Chapter 67 Battle for New Cloudsdale Part 1

“Hello everypony, this is your daily news report from radio studio three. Our lovely DJ Cerberus is still out, so you will have to make do with my charming voice for the time being. So to get it out of the way, let's start with the bad news. The war is officially on between the Valley Island Republic and our very own Orthrus Peacekeeping Company. It’s already off to a confusingly bloody start, with both sides calling foul in starting this conflict after the recent station massacre. The Republic claims that Orthrus had additionally conducted a series of terrorist attacks on their soil in a bid to cripple them before attacking. Orthrus of course clams no responsibility for such acts, and in return has accused the Republic of warmongering and attempting to crash a train into Citrus Station. We don't know which side is responsible, but the bodies have been counted, and it looks like unfortunately for the rest of us, neither side is willing to stand down until they have their pound of flesh."

“The good news that can be taken from all this, is that the main tunnel connecting to the valley island has collapsed. That is, if you can call that good news. Still, the loss of the main tunnel has forced all fighting to go surface side, meaning that for now, civilians can be kept out of this war. Still, you can expect all stations will double up their security in case any equalist loons attempts to get in from above."

I turned the nearby radio off, and ruffled my wings. The deep baritone voice of the fill in DJ was just a bit too forced, and lacked any real charm. And the last thing I needed right now was to have something else grate on my nerves.

“Say, you ponies said that my pipbuck would be ready twenty minutes ago.” I spoke up, trying not to sound too impatient in my tone.

“Sorry sir,” The mirage pony secretary tilted her glasses down to look at me, which helped me notice that one of her eyes were clearly made of glass. “the tech’s say that there was an error they wanted a closer look at, and it will be out soon.” She sighed. “I know you have been asked this before, but why don’t you just exchange the 3000 model for the Orthrus model? That would have saved you a lot more time.”

I gave a weak smile. “It was a gift, simple as that."

She shrugged, and returned to her terminal, retuning the waiting room to a quiet state, for just a moment.

“Ah, Sir! You’re still here, good, good!” Spoke a mirage pony in a white lab coat and thick glasses. “We have your refurbished pipbuck right here, with almost all original parts, and an updated spell matrix, exactly to your specifications. Still, I don’t know why you didn’t want any of the extra program spells we have available, as being able to use talisman holotapes could be quite useful.”

“That's true, but I'm not a spell kind of pony. Better to stick to my strengths and keep this device as simple, sturdy, and light as possible.” I told the tech as I put on the pipbuck.

The tech nodded. “I see. Which, now that I think of it, is probably why Orthrus still uses revolvers even though we can make energy pistols. The revolvers tend to be low maintenance, and don’t explode if hit in a fight.” He scratched his chin before widening his eyes in surprise. “Oh goodness me, I almost forgot to tell you. Right as I finished your pipbuck, I received a message for you asking you to return to the meeting hall as soon as you can. It was from a Vise President Feather Duster.”

“Thanks...” That got me to raise an eyebrow, as the VP had mostly been avoiding me, and anything that had to deal with me. “I’ll head down as soon as I get this pipback working…” I looked down on it a bit confused, as it had not turned on.

“Oh, let me help with that, you turn it on and off with the option toggle here.” He reached over and moved a toggle on it from “Sleep” to “Status” and the screen then lit up.

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User name: Merit Cross

Special:

Strength - 6
Perception - 7
Endurance - 6
Charisma - 5
Intelligence - 5
Agility - 8
Luck - 3

Traits Identified... Fast Shot... Early Bird.

Race: Pegasus

Occupation: New Cloudsdale Enclave Scout

Mission: Secure the survival of New Cloudsdale

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Fallout Equestria: Dance of the Orthrus.

Battle for New Cloudsdale

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On my way to the meeting hall, the path to the room had less flare the second time around. With Orthrus now too busy to be impressing visitors, it was now a showing of the mess of bureaucracy that they were. Ponies ran back and forth to move paperwork around, and called out letters and numbers that almost sounded like it's own language. I didn't know if the heavy bureaucracy was just a front to hide how dangerously competent this organization was behind closed doors, or if it was just in spite of the bureaucracy. Shrugging, I flew over the busy mirage ponies just to avoid colliding with any of them.

The meeting hall itself had been rearranged so that all the tables had been pushed to the middle of the room, forming one long table with an intercom speaker sitting in the center. The council representative of security, Naqara, sat at on one end of the table. She was flanked by Temboril, who was now sporting an eyepatch over her right eye, and a mare who looked a lot like the changeling Sorrow in her pony form, but a bit taller. On the other end of the table sat Vice President Feather Duster, along with his aids, security, and my team. Taking a seat between Wub Wub and Little Sis, I noticed that everypony on our end looked worried. And not in the sense that there was apprehension about this war, they looked really worried, to the point I was almost afraid to ask.

“What’s the bad news?” I asked quietly to my team.

“Well for one, the after party-party is canceled.” Wild Winds said softly, as she cracked a nervous smile.

