and detonating against the armor.

“Definitely rustled his jimmies.” The Humvee roared past as the tank rumbled back to life.

“Take this turn onto the highway!” They skidded onto the sliproad, entering traffic. Yelena spun the wheel, swerving in and out of traffic.

Orion turned around. Behind them, the enemy was still chasing. “Air support for them!” Lynx ducked as a strafe from a flying Griffon wrecked the turret MG.

Orion wasn’t so lucky. The high calibre bullet entered her shoulder, blasting her back against the rim of the hatch. She slid back down into the vehicle, dazed by the pain. The loaded SMAW clattered to the floor next to her.

“That fast mover will be trouble.” Yelena gripped the wheel.

“Match, top cover. Sharpie, get back here and help me cover our rear. Get that SMAW. Comet, check on her wound.”

Within the tight confines of the vehicle, they moved into position. Just as Stardust opened the rear, a shrill whistle went past them.

“Cap, I got our optics back up.” The 2nd Lieutenant went over to check on the mare. “Ma’am, how’s your wound? Critical or not?”

“Wonderful.” Stardust flipped his electronic optic back over his eye and, looking far back, the tank was speeding ahead on the highway in pursuit. “Got company. Take out that tank.”

“What, from the front?!” Sharp exclaimed.

“Just disable it! We just need a technical knock out!” Amidst incoming MG fire, another tank round screeched past them. “That motivating enough for you?!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it!” Sharp stuck his head out and leaned to the side, bringing the rocket to bear. “Gun or tracks?!”

“Well can you hit the gun?!”

“On a bit more steady platform, probably, yeah.” As added emphasis, the Humvee lurched as it ran over something.

“His fault for getting in my sights while he was flying in front of us!” Match yelled.

Lynx nudged aside the stallion, ripping open a medpack and grabbing a specialised screwdriver. She released the perforated armor plate, revealing the jagged wound. A few seconds of digging removed the bullet.

“It could be worse. The explosive fuse didn’t go off.” She gestured to the bent tip, before tossing it out of the window. “But she’s going to bleed out unless she get medical attention stat.”

A entire pack of cotton wads jammed up the wound. Lynx used some bandages to hold that in place.

“Turning!” Yelena jerked the wheel, narrowly avoiding an enemy Humvee going the wrong way. “Five mikes out, get rid of that tank!”

Lynx grabbed the final rocket from Orion’s pack. “Tsk tsk, NE rocket?”

Shimmying over, the mare quickly replaced the preloaded rocket. “That’s a thermobaric rocket!” She shouted over the vehicles. “Just hit the tank anywhere!”

“Got it!” The stallion leaned out and fired. The rocket impacted its front hull, but what was left after the smoke was a flaming, knocked out tank. “Good enough for me.”

“Match, how’s it going up there?”

“Still workin’. Toss me a mag of HV.”

“Cap, we got issues. Gettin’ real familiar with their helos. 2 o’clock.”

Stardust growled. “Any more bright ideas? Anyone?”

“Just one, Captain!” Yelena swerved, avoiding a rocket. They passed under the helicopter, doing 120 kilometers per hour.

“This exit!” Lynx pointed.

They pulled off the highway, now onto a coastal road. Wide. Embankments on either side.

The perfect killing zone.

“Specter to Viper 2-3, engage enemy helicopters to our six.”

“Roger that, Specter. Rolling the uranium carpet.”

The Osprey uncloaked roughly seventy meters ahead of them. The minigun on its belly opened up, hosing the helicopters down with a shower of Depleted Uranium rounds.

“Woohoo!” Lynx shouted, pumping her hoof. “Air superiority, motherfuckers!”

Yelena pulled the Humvee over, grinding to a halt. The Osprey touched down not to far away.

“Hurry to the Osprey!” Yelena hooked a leg of the comatose Orion over her shoulder, dragging the mare out of the car. Lynx primed a thermite charge in the abandoned vehicle.

The engines whined, and the massive aircraft rose into the sky, shimmering and fading from view.

:::::

The teams settled in the Osprey. They glanced at the two other mares as they attended to their commander.

“You know, I’m still not entirely sure I like working with them,” Sharp said to his team.

“Really, Sharpie, after all that, that’s all you have to say?” Stardust said as he began looking through the documents he had snatched. “I know we don’t know them, but based on their performance, I have no problems working with them.”

