Prologue
Enclave Deep Files,
Subjects of Survey.
Name: Scout Cloud
Occupation: Enclave Armed Forces
Rank: Lieutenant
Role: Specialist
Profile: Average height for a mare, brown fur, dark brown mane, faded yellow eyes. Has family in the military, has an adoration for her father: Groundhog Cloud. Mother is deceased, Sibling is [REDACTED]. Is popular among Pegasus community. Personality contains a strong charismatic attitude and intelligent mind however is notably weak and easily distracted during combat operations. Frequently customizes her gear. Is known for assisting her father in [REDACTED].
When asked about her feelings towards the surface she quickly changed the subject. Similar results towards any mention of the surface.
Most recent assignment: Elimination of griffon insurgents in the southern cloud sector. Success.
Weapon of choice: Automatic modified plasma rifle.
Final thoughts: Considering her history and skill, Lt. Scout Cloud is to be considered a valuable asset. Her presence in the Enclave increases morale and image. Recommend keeping her on anti-insurgent operations and away from ground missions. Ensuring her father's survival and presence in the Enclave is also vital to keeping her on.
Enclave Deep Files, Subjects of Survey.
__________________________________________________
[BEGIN RECORDING]
"Is it on? Okay great." Clears throat. "Project update 003, the vertibuck's left side engine coil needs some more work done. I've made a request for some additional tools and replacement parts that should arrive in a day or two. There is also some damage to the rear wing stabilizer. The griffon insurgent that did this was using a high caliber rifle." There is a pause, then the sound of chewing. "I wander why they keep trying to attack us. We always beat them so why don't they just stay below the cloud layer?" Clears throat again "Anyway the vertibuck wont be air worthy until I replace the damaged parts and re-balance the engine coils. So, I guess that's all."
[END RECORDING]
Scout Cloud sat back and sighed placing the holotape recorder on a nearby table. She stared up at the vertibuck in front of her for a few seconds then stood up and walked out of the room. "Job's done for today. I'll continue work tomorrow." Scout said before biting into an oat bar.
Scout walked down the halls of the enclave facility. She was stationed at the Enclave mobile base 'SKYFORT', a massive ship that has toppled mountains. Scout was returning to her quarters after a daily maintenance check of her vertibuck. On her way there she bumped into Trax, a member of her team and best friend.
"Oh hey Scout, how you doing?" He asked with surprised tone.
"Hey Trax." She replied. "I'm fine I just had a long day of maintenance." Scout finished her sentence with a yawn.
"Of course. Hey don't forget about our training session on Tuesday."
Scout perked up her ears. "Yeah it's tag teams this time right?"
Trax nodded "Yep." He turned to walk away. "Anyway you better get some rest. I'll see you on Tuesday." He said smiling. Scout gave a quick wave then continued on to her quarters.
She arrived at her room and laid back on her bunk letting out a sigh of exhaustion. She slid open the top drawer of her bedside cabinet and grabbed a small photograph. She stared blankly at it for a while. It was a picture of herself and her entire family. "I miss you mum."
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"You gave me a week and I gave you results!" Groundhog cloud angrily said to his superior. "Now you're telling me I failed?"
His superior sat at a desk. He wore glasses and an enclave officers uniform. "You and your team may have defeated the griffon insurgents but civilian casualties were excessive." He flipped through a file on his desk. "Commander you are one of our greatest assets but recently you have been, distracted." He took of his officers cap and placed it onto the desk. "So what's wrong my friend."
Groundhog gave a light sigh. "During our last ground side operation we lost a lot of good soldiers recovering some information for the higher ups." Groundhog contemplated for a moment. "I guess I just want to know if the information was worth it."
"All information gathered from the surface is stored and reviewed in the deep files. Only the eggheads up in R&D or acting general of skyfort has access." He turned towards his terminal. "I can get you a meeting with General Everest, I'm sure he'll put your mind at ease." Groundhog stood up from his seat and started towards the doorway.
"Thank you." Groundhog said as he walked out.
Hello, Scout Cloud here. This is the part of the story where I'm going to explain a thing or two about how things work. This may happen periodically throughout the story explaining different things in this case let me explain how 'Skyfort' operates.
So about a hundred years after the Enclave was formed it became more and more clear that we were going to need to venture below the clouds in more major operations eventually. So they created a small military division designed to act independently from the normal enclave activity and allow for a more controlled spread of military actions. Skyfort was created as a mobile base for this independent division as a way of allowing them to act more independently from the Enclave. The division itself was named 'The Free Enclave'. It took about thirty years after the idea was put together for The Free Enclave to be fully formed.
The Free Enclave was quickly organized into two.... ...well, technically three, sectors. There was the on base personnel consisting of researchers, engineers, security, and high ranking officers. Next there's the special operations task group that handles all operations below the cloud layer. Then finally there's the anti insurgent forces which deals with anyone from below the clouds who wants what we have. This also just so happens to be the sector I'm in.
Shortly after 'The Free Enclave' began operations on the ground a group of insurgents formed on the surface and began calculated counter operations against us. They consisted mostly of griffons and started assaulting our home in the clouds. They formed about seventy years ago but have been losing their skirmishes consistently. This didn't stop them from being a pain in the ass.
Anyway, skyfort and The Free Enclave are lead by an acting general. At this point in time there have only ever been two, General Daylight and General Everest. I wasn't around during Daylight's time but I know he was killed during the first encounter with the insurgents. Everest took his place and formed the A.I.F to counter them.
Last year there was an incident involving sabotage and treachery that forced a major shift in our focus towards dealing with the insurgents. This came at the cost of research progression meaning all ground operations took higher risks every day. Today our war with insurgents appears to be approaching an end as they've all but retreated below the cloud layer. Leaving us with a final goal of finding their base of operations and eliminating their leader.
Well, hopefully that helped you understand the current state of things. Now back to the story.
[BEGIN RECORDING]
"Project update 004, I had to replace the left side engine coil with a fresh one. I noticed it was starting to leak radioactive energy so repairing it was a bit beyond my capabilities. The rear wing stabilizer is doing better than expected and should be working properly within twenty four hours. In other news R&D has requested a trial run of a prototype cloak engine for the vertibuck. I don't know the specifics about it but I know it arrives this week. Anyway no report tomorrow, got a team training exercise. Okay, by."
[END RECORDING]
"Now where did I leave that screwdriver?" Scout asked herself.
"Is your vertibuck still broken?" Said Groundhog as he entered the room.
Scouts face lit up. "DAD!" She said cheerfully giving him a powerful hug.
"How's my little filly doing?" He asked returning the hug.