“An understatement.” Light Turbulence added. “We got an emergency message from New Cloudsdale, that a sea vessel was following the city, course correcting for every adjustment made to the city’s flight path. Right now were waiting for an update to the situation.”

That got me a bit worried. “Just one ship? Even with our military supplies stretched thin as it is, one ship shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Correct.” Naqara spoke up, turning all heads over at me. “But remember what Lady Red Steel had said, that the entire fleet was on the move looking for the cloud city. Also from what Red Steel had told us, the grand fleet has technology and magic at its disposal that we cannot predict yet. This is why I had your Vice President summon you back here, so that we may go over any countermeasures if the situation turns hot.”

Understanding the situation wasn’t nearly as dire as it could have been, I leaned back, relaxing a little. “So what, is this a war council? I doubt you need a grunt like me here for that.”

“Not exactly.” Naqara smiled. It was the kind of smile that reminded me of a superior officer that you just hoofed over the rope that they can hang you with. “This is a war council, but you’re not exactly a ‘grunt’, are you, former Colonel Merit Cross? Aside from Major Wild Winds here, you’re the only pony who's experienced open warfare, and has been in command inside a hot zone.”

“We once had a few ghouls from the great war who may have had wartime experience we could lean on, but due to time and changing 'opinions', the last of them on the islands died a little over thirty years ago.” Temboril spoke up. “As of now, we only have ponies experience with island to island combat. Though we have the tech, pony power, and training, what we lack is the experience to engage an enemy in ship to ship combat. To make matters worse, we will clearly be on their terrain, placing us at a desaturase tactical disadvantage.”

I looked over at Wild, and she shrugged at me before speaking. “They need basic to advanced tactics used by the Enclave, all that wargame stuff you soldier types practiced daily. I did my best to share, but despite what my rank says, I'm just a pilot. You were always the better leader, having a good head for tactics and strategy. No offense to Light, that is.”

“None taken.” Light Turbulence just sighed. “Actually, that's why I was put in charge of your squad. Dad wanted to make sure that nothing bad happened to me, and made you all glorified babysitters.”

I balk for a moment, my mouth held agape as I prossed what I was hearing. “Wait, is our very own Little Sis growing up?” I said out loud, and Wild chuckled a little as Light glared at me. “Sorry, sorry, I'm being out of line.” taking a deep breath, I straightened myself up, taking a more serious posture. “Right, where do you want me to begin?”

The questions started simple as we bounced back and forth with theoretical combat situations, but kept snagging on one major problem. Orthrus only had the two massive ships, and while they held a good number of vertibucks, there were no support ships or tenders for them. The airships Orthrus had were comparable to a thunderhead warship, and quite possibly even stronger with their advanced tech. But even a thunderhead was mostly crippled without gunships to watch its blind spots, or support teams to draw fire away. Without that, they’d simply just be one big target for every gun to point at.

When asked about what ships New Cloudsdale had to offer for the fight, I spoke truthfully that we only had six Raptor class ships, though due to our limited resources, only two were ever in combat ready condition at one time. Then the conversation moved to combining the airships with the two raptors. While it may bolster our firepower, they are just too different, and the group would not make a solid formation. Even still, there might not be a choice, and it could be just enough to force a stalemate with a naval fleet.

The intercom speaker on the table suddenly crackled to life, quieting everyone down from our discussion.

“New message from New Cloudsdale coming through!” A mare’s voice spoke over the speaker before static took over again. Replacing the mares voice was that of a stallion’s. Faint at first, but becoming more clear. I could also hear the sound of a vertibuck engine under strain, which only happens when being pushed to its limit, which overall, is not a good sign when receiving an urgent message.

“To all expeditionary teams, this is Brigadier General Rough Turbulence, New Cloudsdale has been compromised, and all communication is currently being jammed.” The message was interrupted by the sound of an explosion before it continued. “Several sea vessels have appeared over the horizon, heading toward the city, and they appear to only be the front of the following fleet.”

The distinct sound sound of a vertibucks energy cannons being fired came through, fuzzing the transmission for a moment.

“They are hostile, I repeat, they are hostile! Orders to all expeditionary teams, abandon your mission, the city is lost. I repeat, the city is lost… Repeating message,. Orders to all...”

There was another explosion, followed by loud ringing squelch from the speaker before the message cut out, making us all wince at the sound. It was the same kind of sound a radio message makes as it melts while still broadcasting. I couldn't say fore sure what had happened, but it was clear that the Brigadier Generals vertibuck had been shot down.

Looking over at Light, she was cupping her hooves over her face, tears welling up in her eyes. I had never liked the Brigadier General, that stallion had made my life very difficult once he had gained power after the revolt. But unlike the Generals before, he actually tried to do his job to the best of his abilities. Knowing him, the message was mainly for Light, telling her not to come for him, to stay safe here on the islands. It also looked like Feather Duster wasn't was doing any much better, though not about to cry, he was holding onto a photograph, staring at it intensely.