“Would’ve been nice to know where our aerial assets were…”

“We have to inform tech that the current EMP shielding has been surpassed,” Comet said. “Fried a lot of the systems. Couldn’t get them back up when I rebooted them.”

“You know,” Stardust started, “it’s just work, Lieutenant. I ain’t askin’ you to get real nice with ‘em and go and fuck ‘em.”

Match chuckled. “You should.”

“Bed ‘em,” Comet slyly grinned.

“Oh, you’re all real funny,” Sharp said, unamused.

“Didn’t Comet already put money on it?” Stardust asked. “Know what? I will too. Thousand bits you can’t get it done within a week.”

“What the bloody hell?! Are you serious about this?!”

“And if you don’t, free drinks for us, courtesy of you, for three nights.”

“He’s got you, LT,” Comet chuckled. “Would you feel less intimidated if they weren’t wearing the exos?”

“You know, paying tabs doesn’t seem like a bad alternative,” Sharp grumbled. “And Crosser—I outrank you. Don’t push me.”

“And Cap outranks you. And I’m on his side.”

Sharp grumbled.

“Yeah, yeah, you know it’s your loss, Sharpie. I think we’ve offered a good deal,” Stardust jested. He changed the subject. “Comet, let’s see what we got.”

Comet unslung his pack and put it down. He searched through the contents before pulling out a black cylinder. “Well, shit, Cap, what do you make of this thing?”

There were minimal markings on the metal case. Only a few seams near the ends, but the case was otherwise smooth. Nothing indicated what was contained inside. “Can’t tell. Could be anything. There might have been something on the inside of its containers, but we’ll have to get the recording off of our optics for that.”

“I think that’s enough of trying to figure it out,” Match said. “We should just let the labs back at Innocence do it. I don’t like the idea of just holding and staring at a secret weapon.”

“Yeah. Let’s stow it. Osprey should have some safe containers around here somewhere.”

Stardust got up and searched the Osprey, passing by Specter while he did.

Yelena carefully removed armor plating from the Exos, tossing them into separate piles for fine, dinged and perforated. They still wore the skeletal hydraulics, if just to be able to keep moving properly.

Lynx leaned back near the wall, cradling Orion’s head. Her forehooves applied pressure on the wound.

“Another successful mission, wouldn’t you say, Ri?” Lynx whispered.

“I ain’t dying,” Orion murmured back, “That’s gotta count for something.”

“Do you like the Arrowheads?”

“I don’t mind them being around. They can be useful at times.”

Yelena sorted the last of the platings. “We need thicker armor. Those barely stopped the 7.62s. And we need another drone.”

“Coming in for a landing.”

Orion looked around. “That was quick.”

“Odd,” Yelena agreed, “Innocence probably had to move or something.”

The helo stopped with an audible thump. A familiar feeling of slow motion falling. When the ramp dropped, Bastion was waiting at the end of it. “Did you su...”

He eyed Orion, being support by Lynx down the ramp. “How’s the wound, Orion?”

“I’ll live, sir. It could have been worse, the HE bullet didn’t detonate or fragment.”

“The Innocence is heading for Zebratown. Intel retrieved by Vahalla suggests that whatever HYDRA is, they plan to deploy it in civilian populations of countries that have stayed neutral. You did get a sample, right?”

“Right here, sir,” Stardust said, carrying a box. “Still no piece of intel telling us what it is; we’ll have to find that out on our own.”

“Very well,” Bastion said. “We’ll take it over to the analysts immediately.” He motioned for ponies to take it from Stardust.

“Debrief, sir?”

“Same room, one hour.”

“Yes, sir.” Stardust turned back to his team. “Arrowhead, let’s unpack and settle back in.” He reentered the Osprey to retrieve his own items, in the process, finding Specter. “I don’t suppose you’ll need any help from us. We’ll see you in debriefing.”

“You’re going to the medbay.” Lynx guided Orion towards the appropriate door. Orion relented, allowing the purple mare to guide her.

“What do you think HYDRA is?”

“Could be biological or chemical.” Lynx shrugged. “Nowadays, they prefer their territories undamaged, so it’s unlikely that it is a nuke of any sort.”

“Orion.” A unicorn greeted the trio.

“Effigy.” Orion stopped the unicorn. “How’s Vahalla?”

“Nothing special, no injuries yet.” The mare smiled. “Can’t say the same for you.”

“Hell naw, we’re used to it.”

“Grats for bringing in HYDRA.”

“That’ll be Arrowhead’s honor. We were just there to exfil them.”

