The Conversion Bureau: The Palladium Wings

The Conversion  Bureau: The Palladium Wings

Chapter 7: Alicorn Fire

Celestia and Luna looked up as a massive Sky Fleet task force entered the Corridor. “And now… we will rid the Earth of the resisting human nations. We have delivered them an ultimatum: Join us or be exterminated.”

“Sister!” Luna exclaimed. “The humans you are trying to wipe off have a history of warfare. Attacking them will stir nationalism in their hearts. Please stop this madness.”

Celestia smiled. “If our plan fails to force them to surrender and accept ponification, then we will do what you planned to do a thousand years ago.”

Luna gulped, sweating ice cold beads all over her body.

“1000 years ago, if you couldn’t make the night last forever, you threatened to bring the moon down to Equestria. It would have been the end of all Equestria and perhaps…the world.”

“We will NOT do such act with the humans.” Luna shot.

“I am afraid we have no choice. If they refuse conversion, then let them be wiped out of the map.” Celestia said. “Besides…you haven’t forgotten that the Elements may have left us, but we can still use whatever power we have left. And I still know the Poem of Harmony and the Astral Bodies.”

“You…you can’t be serious! Using the Sun and Moon as weapons is low and degrading! We will never stoop ourselves to such level.”

“Let us not forget, the humans brought it on their own, not us.  We offered them our friendship and they reject it. Equestria is peace. Equestria is prosperity. Equestria is order! Humans do not have anything of that, or tolerance, or the essence of the Elements. Something which we will give them once converted.”

“Sister…”

“Now, let us wish our little naval ponies good luck.” Celestia trotted off.

Luna sighed and followed.

All over Equestria, an impossible number of Alicorn-class Battleships began to enter the Corridor. The Night Mare gave a face of uncertainty, seeing how many years ago a dozen human hijackers took their yacht and had the guts to pull a suicide attack on a capsule launch site. Going to attack them head on is a direct provocation… what if they still had nuclear weapons? Could they launch a missile to Equestria and wipe off a city randomly?

“Now they shall witness the might of the Equestrian Sky Fleet.” Celestia began to preach. “With many of our battleships heading to whatever nations they have left, we will force the humans to convert in a matter of hours. It will be the 12 Hour War again, only that they won’t last a minute.”

“Sister…”

“Once we are done with the humans, the Gryphons, the Diamond Dogs, and the Changelings will follow. This world belongs to the Equestrians, we must purge it clean of the impurities that are polluting it all.”

Luna felt sick. Her beloved sister has gone mad with power.  She knew what had to be done and first, she needed a flag to openly declare her rebellion.

The Corridor was full of hymns of “GLORIA CELESTIA! GLORIA LUNA!” They stopped as they reached the other side of the storm.

An American Federation Rocket Fighter turned back to base as it spotted the massive invasion force exiting the giant cloud.

Private intelligence services all over the world reported the arrival of the task force.

“BITCH!” Grozny banged the radar with his fists. “THEY’RE COMING! CELESTIA HAS ORDERED TO FINISH THE JOB! GET READY EVERYBODY! THEY’RE COMING TO FETCH OUR SOULS!”

Alarms began to wail all over the human towns in the Gobi Desert.

“Shining! Cadence!” A staff worker called. “We got reports all over the place that Celestia has sent a MASSIVE invasion fleet.”

“What!?”

“She’s going to wipe humanity off the map, whatever straggler there is, they’re getting ponified.” The woman said.  A fellow worker tossed her a SIG 550. “We have to get you out of here!”

“Acoustic picked up something exiting the Corridor.” Soarin relayed. “90,000 Star Swirl Units… It’s an invasion force heading to the last human nations and the Exiles!”

“All hands and hooves prepare for combat!” Spitfire ordered.

Every human crew member was given a gun along with ammo. The ponies serving the ship prepared themselves for whatever combat situation approached.

“Captain! Equestrian task force descending from the Corridor.”

“WHAT!?” Nikolaos yelled. “ALL HANDS PREPARE FOR COMBAT! SCRAMBLE ALL FIGHTERS AND PUSHERS! RADIO TO ALL SHIPS IN THE AREA TO PREPARE!”

The Equestrian Sky Fleet battleships began to open fire in all directions.  Beams of magic flew out against any ship, any city, anything that was caught in their blast radius.