Next to me was a steaming Wild Wind. As I expected from her, she looked ready to start a fight. I placed a hoof on her shoulder, and she snapped a glare at me. “I know Wub Wub, but even if they gave us a vertibuck, it would take too long to get to them. We need to be rational about this.”

“Easy for you to say!” Wild sneered at me. “While you were wallowing in your self pity, we all started new lives that are pretty much gone now. And you’re asking me to be rational about this! The most rational thing to do is to get over there and kick their flanks!” She looked over at Naqarq, and pointed at her. “You’ve got to have some sort of super secret tech right, like some black ops aircraft with megaspells, or a super teleportation device that can move armies? Why don’t we fucking use them and go out and kill those mother fuckers!”

“Wub Wub, I'm not saying I don't care about our home, but yelling about it is just wasting time we don't have!” I said firmly, which got her to settle down a bit.

“Actually, she’s right, we do have a few things here.” Naqara spoke up, and everypony’s head snapped to her. “Though, it's not some ministry of arcane science megaspell devise, we have managed to make a few experimental devices that could help.”

I patted Wub Wub on the shoulder, getting her to sit back before I spoke again. “And how soon can you get these devices ready?”

Naqara smiled. “Well, we had one put back together as a display peace for the Enclave ambassador to see, so one is ready to go. As for the other devices, they require a lot of setup, and generally a lot of paperwork. But, due to being at war right now, and as I am acting dictator, I could authorize pooling all of Orthrus'es resources into getting it up and ready as soon as possible. Though it’s a risk that if it backfires, could cost us a lot here, so I would hope New Cloudsdale would appreciate what asking for help means.”

I wanted to bite my lip, and just jump into the fight like a good solder with a gun. But I was no longer a young stallion, and I knew better. “What are you after? You’ve already got Orthrus under your control, and the deal with Red Steel is all but assured. There’s no way you would risk everything like this without a deeper motive.”

It was strange, but as I looked at Naqara, I could swear her eyes were glowing gold, only just for the briefest of a moment. “Lets just say I had a dream, one where Orthrus becomes something greater than just the metro's peacekeepers if I were their leader. As the old saying goes, fortune favors the bold, and that cloud city is the fortune Orthrus needs to break free from the metro, so it is in our interest to help you out. Now, do you have any more questions that will urge me to reconsider my offer?”

I didn't like that Naqara reminded me of the old generals I once served, seeking glory to feed their ambition. It was a recipe for disaster, but... action was needed, and needed right now. And as much as I hated to admit it, she had the tools to make things happen. Somehow, I knew that this must have been how Vibraphone felt, and why she’d sided with Naqara.

“Yes, just one more question.” I watched as her expression flattened at my words. “Are you sure your troops can handle a fight so soon?”

The doors to the room flung open, and Red Steel stomped thorough with two ponies following her, hauling several packed baggs.

“Not in the slightest!” Red laughed as she took a moment to look at all of us, ending on the furious gaze Naqara leveled at her. “They'd get fucked in the first minutes of the battle with such a greenhorn crew running your airship. Not to say I'd know the first thing about airships, but you'd do a lot better if I was at the helm, of course, along with some of my crew relaying my orders.” She removed a small device from her ear, tossing it to the table. “Also, your vertibuck pilots are shit. I'd suggest you allow the ones from my ship to fly for you if you plan on having any prolonged dogfights with the grand fleet.”

“I will certainly take that into consideration.” Naqara responded calmly as she motioned for Red to take a seat. “But I have a few of my own agents in mind to take command of the ships. Though, having you aboard to give council would kill two birds with one stone for us. I still want to resolve this issue as peaceful as possible, and having you get your mother to stand down and negotiate for the city would be beneficial to everypony.”

“Dictator Naqara, was it now?” Chuckling loudly Red took her seat. “I'm sure you’re an experienced, and a likely ruthless leader, but were not playing Island politics here. My mother is the high admiral of the grand fleet, in service to the Oceanic Illuminated Authority, otherwise known as the Holy Empire. A pony like her got her position through cunning and brutality, by making threats, and then following through with them. If you come to her not ready to send her entire fleet to the bottom of the ocean, then she will find any weakness you present, and take everything you have for herself. I may be her daughter, but to her I'm only a useful tool for her ambition, meaning I have some worth to her, but I will be cast aside the moment I become an obstacle. That aside, she knows that her cunning will not work on me, as I know all her tricks. You give her a moment to talk, and you’ve all but lost already. By having me captain your airship, it will cut out the mind games she will try, and we’ll get right to deciding who gets that city."

There was a short pause as we all looked at Red, with Naqara being the one to respond.

“I see.” Naquara smirked again, “Let’s say we do hoof our highly advanced and irreplaceable airships over to your command. What guarantee do we have that you would not just stab us in the back and join back up with dear old ‘mommy’?”

