Blacklight; Mantis Chronicles.

Since I forgot to put them in last chapter I might as well make a thing of adding perks at the points they are gained. Also I forgot to start the moral meter and put down the over all level, so I shall put moral meter posting at the start of each chapter. Moral determines how close to perfect unison the squad acts, Lower moral the more petty individualism ruins the teamwork.

SQUAD MORAL 100% +5%

Squad perks gained since start of mission till first rest.

All terrain gourmet. A little snake meat is just the thing for a snack before a dinner with friends. Moral is increased by 5% temporarily for 4 hours after the team eats well together.

Wild Wacky Wasteland. The wasteland is a weird wild and wacky place, and upside down cities in the skyline cloud that bleed like a storm of red, is just the tip of the ice berg. It only gets more bonkers from here. Encounters of a strange and cunningly entertaining sort are increased by 150%

Children of the swarm. Changelings have a certain level cooperation that is far more instinctual then that of ponies, acting as parts of a singular super organism rather then as individuals. Ambushes and other raider tactics are reduced to 25% effectiveness to shake the team, as long as moral is 75% or higher.

******

"Where is the kaboom? There was supposed to be an air bursting kaboom right?!"

"It is oddly late...6 hours now?" Boonaker was lost in thought.

District was peering out the guest bedroom window overlooking the backyard trying to spot the incoming drone strike. I had taken a gander my self earlier before the moon was covered with clouds. The backyard area was an open style shared yard with all the other brownstones on the block, with broken playground equipment and ancient skeletons too small to be adults littering the entire area.

Any creature who would hold requiem for the dead below had long since given them a moment of solace and then joined them in the next realm.

"Junker! Get your stupid head inside before some damn raider blasts your brains out!" Boonaker snapped as sonic reached with his hooves and grabbed Junker by the tail barding, violently yanking him inside. Sonic moved before Lt. spoke. Junker and sonic had worked as a point patrol fire team in our formations since sonic joined 10 months ago, and we all loved to joke how they bickered like an old married couple. Additionally Junker was the oldest serving in the unit next to Boonaker, a total of 12 years, compared to the 22 of the Lt. A dead certain replacement when Boonaker took retirement. Or more likely died in the line of duty. Only the best mantis members retire. Most of them regret not dying in the field.

Often mantis's develop relationships within the team. But they say "Never love a mantis, it will only rip out your heart and eat it."

Sonic had latched onto Junker since he first joined the unit. The two worked well together. Sonic would locate the main threat and District would literally reduce it into 'soup' in close quarters as sonic provided long range support.

The sort of bugs any mantis wants watching the flank.

******

"hey where is foxhole? Wasn't strip supposed to relieve him?"
I had only just noticed our team was short two bugs when a steel breaking report echoed through the house.

"THERE IT IS!" Junker said with glee. Sonic smacked his helmet with a hoofcuff "No that was - Foxholes' bolt action " Before anyone could respond again the comm crackled to life

"Sorry. Foxhole found a door to the basement. You know him. He always has to get through any locked door, one way or the-" Strip was cutshort by another metal crushing blast. Even with our helmets dampening conditions being that close to a bolt action breech round firing off without time to turn on the dampeners, is like bomb blast. The helmet foxhole wore made him pretty much deaf because of the noise. Only comms sound is what he heard.

"I GOT IT!" foxhole sounded as pleased as could be with himself then his voice went hushed. Boonaker however was livid "FOXHOLE YOU MORON! IF THAT GAVE A WAY OUR POSITION I WILL CARVE OFF YOUR SPINNERETS! well what do you have to say for your self!?"
******

Boonaker didn't get an apology. Instead just foxhole talking to strip"Uh you guys. You really gotta see this! Strip look!" , "Holy mother of the swarm- Sir. You gotta get down here now!" Strip was usually the calmest. As the comms op he had to keep a steady calm voice so what we relayed was properly heard. A jittery or scared comms op often botched up words, Not by choice, but with the downtime between transmissions and all the shit in the sky from the war and caused by the enclave to prevent communication between anyone. The more stoic and calm the voice. The better.

We made our way into the basement lead by foxhole. What we saw was an amazing sight. 4BILLION IN BITS! YES BILLION WITH A B. Now in the wastes bits are pretty useless- to ponies! But to changelings. Bits where a rare and needed commodity. Being made of gold they where perfect for electrical conduction. A super conductor if you will. Now Equestria bits where not pure gold. They where often made with impurities. But this many, and proper smelting, The entire swarm would need not want for conductive metal for a long while.