The many naval vessels took off for the skies to engage the threats.

Carriers launched their fighters while the others fired shells into the incoming vessels. Inside the ships, the crews were getting ready to be boarded by the pegasi or preparing for manning the AA guns for close ranged combat.

Pegasi launched from the battleships, heading towards them at full speed.

“ENEMY PEGASI APPROACHING!”

“SHOOT THEM DOWN!”

Guns fired their loads into the many ships that were coming from above. A few hits were reported but they still continued to descend. Bolts of magic impacted whatever human-flagged ship there was.  Fires broke out while others were torn to pieces.

The Crimson Lightning was boarded by attacking pegasi.

The whole ship was expecting them. The human crews were hiding behind corners, tables, and barriers they made out of everything.  Most of them totted assault rifles, shotguns, and SMG. A woman pulled on the forward assist of her M4WB and checked the chambering.  Nodding, she raised the rifle, waiting for the intruders to attack.

One of the cooks moved his Wildey pistol around the hall.

The intruding pegasi came in. They all carried vials of a purple liquid.

“THOSE SONS OF BITCHES! THEY ARE CARRYING THE FUCKING SERUM!” A human crew member fired his AK-103 at the pegasi. “SHOOT THEM ALL! DON’T LET THEM GET TOO CLOSE!”

The invading pegasi began to scream as the bullets tore them to shreds but more were entering.  The walls exploded as many more began to enter.  Looking at the humans, they began to throw their vials towards them.  Bullets flew, destroying the incoming glass tubes.  “We have to protect the Gunners! Don’t let them get through!”

Three janitors took cover in a corner. Hearing hooves head for them, they all cocked their G36s and released a storm of full automatic fire. The invaders were torn to shreds as the bullets hit their bodies.

Inside the cannons, the Wonderbolts were helping out the gunners load up chambers with the Rainboom Shells.  The ship was shaking violently. The PA announced the damages across the ship, panic in the voice. The ship gave a loud moan, the armor plating has been breached, they were open for attack.

“PORT CANNONS READY!” A Gunner said over the ship’s phone which was relayed to the rest of the ship.

“STARBOARD CANNONS READY!”

“MAIN CANNONS READY!”

Spitfire nodded. “OPEN FIRE!”

The cannons began to thunder as the shells exited the barrels. The casing was extracted, followed by a new shell being loaded up. As the shell was sent flying, the gunnery crews loaded another one and then another one.

The shells detonated, releasing Rainbooms all over the place.

“What the? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” A fleet of pegasi screamed as the Rainbooms pulverized every bone of their bodies.

The colorful shockwaves began to slice through the many airships. The crews screamed as they plunged down to their deaths. If the blasts didn’t cut them, the Units overloaded and detonated violently. Explosions began to devastate the ship from the inside, wiping the crews out as it went down.

“WE’RE ALL DOING GREAT! KEEP IT UP!” Soarin cheered over the ship’s phone.

“ENEMY INFILTRATION IN THE HANGAR DECK!” A mechanic yelled over the PA. “OH GOD THEY GOT SANDERS!”

A pegasus took cover behind one of the pusher planes.

“FIRE IN THE HOLE!” A woman called.

A pineapple-like object landed next to the infiltrator.

The pegasus looked at it with curiosity.

A loud blast was heard.  The plane along with the pegasus was destroyed.

“SHOOT THE PLANES WHEN THEY LAND NEXT TO THEM! WE’LL KILL THEM ALL QUICKLY!”

“ARE YOU CRAZY! WHAT WILL SPITFIRE SAY!?”

“WE CAN GET MORE OF THEM LATER! JUST FIRE ON THEM!”

More of the invading pegasi entered. Vials of the serum were thrown across the hangar.

One of them broke on a mechanic. The man was screaming as his body was changing. A shot to the head put him out of his misery.

All gunfire concentrated on the parked planes.  More and more were entering.

Flames came out of the vehicles.

One mechanic got an idea. “I’m going in.”

“WHAT!?”

“The gas tanks are still full, we can take them out and deny them entry to the hangar if we blew it all up. It will critically damage the ship but it’s the only way to prevent this ship from being captured. If they see the smoke coming out, they’ll think they’ve sunk it.”