“Simple really,” Red pulled out an Orthrus model pipbuck from her bag, placing it onto her left fetlock before holding it up to look at it. “everything I own already belongs to my mother by divine right. Just giving her the keys to the metro will yield me nothing, as I am her inferior, and only have a right to whatever scraps she deems fit for me. Though, I might get to stay the captain of the weeping pegasus, only if she feels ‘generous’ enough to let me have even that.” Red’s smirk spread into a full, mirth filled smile. “But, as her daughter, I can still challenge her authority, as is the divine right of the chosen. And only through victory, what is now mine, will stay mine. Unfortunately, unless I have some recognizable authority that the high admiral can't just destroy outright, then this exchange will never happen, and she will only accept your complete capitulation and enslavement.”

“I get it.” Naqara sighed. “I just wished we had more time to figure all this out.” She turned to the tall pony and said something to her outside of earshot, and the tall pony trotted off. “As the safe arrival of New Cloudsdale to the Marewaii Islands is vital for the future survival for our own civilization, along with establishing trade with the grand fleet, I will grant you temporary command over the Scootaloo's Resolve.” Naqara then looked over at us. “I also require a skilled vertibuck pilot and crew, ones I can trust with an experimental craft.”

Wub Wub, and Little Sis gave me a nod in conformation, and I saluted at Naqara. “Consider it done ma’am.”

“Alright then.” Temboril then trotted over to us, her power armor thudding on the ground with each step. “Follow me, as we’re already prepping the vertibuck for flight.”

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We all took the shortcut to the landing pads, flying down over the edge, including Temboril, who jumped first as soon as the ground was clear, and landing like she didn't fall from a leg breaking height. It of course had something to do with a talisman in her power armor, but she still nearly gave us a heart attack as she slammed onto the ground.

Following her, she took us to the oddest looking vertibuck I had ever seen, other then the blue paint job with yellow trim it had, it was far more angular then I had ever seen any cloudship ever be. Vertibucks were normally roundish, having some resemblance to clouds, or a bug, but this vertibuck looked more like a large bird. Another oddity was that it lacked the two propellers on the side, instead it had a long and wide cylinder on the end of each wing.

The first of the three of us to respond was predictably our pilot, Wild Winds. “What in Celestia's monster dick is this monstrosity!?”

“It's the XV-5 Phoenix.” Temboril said as she trotted to the vertibuck. “It's the brainchild of old M.o.A. blueprints, and some very bold scientists.”

Wild Winds froze. “Wait, an XV? Bullshit! There's no way that's an XV, they were just a pipedream of the… M.o.A… fuck, it is, isn’t it.”

“What are you getting at Wild?” Light asked, a bit confused.

A big grin formed on Wilds face. “Its was what was meant to replace the VC-Vertibuck, but as far as anypony knows, only a few prototypes ever got built before the megaspells rained down. Because of that, we at the aeronautical lab spent hours speculating about what the XV-Vertibuck was, and how it would look and fly. The big problem was how to overcome the problem of slapping jet engines on a vertibuck. There was some old documents about it, along with propaganda poster from old equestria, but nopony above the clouds had ever really seen an actual jet engine, so it was mostly just a fantasy to us.” Wild looked at Temboril with inquisitive eyes. “So how did you overcome the power problem to get that vertibuck to stay that small? What kind of jet engines are those, because I bet that’s the key here.”

The specter adjusted her red glasses, looking at the aircraft. “I think they're called acanojet engines, it uses elemental magic to force the air in the turbines, and is then able to produce a high amount of thrust out. As for the power, we've had a long time to minimize and refine the reactor without sacrificing its power output, mostly by using thinner, and lighter materials for shielding. The rest you’ll need to talk to the techs to learn more about, but from a development standpoint, it took five attempts to build this thing before the arcanojets stopped blowing up, or the craft simply ripping itself apart. While they’re almost ready for full production, we’ve been putting them under excessive stress testing ever since just to work out the last few kinks.”

“And what weapons does this thing have?” I asked, because we were going to need something more than adequate for the fight ahead.

“We’ve added two RG2-AA's to the front of the craft, and two RG2-AP at the side gunner seats.” Temboril answered, getting three cocked eyebrows from us. “They’re heavy railguns remodeled specifically to be used on a vertibuck. The two forward guns use airburst rounds, and the two on the sides will be using diamond-core shot.”

Wild flapped her wings and flew over the aircraft, taking a closer look at it. “Alright, I'm starting to get a good idea on what this monster is. So get me into the cockpit, and I’ll make sure you didn't fuck up the controls.”

Temboril nodded. “I'm unlocking it now, and I suggest captain Light also get acquainted with the inside as well.” She then turned to me and pointed to right where I was standing. “I need you to stay out here. We’ve ordered a few extra things for you and your crew, and they should be showing up soon.”

“Guns and armor, I’m guessing.” I said as I watched Wild and Light enter the Phoenix. “That’s the only useful things that comes to mind right now.”

“That is correct.” Temboril answered. “As a gift the council, we’ve had your original armor repaired and cleaned, along with having them upgraded with our advanced ballistic weave. Your energy rifles have had similar treatment, given an automatic firing barrel, along with high capacity energy cells for ammunition. If the worst comes, you should be able to fight off most threats with these upgrades.”