“All teams debrief in an hour, y’all know that?”

Orion looked at Lynx. “Not the all teams part.”

:::::

One hour later, Arrowhead made their way down to the conference rooms.

They found the hallways clogged with ponies.

“So that’s what they meant by all,” Stardust said.

“Watch it, Cap, Sharpie might faint having to be around all of these other guys,” Comet teased.

“Crosser…” Sharp hit the blue pegasus in the back of his head.

“So, anyone know what this is all about? I just know we’re redeploying.”

“Well, if it’s about finding out what HYDRA is, those analysts work fast,” Stardust remarked.

“They made the plans before we got here,” Match noted.

“Guess it can’t be any simpler than a complete debrief then.”

“‘Simpler,’” Sharp said.

“Relatively.”

“Hey Cap, think Specter will be here?”

“Are you asking if all of Specter will be here? In that case, I’d say yes. No bullet or medical reports are going to stop our type from getting some place important like this. If she won’t get here herself, someone’s gonna make sure she does.”

“Warriors of the Innocence. Settle down. Got some serious news.”

Orion settled in at the back of the room.

“The intel brought in by Vahalla indicates that the Griffons are targeting major civilian populations, but thanks to the efforts of both Arrowhead and Specter, their list has dwindled due to the lack of their weapon.”

The black canister sat forebodingly on the table.

“All attempts at discovering what this is has been fruitless. That thing won’t open. But we do have a list of new targets.”

The screen flashed. All eyes on the screen.

“Zebratown is the closest to us. We’ve notified command and they’ve seeked approval from the Zebra authorities to send in Equestrian forces to secure the HYDRA. The Innocence will rendezvous with the fourth amphibious assault fleet and land via the beaches.”

“Where’s the weapon gonna be?”

“It’s being secured in an underground bank vault in the Trust building.” A video began playing, showing a grainy feed. Several Griffons hauled a particularly large box into the vault, followed by some Zebras holding weapons.

“Separatists,” somepony hissed. “Damn traitors.”

“For now, get some rest, all of you. It’s gonna take a couple of hours to reach the rendezvous. Dismissed.”

Orion rose from her seat, following the crowd filing out of the room. “Specters, machine room. Let’s this time to repair the Exos and rest.”

:::::

“So, what do you think of it, Cap?” Comet asked.

“Good presentation, but I think they should upgrade to holographic projectors.” Stardust’s off-topic response left the other three speechless. “Dear Princess Twilight, your intelligence officers request an upgrade to Innocence’s presentation systems…”

“And the mission, Captain?” Sharp asked.

“We’ll see. Right now, I want to know how hard Gryphonian counter-intel is going to be hunting us.”

“Could be deploying them with all shipments of HYDRA now,” Match said.

“Wouldn’t expect any less of them. And they’ll be much more careful this time. And they’ll probably skip the face-bashing part.”

“So, anything you want us to do right now, Cap?”

“They told us to rest. I say study what you can about the target region. 3R’s got good info on Zebratown. Also, Sharpie, your second mission starts today.”

“Oh, fuck you.”

:::::

The acrid smell of oxidiser filtered out of the vents as Yelena welded armor plating together, forming thicker sandwiches.

Orion laid down in one of the bunks. These weren’t as comfortable as their rooms, but repair work had to be done together. She released the fluids from the hydraulic systems, oiling down the moving parts before reassembling them.

Lynx checked the armory. The new drone twitched erratically in her hooves, uncalibrated as it was.

“Took them long enough to send down the new gear,” she groused. “It’s only been four hours.”

“Relax, Lynx.” Orion raised a hoof. “At least they sent it to us.”

“Whoo, the platings are done.” Yelena raised her mask, a coat of sweat covering her in a shiny film.

“Got about another half hour to the rendezvous.” Orion laid aside the hydraulics. “I’m gonna grab...”

Red lights flickered on. The PA system blared.

“General Quarters, General Quarters. All hooves, man your battle stations, this is not a drill. I say again, all hooves, man your battle stations. This is not a drill.”

“Let’s get topside!” Orion took a left at the door. Another passageway, and she opened the hatch to the outside. A walkway passed just inside the hull of the Innocence, another way to get around the ship. Already, it was crowded with sailors.

“Excuse me, coming through.” Lynx bumped past several red-jackets.

They stood at the railing, peering out to sea. In the distance, several pillars of black smoke left little to the imagination.

“Holy...” Orion whispered.