“You’re a crazy bastard. You’ll get converted right away!”

“It’s the only chance to preserve Captain Spitfire’s honor and life. If they capture her with the rest, she will be executed for defecting.” The man readied his AK-12. “Cover me.”  He began to run towards the gas tanks, firing at any pegasi that dared to stop him.

Gunfire erupted towards the pegasi focusing on the man.

The man placed his hands on the valve, struggling to make it budge. Groaning , every last big of strength transferred to his hands.  The wheel began to squeak as it spinned.  A liquid creeped over on his back followed by a flash of light, the man felt his humanity leaving, the call of Equestria being chanted on his ears. The fuel began to spill all over the floor. In one last act of twisted payback, he pulled out a cigar and lit it. His transformation was almost done, and a puff of smoke exited his mouth. The lit cigar fell on the spilled gasoline. The Newfoal curiously looked at the liquid and the flames it produced.

A grenade landed in the pool of liquid. The Newfoal looked at the pineapple shaped explosive.

The mechanics locked the door as they escaped the hangar.

A loud blast was heard as several explosions began to exit the ship.  Smoke began to escape from whatever opening available. Orange flames burned everything in their path. The invaders screamed as the flames ate them alive. A pegasus gave a insane laugh as his body was slowly calcinated.

“This is the Hangar Crew.” The head mechanic announced. “We had no choice to destroy the hangar. Leroy managed to open up the gas tanks…” A heavy sigh escaped him. “But he got converted , but managed to take the bastards down.”

Rainboom Shells began to fire rapidly against the attacking ships. Explosions escaped the ships as their Units were overloaded or sliced up by the shockwaves. Gunfire around the ship killed off any infiltrators that got inside.  After the combat, the Crimson Lightning turned towards a safe location.

Skies of Europe

A Pusher Plane was being tailed by a pegasus. She was a persistent one, trying to down the craft one way or the other. The reserve fuel tanks were dropped, they dived towards it. The machine gunner fired a few bullets into the containers as they dropped.  Passing by them, the humans gave the flying pony the finger. A loud blast was heard, the pegasus was nothing but a memory.  Up ahead, an Equestrian battleship continued its salvo of fire.  As they craft got close, the FN MAG’s muzzle roared for several seconds. The pilot swiveled the craft away from the ship’s magic fire

.

Several infiltrating Pegasi managed to enter the Chimera at the cost of a few compatriots. Their mission was to either destroy the ship or ponify the crews. They were nowhere to be found. Was this a ghost ship as the legends said? From the walls, small hatches opened up, revealing gun barrels of assorted guns. Their front sights sticking out, getting a bead on the ponies’ heads.  How wonderful their anatomy is, there is just so much fun getting headshots out of them.  As they got closer, the guns began to crack several times. Their bodies went limp after several rounds.

One managed to reach the bridge.  Seeing that the bridge crew was gone, he looked around and sat in the throne-like seat.  A gun was cocked, his ears twitched following the sound.  Seeing the barrel of a Tokarev, the pegasus gulped. An animalistic smile was printed on the man’s face followed by a loud gunshot. Many stormed in, looking at the man. Their wings prepared to hurl the serum at him.

“Ah, the little ponies following their Princesses command.” Nikolaos cackled. Whipping out a remote control,  his index finger pressed the button. The bridge turned red, the ponies looking confused about the situation. Panels opened up, revealing several machine guns slowly coming out. The gun barrels locked on the ponies and rained lead on them. The machine guns retracted, the bridge was a bloody mess.

A pegasus turned green seeing the raw beef hanging from the steel hook.  “You poor thing…we’ll avenge you.”

Another one looked curiously at the big bagels hanging from another set of hooks. Did the crews eat these?

Another one smell the delicious stew that finished cooking.  She could see lettuce, potato halves, bread pieces that were no doubt from the bagels.  Perhaps they’re not as bad as they thought, there is some vegetation cooking.  She began to eat the mixture like there’s no tomorrow, savoring every second of it.

“I hope you liked my beef liver stew.” A calm voice said.

The pegasus looked at the broth.  She gasped as she saw slices of cooked liver float up. Grasping her stomach, she gave a scream of insanity. “WHAT HAVE I DONE!? I AM A MONSTER! KILL ME! KILL ME! I BEG OF YOU!” A stream of tears flowed like a goblet overfilled with wine.