“Thanks, I was actually getting worried about the state of our gear.” I sighed in relief. “Our armor and guns are a big deal in the Enclave, all of them dating back to the old war, practically passed them down from parent to child in some cases. Actually, both my rifle and armor were once my grandmothers, so getting them back is a major relief for me.” Looking passed Temboril, I saw ponies pushing large boxes on rollers towards up, along with a strange suit of pegasus power armor! “Wait, what's that?”

Temboril looked behind her and nodded. “Oh, I personally asked the techs to dig that out of storage for you. It’s what our specter armor and power armor are based on, and that armor has also been given a few upgrades over the generations.” The power armor resembled the one I had worn ten years ago, but a bit more bulky, with a helmet that covered the entire face and muzzle of a pony. “It’s called the Dragonfire power armor. Don’t know why, but the techs thought to give it heat resistant properties when remaking it, saying that it could stand up to even dragon fire, so the name stuck.”

The ponies hauling the supplies dropped off both my gear, and the power armor in front of me before they pushed the rest of the crates they brought onto the vertibuck. Taking a closer look at the power armor, the armor plates looked a bit thicker than the Enclave’s standard issue armor, and was made of a non metallic material. Also, it forewent the basic wing armor to the top and leading edges, instead offering full wing protection, making me question if I could even fly with this thing on. The helmet was clearly not of the original old equestria design either, looking more like the head of a rad hog then that of a bugs head the enclave helmets normally were.

“Will this thing even work?” I had to ask.

“Just put it on and see for yourself.” Temboril responded.

I put on my refurbished gear, with the scouting armor fitting better than it had ever before. With more ease than expected, I attached my energy rifle to the side of the power armor. Now for the main suit.

“Here goes nothing.” I said under my breath, and opened the power armor, hearing its micro arcano tech reactor humming to life with power.

I stepped inside, and with a hiss, it’s articulating plates clamped down around me. The pressure it put on my body was slightly uncomfortable, and a bit tighter then standard pegasus power armor, but not so much that I couldn't just get use to it. The hemet was the last to go on, forming an airtight seal as it connected to the armors neck, leaving me fully encased in the armor. The hud display came to life, giving me feedback to the armor’s integrity, weapon functionality, as well as my own heath.

“Alright, testing it’s flight capabilities.” I said as I spread my wings. I couldn't feel the air from inside the armor, but when giving it one hesitant flap, I lifted into the air, if only a little. Putting more strength into it my wings, I lifted off into the air, finding it surprisingly… easy. “How… is it doing this?”

“As I said, Orthrus has had a long time to improve our reactor technology.” Temboril pulled out a clipboard, and looked through the document on it. “Though it’s not a vast improvement, the reactor that armor uses has enough power to support a few talismans along with the standard compliment of systems one finds on power armor. Mainly, there’s a talisman we added that decreases the armor’s overall weight, and another that aides in flight. We never had highly experienced flyers to test it, but it says that you should be barely restricted in your movements.”

That was certainly hard to believe, but I couldn’t argue with the results! If we’d had armor like this years ago, we’d have hardly had any risk with sending scouting parties out. But if we pull this off, then maybe New Cloudsdale could still benefit from armor like this.

“As for the armor itself,” Tamboril continued, “it’s ceramic, reinforced with a reactionary polymer plastic that makes it nearly completely heat resistant, while still able to stop low velocity high caliber munitions. Lastly, the original helmet was thrown out for something completely different. As you can see, the shape is based off of a radhogs, mainly for functionality reasons. Inspired by their ability to tank bullets with their face and keep on charging, we’ve thickened and reenforced the armor in spots that proved inadequate on standard old world armor. Another advantage to the shape of the helmet, though bulky, dose allowed the techs to put in state-of-the-art sensory tech inside, and its two advanced filtration units will keep even corrosive toxins or smoke out of the suit.”

“This is fantastic!” I flew up a bit more, and easily did a loop in mid air, making me very impressed with this armor. “Though it does drag a bit more than the normal armor, but that’s easy to compensate for. So... what's the catch?”

“It's the only one of its kind.” Temboril put down the clipboard. “We’re currently unable to make another with the limited stock of materials on the islands. It’s why the specter power armor doesn’t use ceramic plates, the material needed for their manufacture is not native to the islands, and was solely imported during the war.” She leveled a flat look up at me in the air, “So don’t get any ideas of keeping it. We’re expecting it back after this mission is over.”

I landed hard, making a loud thump hitting the ground, but only feeling a slight shake on my body. “Well, I can’t make any promises, but I can guarantee I’ll be doing my best to come back in one piece with the suit.”

She tapped my helmet with her clipboard, almost as though she was being playful, but her face was as stoic as ever. “Looks like the safe fall talasman is working in order. Now then, can you fly around a bit more, do a few more tricks? I want to have the armor’s spell matrix calibrated to your flight style before we set off.”

Saluting Temboril, I flew off again. Doing a few twists and loops, the armor felt a bit strained during some maneuvers, but nothing that was out of the normal. My hearing crackled as the internal radio turned on.

“Is that you Merit? ” Wild Winds voice chimed in my ear. “Why do you look like a flying pig?”