The source of the 'money' was... Unpleasant to say the least.
******
The wall to the next building over had been smashed through and the coins long ago spilled out. The semi rusted broken remains of what looked like a powered industrial hammer-drill lay half covered by the ocean of money. Far of to one corner inside the bank vault, 4 skeletons sat huddled together. Each wearing a finely pressed, if not dirty suit, and wearing an old rotten Ministry "pie style" clown mask. "Huh I guess these guys where using this place as a safe house to rob- " Strip looked through the hole between buildings. " A bank of some sort. Poor bastards, could not have picked a worse day." Boonaker strode over to the corpses and tossed a dirty sheet over them. "They finally got the "payday" I guess they so desperately wanted. That is ponies for you. Even before the war they where always stupid. When there is time they should be buried. But some bug should say something now, it was the way they did things. Besides I doubt any pony loved these poor souls. Loved ponies don't become bank robbers."

For a moment we all stood around the now covered skeletons , helmets off, as Foxhole spoke "Queen mother above. Forgive these poor souls. Give them peace, and let them pass on without regret or pain into your warm arms, forgive them, and love them, as you would us. Let them know no more fear, and let them know forgiveness in the sins they have done. Take them to the final rest all deserve. Of this we ask you, Queen mother."

We all stood for a good minuet in silence. I wondered when my time came, Would the team be there to speak well of me. To send me on to the final rest with kind words. I guess I will never know till the day I finally eat a bullet. We all put our helmets back on and went back to inspecting the basement without word. Letting a few moments pass for the sake of the dead who we knew no one would have given solace for but us. The dead foals in the yard upstairs where loved. But these... Like Boonaker said. Loved ponies don't rob banks.
******
District spoke up next. Literally swimming in the bits. " Well at least the dead can be happy someone got use out of them. The requisition is gonna hate and LOVE us for this. Juniper - Head top side and mark the spots topography for them would you please?" I nodded and slowly made my way to the street level and began to record the area's topography with my helmet, so the requisitions crew could find it. Then I noticed them staring straight at me. A griffin wearing some sort of "flight suit" and a thin serpentine figure in a large sleeveless rain cloak.
******

Tiger-strike and Shadow-talon knew it was stupid to go in the direction gunfire came from. But as treasure hunters they couldn't play scared. They had met on a caravan drive and ever since finding & selling the secret to sparkle-cola Nova to some Ghoul rangers, the two knew treasure hunting was the life for them. But today, was different. The firbanto treasure, was the biggest score in history. It made even the legendary "madre de dios" treasure look like a foals' cap collection. It was rumored to be under detrot but with the sky how it was and everyone missing and the basic power shut down, Nether of them felt too hot at the moment.

"Mm-m-maybe it was thunder? The enclave being dicks? I wouldn't put it past em with how the sky looked on the way here" Tiger-strike was about ready to fly off and forget the whole thing. But he knew he couldn't let shadow-talon down. And they did already spend everything they possibly could to afford the information about where it was.

"No we both know what thunder sounds like. Also I am pretty sure the enclave would be to worried about the sky right now then the ground." Shadow-talon didn't want to admit it. But he was afraid as shit. Since they got to the city they had not seen a soul. Then two gunshots in the night. It was like the horror stories of just after the war his mother told him as a young Wyrm. But he was a dragon. The apex life form of all equestria, and sure wasn't about to let his best buddy down.

Yes the two kept bantering and trying to reassure them selves it was all nothing, until they turned the corner all the self imposed courage and bravado turned into pure yellow bellied cowardice with what they saw- that "Thing".

******

It was like a violation of the normal. It was barely illuminated in the light of the torch Shadow-talon carried. It looked like a pony, but its shape was smaller more gangly. Almost sickly. Its- barding if it could be called that seemed to be pulled so taught and tight and emaciated against it one could make out its bones. Even the bones looked out of place. More like plates then anything. It had no tail, instead that too seemed to be wrapped tight in the suit. No mane to speak of ether. Instead only a strange sort of helmet that almost looked like a NEC ranger helmet. Only it seemed to be build with a a bit of a peaked dome where a unicorn horn should go, and two lights where the eyes would be. This strange warped helmet hid any features of the "thing". But the sickest part that made both of them want to vomit was its feet. Around the fetlocks on all its hooves one could just make out what appeared to be pockmarked holes of sorts from the way the strange muscle-like bluish gray material seemed to be so tightly wrapped. It was also clearly armed for battle, on its left elbow was a machete of some sort in a holster with in easy reach of the helmet. Slung to the right side with a double harness strap holding it tight to the barding was a heavy looking rifle in a shape nether had seen before wielded by anything but a zebra or "thumb owning" races. Shadow saw it lacked the side out mouth bit handle and trigger guard, and instead had a trigger and handle much like dragons griffins and even, minotaur and diamond dogs preferred, A finger trigger downward of the assembled mechanics so it would make an upward kick when fired. A large and unpleasantly deadly side arm of some sort was attached to the back left fetlock as was a grenade to the right. It was, whatever it was, a military life form. The body showed no real saddlebags indicating gear storage. Instead just a hardly seen gleam of black carbon zippers crossing its strange bluish-grey muscle like "barding" all over in more places then could be seen in the torchlight, and a very mechanical backpack that was attached to a trigger bit on the right elbow.