The chef locked the door. Pulling out a Smith and Wesson revolver, he pulled the hammer and slowly brought the gun up. “Now…I am curious of tasting pony meat… I bet its bittersweet or maybe…. It tastes like spices… yes… only one way to find out.” Laughing a bit, he threw away the weapon. “Oh… but this would be TOO easy.” A long cleaver was pulled out. “Main course? YOU!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”The pegasi screamed as the sounds of a blade ended them instantly.

The robust Serbian man whistled a happy tune as he began to cut the slabs of meat of the dead pegasi. The door opened, he continued to cut.

The infiltrating pegasi turned pale, seeing the corpses being defiled by the large square knife.  One of them gave a scream, another one vomited as the meat was placed into piles. The others began to go mad, the images forever branded into their minds.  They turned tail and ran away, fearing to be next victims of the mad cook.

“They are leaving the ship!” A voice on the PA said.  “We are in the clear!”

“Gunnery Chief! You may commence firing now!” Nikolaos ordered.

The guns of the Chimera began to fire upon any ship close to its vicinity. The Alicorn-Class Battleships began to take damage.  An armor piercing shell hit a Star Swirl Unit, creating a blue explosion that could be seen by the attacking ships.

“All ships! Battle formation V!” The German Fleet Admiral ordered. “Prepare the rams! Break through their centers!”

The German Air Fleet formed up.

The engines roared as the ships dashed towards the enemy. The bow sections opened up, revealing a massive blade-like structure.  As they got close, the German ships rammed the Equestrian ships.  The enemy vessels began to cough up huge plumes of smoke. “GUNNERS! OPEN FIRE!”

The main guns of the ship aimed up at the impaled ships. A symphony of destruction was heard all over as they were blown up from the skies.

A Russian fighter tailed a flock of pegasi. The pilot confirmed the lock on and pulled the trigger. The machine gun erupted into bursts as its bullets flew towards the winged ponies.  A few were hit, becoming red mists.  The others looked back and performed a U-Turn, attacking the aircraft.  The pilot grinned as he flew up. The pegasi followed.  The man pulled on the control stick, his craft going down.

“OH BUCK! AN IMMELMANN!” One of the pegasi screamed as bullets tore him to shreds.

They began to follow the craft angrily.

“Now you pissed off the Cobra!” The pilot pulled on the control stick, decreasing speed.

The pegasi got ready to follow him up but passed by.

The plane was brought down.

Getting a lock on, the missiles flew out.

The explosion turned the pegasi into memories.

The Irish Air Navy began to engage the attackers.

Grappling hooks were fired towards any Equestrian-flagged ship. With the hooks latched on the ships, they were reeled in. The boarding crews cocked their weapons, while reciting prayers or mantras that will grant them protection from the ponies.

A loud buzz was heard.

“NOW CHARGE!”

Several war cries were heard as gunfire erupted in the ships.  The Unicorn Sailors countered. An Irish Sky Marine was pushed back while another one unloaded his MP5’s magazine into it.

The whole bridge crew felt their ship shake violently. Up ahead, a British ship sank down three ships with a barrage of cannon fire. “No…”

The elevator doors opened up. A duo of Irish Marines revealed their M60 machine guns and pulled the trigger. Screams filled the bridge until nothing was left but the two breathing heavily.

Skies of the American Federation

“When Ah say FUCK YOU PONEHS! AH FUCKING MEAN IT!” A pistol fired once, downing a Unicorn sailor.

A Cajun whistled as he examined the corpse. “Now that’s some grade-A shootin’.” He looked at the rest. “All right everybody, I’ll brief you again on the situation: The government wants us to down this flagship so that the ponies lose their chain of command. Any questions?”

Silence

“Alright, we split up and take the ship. I want the engineering section clear. This is Coozan Annabelle’s orders. Cornwallis, McDoogal, you have the explosives?”

Two men from Mississippi nodded. “So bawss said we can make things go boom?”

“You can blow up things when we clear the ship from them stupid ponehs.” One of the raiders cocked his shotgun. “Are we gonna let Anna here hawg all the fun?”

“Can’t let Coozan get it all.” The Cajun pulled out his AA-12. “Alrighty! We go gung-ho and trigger happy. First one to break the Coozan’s records makes the chitterlings for tonight’s dinner.”