“It’s dragonfire power armor. And while it may make me look like a pig with wings, this thing is surprisingly smooth to fly in!” I told her as I did a mid air backflip, almost losing control of myself. “Right, not a young stallion anymore. Say Wild, how's the cockpit looking?”

“Much more like a normal vertibuck than I thought, actually. While there's a few more switches and gages, it’s mostly all the same.” Wild spoke with an upbeat tone. “I was a bit worried about flying this at first, but it looks like we’ll be fine so long as their engineering work holds up.”

“I still have my concerns!” Light spoke up. “I’m looking over the instruction manual, and there’s a lot of stuff I’ve never seen before. But my main concern is the estimated speed, there's a chance if we maneuver at all that we could G-Loc at the speeds that are listed here.”

The radio crackled again, and Temboril spoke up. “We’ve already planned for that, and the Phoenix has an inertial dampening talisman installed. It’s not enough to counter the pressures put on the craft itself, but anypony inside the craft will be protected from any excessive G forces.”

A nervous chuckle cam from Light. “Is there anything this thing can’t do?”

“Take a hit.” Temboril said sternly. “Unlike the common vertibuck, if you’re hit when moving at high speed, there's a good chance the drag could tear the craft apart. Also, I’d hope it’d be obvious, but it will have trouble taking tight turns while at high speeds. If you aren’t careful, there’s a good chance of ripping off a wing entirely. So you have to slow the craft down before making any advanced maneuvers. Meaning that if we take on fire after slowing down, returning to high speed is greatly ill advised.”

Wild sighed “Then all I need to do is keep from getting shot, something easier said than done. Does this thing at least have some countermeasures?” she asked.

"I says it has an onboard arcane shield generator," Light answered. "It would be enough to deflect small arms fire, even a bit of flack, but nothing bigger."

"So, as long as we're not hit directly by anything meant to take out a vertibuck, we should be okay." Wild now sounding more sure of herself. “Ya, I can work with that.”

“That’s the spirit, Wub Wub.” I said as I landed behind the vertibuck. “Unlike last time, were coming for them, fully stocked, and ready. This time, were not going to lose any more friends.”

“Is it bad that I want to shoot a few of those assholes down as soon as I see them?” Wild asked.

Our radio crackled again, and Red spoke up through it. “Not at all, and actually I advise you do just that. Hesitation is a sign of weakness, and mercy is a privilege that only the strong are gifted. If we don’t make ourselves as dangerous as possible, as soon as possible, the harder it will be for us to start negotiations with the high admiral. So as soon as you're in range, target the first gull in your sights, and shoot it out of the sky and move right on to the next one. That way, they will immediately see you as a threat, and be forced to act before they can assess your strength.”

“You must really hate your mother, Red.” I responded snidely “But that aside, why is violence so important? This ship alone should be enough to make them pause, and then there's the airship.”

Red began to laugh, taking a moment to calm down. “Sorry, but I keep forgetting how ignorant you all are. You see, violence is part of our very soul, and how we maintain power. If at any point my mother even looks even a little weak, then that will signal to any of her rivals to come for her. The best way to get her to talk to us is to make ourselves so dangerous to the fleet that other captains, and admirals will throw all the responsibility for dealing with us, onto her. Otherwise you're just inviting a dickwaving contest to see who's first to shoot us down. Something a lot of stallions are willing to get into, until there's a real chance they could get their member chopped off.”

“Thanks for the advice and visual aid, acting captain Red.” Temboril said coldly as she trotted up to me. “Merit, can you pass me your helmet for a moment?” Taking the helmet off, I passed it to her, and she then passed it to one of the ponies working on the Phoenix. The tech pony took cables from their pipbuck and attached it to the inside of the helmet. Temboril let her stoic face drop a little, showing me a hint of worry. “Good, radio’s off. Now if I can just get approval to slap the smirk off her bitch face.” She let out a long sigh. “I really wish we had more time to prepare. Going in guns blazing like this is not how I like to do things. Actually I’m sure Red is using this to force our alliance with her before we know all the angles, and it will more then likely bite us in the flank later. But securing the safety of New Cloudsdale, and it’s citizens, is our top priority. So for now, let’s just do as she says, and we will sort out the rest of this mess later.”

In this moment, with her guard softened, I wanted to ask her about what had happened to Vibraphone. But I bit my tongue, knowing that I... wouldn't like the answer. So, I decided to reassure her instead.

“I wouldn't worry too much about that, as once we have secured New Cloudsdale, all you need to do is let President Pillow Feathers take charge. I’m no fan of hers, but she quite the genius when it comes to politics. In fact, I’d say she’s adept enough that she could talk peeling paint back onto a wall.” That put a somewhat hopeful look on Tamboril’s face. “Just give her the backing of Orthrus, and I bet that she’ll wipe the smug grin off of Reds face.”