The strange thing was a creature not of the legion, the NEC, the Steel rangers. Or any other group the two had seen in the past 5 years of wandering the waste hunting treasure and guarding caravans, and they even worked a job with the "hired gunners". This was a thing totally unnatural to the order of the world even before the great war, hell even before luna was sent to the damned moon. But this was a creature they could not mistake was purpose made. For conquest. Down to its very primal existence. As well as having a scope of technology far more advanced and almost alien compared to even the enclave.

Its very sight elicited nothing but fear induced vomit the two struggled to keep down

The most eerie thing was the lights of the helmet. They seemed to actually blink as the thing stared at them like the light reacted to the eyes hidden behind the helmet and dimming or brightening, narrowing and widening, to mimic. The lights on its helmet were at first a calm dim blue as it stared at them, almost like it was burrowing into the very souls of the two trying to determine the behavior of the two determining if it the two where friend food or a fuck. Then shifted to a hostile bloody orange that curdled the blood and indicated exactly that the intent of the "THING" was. Kill.

A glowing sickly green magical field instantly wrapped around its back left fetlock.

******

Both Tiger-strike and Shadow-talon went for the sidearms they owned with instinctual response. But they where too slow compared to the thing, as they saw the magical field levitate a large looking pistol out of the back fetlock holster closing there eyes in fear of the pain of the gunshot from the thing. The report of 2 shots of a heavy pistol echoed through the street. A moment passed then another and one more. Then the griffin spoke "Sh-shadow... Are, we dead?" Tiger-strike was too afraid to open his eyes. "No, I don't think so Tiger" Shadow-talon didn't FEEL like he'd been shot. But he did feel the wind of the bullet as it zipped passed his ear. Slowly he opened his eyes. The creature was still standing there. Gun smoking and held in a strange sickly green magical light, it removed the magazine. Held it in front of its helmet like it was inspecting it. Before putting the magazine back in place, flicking the safety on, and putting the firearm away. It then raised a hoof and pointed behind Shadow-talon.

The dragon turned and saw what the thing was pointing at. A bloat-fly. A giant one too. Dropped by a double tap shot in between its eyes cluster. Shadow-talon turned to thank the thing, but it had vanished into the night, but he still felt it was watching on them even though nothing was before his eyes. Tiger-strike let out a mild frightened squawk he opened his eyes and noticed it was gone and the bloat-fly was there.

"Ya know what Tiger. I think that thing, was trying to help us out. It could have blasted us but it shot out that bloat-fly." Tiger-strike just snorted "Oh I am so sure shadow. Sure it wanted the satisfaction of eating us its self." Tiger-strike had seen enough of the hellscape of urban new detrot for one day "Lets just get to the caravan camp. We can try again to search in the daytime. We aren't gonna find nothing in this darkness save for our deaths. Or more of whatever the hell that thing was." As the two started to make way back where they came, Shadow-talon could not help but reaffirm the creature they saw had genuinely no hostile intentions for them. Much to tiger-strike's dismay and response. Shadow-talon might think everything in the waste wanted to help cause he was a dragon and practically nothing short of an actual balefire bomb could kill him. but Tiger-strike knew different. Most anything in the waste wants is to eat you.

******

"Juniper... You missed." Boonaker's voice was cold and callous.

I chuckled as I stepped into the darkness of the door letting my active camo fall and leaning against a wall long enough for the mantis camo to trigger. "No. I didn't. I made it clear "something is here, and it doesn't want you here". Boonakers' cyber eye narrowed into a pin prick."Yeah well same goes for you as it does Foxhole. His shots brought them. If they come back with more and compromise the mission-"

I cut him off "Yeah yeah you will rip out my spinnerets and blah blah blah". I made a move for the basement and his robotic hoof shot out just in front of me . Another step and he'd have sent me through the wall. Or more likely splattered me across it. His helmet slotted back revealing a scarred face and a frown. The frown of a father figure who felt not anger, just sadness.