The Southerners took off for the kills.

The Southern Vixen calmly walked to the upper levels of the ship.  The spurs on her cowboy boots were full of blood from previous ponies she fought, trying to get a ride out of them.  Reaching a huge door, the shotgun gave a loud click followed by a loud explosion of gunpowder. The door hinge fell off, followed by the next one.  With one final blast, the door collapsed.

The bridge crews turned around. They saw a female human wearing cut off shorts, a tank top, cowboy boots with bloody spurs, and carrying ammunition for her weapons.  Two Earth Pony sailors dashed to her. “Lord have merceh on yer poor souls.”  She pulled on the slide. The shotgun exploded two times. The stallions moaned and dropped. “And which one of ya’lls wants to die first?”

“GET THE HUMAN!” The Pegasus Vice-Admiral ordered.

A team of Unicorn sailors surrounded the Southern woman.

“Whoa nelleh, if ya’lls think you can surround a vixen, yer graveleh mistaken.” Annabelle taunted. “Ya’lls feels mighteh with them big horns of yers. Ta be honest, Ah think yer all too depent on them.” The Southern girl pumped the shotgun, the spent shell rolled towards one of the unicorns.  Seeing their horns glow, her hand flipped the selector. The shotgun fired several blasts. The Unicorns dropped with many holes on their heads, blood seeping out of the openings.

Pulling out two M1911 pistols, she fired them at the bridge crew. It was all over in seconds. Pushing the Vice-Admiral’s corpse off the seat, she sat down and gave a sly smile of satisfaction.

An Earth Pony sailor bucked one of the raiders. The man hit the wall and moaned. Hearing a gun click, the pony’s purple eyes turned to the direction of the sound. The barrel of a MP5 poked his forehead. Swallowing, he closed his eyes. The barrel flashed several times, the pony was on the floor seconds later. The man offered his hand. The raider got back up. “I suggest you don’t try riding these guys the Captain knows how to.”

“Yeah, Ah managed to learn the hard way…” The raider groaned. “Ah think mah spine hurts.”

“I’M ON AN AIRSHIP! DON’T YOU EVAH FORGET!” A Southern black man fired is Remington shotgun sideways. The ponies screamed as the buckshot tore their bodies.  From behind, a Unicorn sailor got ready to ponify the man.  His horn enveloped the vial of the purple liquid. The man turned around and aimed the shotgun.  A loud blast echoed across the hallway.

The unicorn dropped seconds later.  The black man looked down at the mess he made. The head was completely detached from the neck. The head was full of buckshot, the face was frozen, and forever giving a silent scream of terror as the weapon killed him. He will be forced to relive this moment as eyes stared at him.  The man cycled the weapon, the spent shell rolling towards the cadaver, releasing hot steam.

More shotgun fire was heard, accompanied by screams of agony.

The Engineer Unicorns fired out against the two intruders who were taking cover behind the corner.

McDoogal popped out cover, firing a few rounds from his BAR.  Seeing a beam of magic heading for him, he gave a panicked scream and hugged the wall. “Aw damn it all! There’s too maneh ponehs in here.”

“Leave it all to Cornwallis.” The Mississippian loaded a shell into his rifle’s grenade launcher.  Sticking his arms out, his fingers pressed the trigger for the launcher.

FWOOMP!

The whole room began to shake. Several screams were heard followed by a deep silence. Seconds later, the silence was broken by the beats of the Star Swirl Unit.   McDoogal pulled out his walkie talkie. “Hey bawss!  We cleared out them ponehs from the engine section, can we plant the bombs now?”

“Not now boys, we need to collect intelligence. Now don’t go on blowing up that Unit, we need it.”

“Awwww!” The two moaned.

“Do it or no food for you.”

“We’ll be good.” Cornwallis and McDoogal said in unison.

“Something don’t feel right.” The Cajun said. “I can feel it in my bones… there’s more to this ship than just an attack.”

“Sebastian, everehtime ya saeh that, it feels creepeh.” The black man argued. “You sound like them freaky voodoo people back in Louisiana.”

“Look Johnny boy, when I tell you I can feel something it my bones, I can feel it. There’s something wrong and my bones are aching. My BONES are aching and that’s a sign there’s more to the ship.”