The helmet was passed back to Temboril, and she passed it back to me, smiling. “Then I’m looking forward to meeting this president of yours. Though I am loyal to Naqara, and respect her swift decision making, I don't see things ending well if she is allowed to hold onto her power for too long.” Putting the hemet back on, I felt my armor adjusting a little, becoming less tight, yet more secure. Temboril quickly looked me over and nodded right before the radio crackled back on. “Good, that calibration should increase the armors reaction time to your own physical movements. In theory, you should be able to maneuver like an athlete in their prime with that armor on. Just try to avoid getting shot when possible, otherwise the armor won't stay at maximum efficiency.”

“There's also a risk of armor piercing bullets, and high impact ordinance.” I added. “The Enclave lost a lot of good soldiers during Operation Cauterize, mainly do to intensely bad intel, among it, that Steel Rangers were still around and armed to the teeth. My own team ran into griffin mercenaries and a mutant alicorn, and we were only moderately unlucky.”

“We live through this, and you’re going to tell me all about the mainland. Got that?” Tamboril pit her own helmet on, and trotted inside the phoenix, with me right behind her.

The inside was not much more cramped then the standard vertibuck, comfortably able to fit a squad of 11 ponies, not counting the pilot, and copilot. The vertibuck we flew here was a smaller recon variant, built with extended range in mind. But this was a full on troop transport combat vertibuck. Installing one of the railguns to the gunner seat on the side door, was a familiar pegasus in a grease covered jumpsuit.

“S… Sunny, was it?” I asked.

The rust red maned mare looked up at me with an awkward smile. “Sorry, haven't even seen the sun in… when was the last surface drill?”

“Sorry, I meant your name.” I was glad my face was sealed inside the power armor, as I felt a bit embarrassed. “I'm Merit Cross, the enclave scout. We’ve met once before.”

She cocked an eyebrow before her own eyes widened, and saluted me. “Oh yes, I remember. The name’s Sonnet Trill, and I'm going to be your combat engineer on this mission. It's going to be a huge honor working with this rare tech in the field, as well as helping ponies in need. It's a real once in a lifetime opportunity.”

She reminded me of all the new recruits not long after basic training and flight camp, a bit too excited to see action. Looking over at Temboril, I had one question. “Is this wise?”

“Regular Trill is a certified vertibuck engineer, and as a pegasus, will not require any extra equipment to keep herself airborne for this operation.” Temborill ancered.

Sonnet quickly plugged a cable and a metal belt to the railgun before turning back to us. “Power systems and the ammo belt are both hooked up and ready to go, Ma’am Specter. The main cannons will be good in just another minute once the autoloder’s capacitors are fully charged.”

Temboril nodded. “Good, go equip yourself and take a seat. Were setting off as soon as were ready.” The spotted pegasus sluted, and jumped out of the side of the Phoenix.

I took a seat near the front of the cloudcraft, getting a good look at the cockpit and my two comrades, both back in their old armored uniforms. The two had Orthrus issued pipbucks on that were plugged directly into the Phoenix's flight terminal and control systems. Wild was moving the controls as she watched the pipbuck, while was Light flipping through the instruction manual and occasionally tapping on her pipbuck.

“What are you two doing?” I asked.

“Synchronizing the Phoenix to our pipbucks, and setting up an early warning system in case the ship is not flying quit right." Wild quickly answered and continued. "Knowing if it starts leaning left before it's obvious can save us from falling out of the sky. Or at the speed’s we’ll be going, being ripped apart."

“As for me,” Light flipped a page in the thick book. “I'm setting hotkeys for all the important information about this aircraft. I'm no engineer, but it helps to know how it works, and what I can do from the cockpit without having to flip through this book.”

“Smart idea!” Sonnet spoke up as she got back in, finding a seat across from me, putting on a light armored vest, and a Orthrus commando helmet. “If something happens, just call it out and I'll do my best to fix it. Also take one of these.” She pulled out three pistols that looked nothing like what Orthrus used. Taking one, it was a solid looking magazine fed semi-auto pistol, with the stable-tec logo in front of the bit. “They’re .45 auto pistols, a gift from miss Tamboril. They only hold only seven bullets, but they pack a punch. I also have two extra magazines each for you all.” We took the ammo, and I attached the gun to a holster built into the side of my armor, before looking over at Temboril who was still at the back of the Phoenix.

She shrugged, “My father said use them or lose them, and dug them out from his collection. It's all a PR move to make Orthrus look even more favorable to New Cloudsdale. Though, I can’t deny that they’re at least good guns that’ll save you in a pinch.” Temboril got up, and waved at something just out of my view to come closer. “The package is about to be loaded, and the Phoenix is combat ready.” She said over the radio.

“Good.” The radio crackled and Naqara'a voice spoke up. “Once it’s installed, start a systems diagnostic for both the device and the vertibuck. Be advised, we’ll be opening the hangar doors momentarily.”

A large metal box came into view, and Temboril backed up to give it room as it was pushed onto the Phoenix, taking up the back half of the aircraft. Two mirage ponies in lab coats boarded from the side doors, and immediately one plugged in their cybernetic pipbuck leg into the box, and the other into a panel on the wall of the vertibuck. Two more mirage ponies boarded, both heavily armored, and with a harnes similar to what Sweet Sax had, except the guns they had were the same type of railguns that were attached to the gunnery seat.

