0900 Hours
March 3, 2020 (Earth/Equestrian Calendar)
Everfree Forest, Equestria
"-t?" I completed my sentence as the blinding flash disappeared as abruptly as it appeared. When my vision cleared a moment later, it took my brain a minute to register that fact that I was in the damn forest, instead of the middle of Denver getting shot at by baddies with a nuke. I was even still crouched next to my patrol vehicle, like I'd been cut and pasted from one picture to another.
"Um, Cat? What the hell was that?" I asked aloud, knowing my AI partner could hear me just fine, as I stood up and began rummaging through the truck, taking stock of what I had.
"I..I don't know you should be dead. WE should be dead. But I'm still picking up your bio-signs clearly and my self diagnostics are coming up... clear." She sounded almost panicked.
"Cat?"
"Sorry, got flustered for a moment."
"That's alright. We all have our moments of weakness. Mine are when I detect pudding."
"Ugh, you're an idiot," she scolded back, though her tone indicated she was doing the AI equivalent of fighting back a smile.
"But I'm your idiot," I shot back before clapping my hands together. "Alright. Let's look at the facts, shall we? We're not a cloud of radioactive mist. We are, instead, in the middle of a slightly creepy forest, completely unharmed and fully supplied, minus the rounds I used up during the firefight." I leaned back against door of the truck and crossed my arms. "So what in the flying fuck is going on?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm detecting an unknown form of radiation. Everything around us is saturated in it."
"Then I'm guessing its not harmful?"
"Not as far as I can tell, no."
"Sounds good. Then the next step should be to get out of this forest and figure out whe.... did you hear that?" I glanced around quickly before deciding the sounds were coming from the east, towards what looked to be the edge of the forest.
"Of course. It's coming from the east. It sounds like... screams."
"Weeell, let's go be big damn heroes."
"Gladly. I'll try to get a better lock on the location once we're closer."
"Rog." I'd already slipped into combat mode as I climbed into my vehicle, a modified Ford Raptor made specifically for the Minutemen. The massive engine roared to life as I headed east, weaving in and out and around trees. The edge of the forest was surprisingly close and I was out on open plains within moments. Cat had stopped scanning the location of the screams once we broke the treeline. The pillars of thick black smoke about three miles away were a pretty big indicator of where we were needed.
We crested a hill about a mile and a half from what turned out to be a small town and I stopped the truck. Leaning forward, I used the magnification of my Pathfinder lenses to get a better look at the town. I saw a group of men in what looked like plate armor break down the door of a house before entering. They came out a moment later with a man, a woman, and a little girl. The woman and the girl were in chains and the man was bleeding from his nose. The slaver holding the man forced him to his knees before calmly slitting the father's throat. He then ordered his mean to drag the woman and child away, presumably to wherever they were collecting the slaves. I forced myself to stay calm, knowing that rushing in now with so little intel would fuck me. I also knew that I needed to get down there now, so I looked further into the town for any sign of law enforcement or civilian resistance.
"To the south. It looks like a skirmish is going on. Whatever kind of protection this town has needs assistance, considering the slavers got around them."
"On it." With that, I hammered down on the gas pedal and hauled ass to the southern edge of town. A small part of my mind was still wondering where the hell I was that had slaver raids this blatant. For now, though, that part was overridden by the instinct to help those in need.
"Your heart rate is increasing. You need to calm down, James. We don't know where we are or who these people all. All we know is they need help. But if you lose it like you did in Seattle, we might lose any possible allies."
"I know," I said sharply, before I sighed and evened out my breathing. "Thanks Cat."
I stopped on the edge of town, about a hundred yards from the fighting, and I grabbed my rifle and jumped out of the truck. Bringing the weapon up, I moved into the town and headed towards the fight. I came to the street it was on and stacked up against a building, peeking out and surveying the area. Men dressed similarly to the slavers I'd seen were farther down the street, around six blocks or so. Closer to my position was a smaller group of men, and a couple women, who wore thinner and more uniform armor. Both sides were taking cover behind walls and crates and such, exchanging fire using crossbows and... muskets? Strange. It was obvious the slavers were in better shape, as I saw several bodies in thinner armor scattered around the others.
"What's the plan James?"
"Link up with the uniforms, kill the slavers, rescue who we can. You know, the usual."
"Well I'm ready when you are."
With that, I pushed off the wall and turned onto the street, firing a few bursts at the slavers to keep their heads down, before sprinting towards the defenders position.
"Friendly at your six!" I yelled before sliding into cover next to a woman with a crossbow. "Who's in charge?"
"Whe-where did you come from?" She shook with fear, either from my sudden appearance or from the fighting.
"I heard the screams and saw the smoke," I replied, before offering a reassuring smirk. "It's all right, I'm here to help. But I need to know who's in command."
"I-its Sergeant Starburst. She's over there," She said, pointing directly opposite of us.
"Thanks. Just keep in cover. You're doing great." I put a hand on the woman's shoulder, trying to allay her fears. I then popped up from behind the crate, firing a few more bursts at the slavers to keep them from tagging me, and sprinted across to the sergeant. She was one of the few who seemed to have a level head, and was giving orders to another friendly, who was shaking in his boots. I took up a position at the corner off the building she was at, waiting for her to finish and keeping an eye on the slavers, as well as reloading my carbine. As she finished with the orders and the man ran off, I turned to her.
"Sergeant, give me a sitrep. What are we up against?"
"Wha- who the hell are you?"
"Captain James Cooley, Domestic Counter-Terror Agency. Minutemen. Other than that, you don't have the luxury of asking questions. Worry about the details later. The situation, Sergeant?"
"Right. Well the attack started an hour ago. The Xatarians took us all by surprise. Our lieutenant was in the middle of trying to send a message to the Captain of the Guard for reinforcements when those damn riflemen showed up. Shot him right through the throat. I wasn't sure if the spell got through, so I sent two flyers to take the message directly, but the riflemen got them too. I don't even know if they're alive. After that, they cornered us and have keep us pinned down will the rest of the raiding party razes the town. I've lost ten guards trying to break through them. Our rifles can't break their armor, and their's go through ours like butter. In short, the situation is fucked."
Spells, flyers? What the fuck? You know what, deal with it later. "Well fortunately for you sergeant, I think I can help you. Can you give me an estimate on the enemies strength?"
"Well typically there are about ten riflemen along with another twenty or so swordsmen. We managed to kill a few of them before the riflemen trapped us, and we took down two of them as well. Best guess? Twenty-five?"
"Heads up, they're getting reinforcements," a guard called out.
"Well shit," I mumbled.
"Scratch that, it's just a messenger," the same guard called.
"Aw fuck!" I shouted before sighing. "Cat, you picking up anything they're saying? And on speaker please, so the good sergeant here is in the loop as well?"