"There is more at stake here then a simple "smash and dash". We are responsible for the lives of those civilian bugs. If those two recognized you as a changeling, and if any of the survivors of this accident even have the slightest hint of project shield breaker. You will have all those bugs lives on your hooves. I hope you can deal with that. -Maggot."

Boonaker hadn't called me a maggot, like that since I was the newest in the unit. It hurt though. He said it as a term of endearment usually. But this time. He used it as an insult. It hurt. I followed him silently into the basement tail between my legs. I thought I was doing good by minimizing exposure and casualties. They had to have been from a larger group and if they went missing more would come without doubt. I made the judgement call. I made the wrong call according to Boonaker.

If your commander says you done wrong. You done wrong. No flex on it.

I felt slightly weak.

I made a note to scarf an S ration wafer when no one was looking. The love energy enriched chocolate would help pick my spirits back up.
******

"So what was that all about?"

Strip was in the corner opposite the dead "robbers" fiddling with his comms pack. Junker and Sonic where playing a game of hack-hoof with a bag of bits. Foxhole was just staring at us. He knew what happened. I dunno how. But the way his helmet dug into me when he cast a glance my way. I know, he knew.

"Juniper scared off some locals brought by from YOUR breech shots. Now where the hell is our beacon balls, strip?"

Strip turned from his comms pack.

"Apparently the storm from this afternoon has really picked up. Regal claw had to submerge. Getting a lot of interference. But I was able to make out " sat scan shows, 'large reptilian airborn creature' at center of storm."

Boonaker huffed through his helmet ventilator and grumbled into the comms. "That is all fine and dandy Strip but it doesn't help our IRV situation. ETA on beacon balls?"

Strip's helmet lights narrowed then almost seemed roll. "I was getting to that sir. The second part I made out was 14min cluster burst arrival."

The lights on Boonakers' helmet went wide. "Cluster burst!? I SAID BEACON BALLS NOT FUCKING CLUSTER BOMBS!- SWEET QUEEN! EVERYONE! EVACUATE NOW!"

******

In an instant we all had our gear stowed and where running like mad down the street. We could just hear the screech of the incoming missile. Same set up as a beacon ball only bigger and firing by the ship its self, not a robotic drone. each bomblette held the same amount of charge as a grenade. 6 missiles could annihilate an entire cloudfront ship of the enclave. One could reduce a city block into nothing but powder.

We ran as fast as our hooves could move. Eventually deciding to unzip our side covers and take wing burning as much energy as we could when we heard the thundering "Ca-klank" Of the missile over head as it opened and dropped out the whistling cargo.

Even with our wings it didn't feel like enough. The entire world started to explode. Fire from all directions, the roar of explosions ruining every house we buzzed by. We did not turn or deviate we just kept powering forward just above the street line as it ignited into a river of fire.

My body was on fire, my chest burning, my wings ached with weight of a thousand beats a moment. But I couldn't stop none of us could. The resound of hellfire made by our own hooves on our heads spurred us on like the slave masters of tartarus of old.

******

Even after the report of the bomblettes died down we kept flying. We didn't stop till we reached what used to be a public park- I assumed. It was pretty much barren of greenery save a few sparse bushes. In the center of the park was a statue of 4 ponies built of the finest steel coated stone. Time had not been kind to the statue but the details still stood out even in the just breaking light of the morning.

A unicorn with a monocle holding a watch wearing a vest lined with knife holsters. A Pegasus with huge wings and a giant rifle and sidearm both far to big for her body one clutched in each hoof, baring a fanged grin and wearing old world police armor barding. A earth pony mare with a scarred up cutie mark and a long braided ponytail for a mane, standing in a zebra martial arts pose, a cigarette of some sort in her mouth.

All surrounded in there poses a noble scruffy looking stallion in a trench coat with a raggedy looking hat. Rearing up as if to challenge the world. In his mouth a giant revolver that could have blasted the brains out of a fully grown dragon at 5000meters. Sitting on his hat was a little griffin chick raising her claws up and wings out into the air, as if to try and "intimidate" something, if such a cute thing could do such an act.

The inscription read "In memory of Det. Hard Boiled Jr. of the Detrot Police department & company. We called him the "dead-heart". But he had the biggest heart of all. May his love of justice never be forgotten." The date had been marred by time and rendered illegible. But it was clearly a memorial to a group that equestria once held dear as paragons. Pony that only one word could describe. Hero.

******
ACCESSING RECORDS. Diary entry saved.