A loud mechanical creaking from outside the vertibuck caught my attention, and I peeked out to see the hanger above us opening with the high noon sun bearing down at us.

“Alright everypony, this is it, so take your seats!” Temboril shouted, pulling my attention back inside. “I know that all of you know where we're going, and why. But not all of you know how were going to accomplish this mission, so I'm going to explain it this once.” She tapped the metal box with her back hoof, and got a dirty look from one of the ponies in a lab coat. “This here is a talisman based megaspell crafted by Orthrus itself. With it and its twin, we’re going to teleport the Scootaloo's Resolve into battle. Unfortunately, we first have to deliver this device to the conflict zone, without getting shot down.”

I looked at the box, then at Temboril, back at the box, and back at Temboril. “Wait, have you tested this thing before?”

“Yes, and no.” She looked over at me and shook her head. “We did small scale testing during it’s development, but this will be the first time testing the magic on this sort of scale.”

“Fuck me, you Mirage ponies are a special kind of crazy, you know that?” I blurted out.

A slight chuckle came from Temboril. “We just like to keep our crazy in reserve until it's of the most useful for dramatic effect.”

“All clear!” spoke the lab pony connected to the Phoenix, soon followed by the other connected to the megaspell, both taking a seat, still plugged in, and watching their pipleg screens.

Temborill nodded, and trotted up to the cockpit. “Were green, start up the engines.”

“Alright, let's hear how this beast roars!” Wild said excitedly as she flipped a few switches.

Looking outside at one of the arcanojet engines, it made a low whining sound as it shook a little. The wine slowly grew louder, and I watched as the air under the engine began to shimmer like a mirage pony, making me a bit unsure if this was going to work. But I could tell that the air was moving, as what dust there had been on the floor was blown away by the exhaust, and when I let my armored wings spread out a little, they were pushed back lightly by the force.

The radio crackled as again Naqara spoke up. “Phoenix, you’re green across the board, and the coordinates to your destination have been transmitted to your flight guidance terminal.”

Temboril took a seat next to Sonnet. “Alright Wild, slow and steady, take her up.”

The arcanojet engine let out a roar louder than any vertibuck propeller or engine I’d heard before, and the Phoenix lifted off the ground. Slowly at first, just hovering for a few moments before rising again. Wild was making sure both jet engines were in sync, being the professional pilot that she was.

The Phoenix rose a little faster as it slowly turned, giving me a better view of the hanger, and hundreds, if not thousands of ponies looking at us from the railings. They were waving, cheering, and saluting us as we flew higher and higher. Seeing all the excited ponies cheering us on, it made me feel something, something I hadn’t felt since operation cauterize. It was a sense of pride, similar to that the enclave trained in me. But this time it wasn’t based on a lie. I was actually going out to save lives, to do what I’d always wanted to when I joined the Enclave, what we were all supposed to do. The ponies of New Cloudsdale needed heroes, and that's what they were going to get, or we would die trying.

The faces of the Orthrus ponies disappeared as we ascended completely out of the hanger, the other ponies inside the Phoenix had put on oxygen masks as they tried to look out the side doors. Below us was the massive airship, far bigger than it ever had the right to be. The relic of an age long dead, remade for a new future. The further up we flew, the more of the green island that met my gaze. It was like some honey trap, beautiful but oh so very deadly. If only we’d known that when we first approached it what feels like a lifetime ago now.

Off across the placid ocean waters, I could see a pirate ship. It looked small from all the way out here, yet, that ship caused so much trouble for these islands. Higher we flew, and I could see a lone cloud in the sky floating nearby. To my trained eyes, I could tell that it was an artificial cloud made by a Mistral class reconnaissance cloudship, made all the more easy to tell by the head of a pegasus poking out from the top, their binoculars reflecting the sunlight. I saluted at the pony, and they saluted back at me.

Light Turbulence’s voice crackled through our radio. “We're almost at the proper altitude, so pull the guns in, and close the doors in preparation for transition to horizontal flight configuration.” Sonnet and I did as she said, pulling at a hatch to secure the doors closed. “Alright everypony! were not stopping until we get to New Cloudsdale, and we're not going to stop fighting until our home is safe. Do I make myself clear!” She yelled that last part, just like her old self, and we all responded with a cheer.

We all felt a lurch towards the back of the Phoenix as it began to fly forward.

“Well, lets see if you eggheads are all talk and no show!” Wild said with glee, and I tighten my hold into the gun in anticipation. “Time to see how fast this baby can go!” Then… we blasted off!

_______________________________________________

Footnote:

Character note update.

Character titles found.

-Inheritor of disgraced bloodline

-Hoof Shiner

-Veteran soldier

-New Cloudsdale Security Chief

-Traitor of New Cloudsdale

-The forgotten Drunk

-Veteran in the scouting core.

-The stranger from beyond the sea

-... Title yet to be obtained