The black man sighed. “Fine! But where in the ship?”

“Follow me.” Sebastian walked off.

Johnny followed.

Reaching a large door, Johnny blasted the lock with a well placed shotgun blast.  Sebastian opened the door. The two gasped at what they say. “Good Lord!” Johnny dropped his weapon. “That’s enough goddamn serum to convert the whole South!”

“It wasn’t another attempt at the 12 Hour War. It was to force conversion to all of us… Mon Dieu, it’s the whole Conversion Bureau again, only this time… it was en masse…”

Johnny pulled out his walkie talkie. “Yo bawss! We made a huge fuckin’ discovery here. This ship is full of that Poneh serum! Yes, the same serum shit they used 10 years ago to convert.”

“Where?” Annabelle’s voice was heard on the other line.

“In the cargo hold.”

The Southern woman took off.  She came to a full stop as she saw the many gallons along with bombs being filled with them.  A vein throbbed on her forehead, a fist was balled. A dent was made in the wall, followed by several shots against the vials, spilling the purple liquid on the floor. “Tell Cornwallis and McDoogal to set the bombs for 5 minutes, we’re gettin’ out of here.”

Sebastian whipped out the portable radio. “Corn, McDoogal. Plant the bombs and set them for 5 minutes. Then head back to the ship. We’re getting out of here.”

“YAY!” Their voices were heard.

A few seconds later, they confirmed that the explosives were planted.

Grapple hooks were detached from the flagship. A highly modified battle cruiser turned to port at full speed. The Equestrian ship exploded, screaming as fires consumed every part of it. The ship was nothing but a skeleton, it slowly plunged to the ground below while smokestacks called it out to the people below.

Gobi Desert

Blasts of gunfire erupted across the building.  Several ponies wearing black jumpsuits dropped to the floor. “The heck are these guys?” A man reloaded his assault rifle.

“Those ponies belong to the No Quarter/ Retrieval Squad, they hunt down defectors to take them back to Equestria.”  Another man cocked his FAMAS and scanned his settings.  “Area clear!”

A door was bucked open. The pegasi began to scan the room for any signs of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.  One of them noticed a red light flowing out of a strange device emit a red light beam. The pegasi walked over it. There was a series of quick beeps heard across the room. Screams were heard as fire consumed them. All what was left was charred bodies.

On the roof of the building, Grozny along with a few of his men escorted Shining Armor and Princess Cadence to the dropship that landed. Sounds of violence were heard from the lower levels. Screams filled the air. The Russian man heard the beats of wings in the vicinity. Turning to the direction, several pegasi appeared. Cocking his AK-107, the weapon was raised at the flying threats.

The rest of Grozny’s men started to group around the two ponies. “Move when we move, we’ll keep you covered.” One of the men said.

The Russian fired a burst towards the pegasus. The bullets brought the pony down while the others began to fly in circles. “Get them out of here!” Several bursts fired out.  “EAT LEAD YOU NASTY SQUIRTS!” Bullet cases dropped on the floor as the pegasi were hit by the bullets.

The ponies began to move towards the two defectors.  The men fired their weapons at them, stopping them in their tracks. Picking up the pace, they managed to reach the dropship.  The door bursted open, several unicorns entered, their horns giving a threatening glow.

Grozny reloaded his assault rifle and aimed it at the unicorns.  The muzzle flashed several times as the bullets hit the unicorns.  His ears registered the dropship’s engines roaring to life.

“Grozny! Get in here!” Shining called.

Several blasts of magic missed him. The attacks were countered by a spray of assault rifle fire. “GET CLEAR! I’LL HOLD THEM UP! GET THEM TO NIKOLAOS! YOU CAN COME BACK AND PICK ME UP LATER!” The dropship’s engine engaged in flight mode. The aircraft shot for the skies. “I hope I can fend them off…”

A unicorn fired at him.

The beam felt like being punched with an iron fist. The man was sent flying a few inches through the air. Hitting the helipad, he rolled for several seconds in the pavement. Everything was slowly going black.  A pegasus landed, giving him a sinister face. “Don’t worry human…” The pony assured. “You won’t be ponified yet… I think you’d love to meet the Princesses. You have a lot of talking to do.”

Grozny blacked out.