///LOCATION - NLTT-512-3A/CRYSTAL EMPIRE/CAMP EBONY///TIME - 13:41 LMT///DATE - 19-05-2232///

As soon as the first ships landed, several reports had started to come in that the planet was indeed inhabited by other creatures, of which atleast one was at the level of a real civilization, complete with cities and towns. These scans weren't detailed enough to know what this species looked like, but from what they could see, they appeared to be somewhat smaller than humans, though "longer" horizontally. In the end, it was concluded that these creatures were most likely four-legged.

After Admiral Bishop received word about the alien civilization, he ordered the construction of a Forward Operating Base, where ships can refuel and rearm, troops can sleep and eat, and where expeditions and patrols can be set up to find the target, now nicknamed 'Nomad'. This base would have be able to defend itself, both from wild animals, aswell as against the unidentified and uncontacted civilization.

The 4th Logistical Battalion received the plans for Camp Ebony, the to-be-construced FOB for the ground-forces, shortly after they were put together by HANNBAI. The UEN employs a modular base-construction-system, designed by Sylvine Habitation, which happens to also be a daughter-company of Olympus. In its simplest form, the KOMHAF (Kit Of Modular Housing And Fortification) system uses container-like structures, which can extend and fold out when deployed.

There are 3 sizes of KOMHAF-Modules: Small, Medium and Large. Small Modules are things like lavatorys, generators, stacks of lights and walls, food and medical-supplies, etcetera. These are packaged into boxes of 1,5x1,5x1,5 metres, and can fit in almost any cargo-ship, and even some exploration-vessels. The Medium Modules mostly consist of bunks, canteens, offices, comms-towers, and even some smaller defensive systems, like the C-RAM-12, an Anti-Air-System developed by Archimedes Armaments and Taurus Defense.

The Medium Modules all fit inside 2x2,5x6 metre containers, designed for transport by ships such as the EU-55C Hornet, a ship built for atmospheric cargo-transport by Echillon United. It can carry one of those containers in the middle of the fuselage, with the container located in a magnetic frame between the engines. Finally, the Large Modules, which are 5x5x12 metres, include things like the CRI-T-5 Radar Tower, Armoured Ammo- and Fuel-Storage, Artillery Installations, and even Static Anti-Armor-Railguns, such as the LRG-50-AT.

These massive containers can only be transported by a EU-80D Exofortress, the largest atmospheric-flight-capable ship in existance. These monstrosities are 122,3 metres long, 88,5 metres wide, 30,8 metres high, and weigh 580 tonnes. They can carry a total of 10 Large Modules in its cargohold, in a 5x2-configuration. With a whopping 28 of those vessels in the fleet, of which 16 were assigned to the 4th Logistical Battalion, an incredible 160 Large Modules could be landed on the planet in one go, as long as a sufficiently long runway is available. The minimum requirement is 3,8 Kilometres.

With the cargo properly distrubuted among teams, and after the first shipments were loaded up, the first ships began spooling up to make planetfall. The first things to be constructed were the runway, aswell as some lights and generators, because the construction-efforts would most likely go on into the night. The runway were to be built from standard high-friction plates, which have a hexagonal design with some holes for drainage.

After the first Hornets had dropped-off the runway-plates, things really started to kick off. Ships were landing and taking-off around the clock. The sky was filled with sparks of the bright engines as the vessels of the UEN transported delicate equipment. The ear-deafening roar of crafts re-entering the atmosphere could be heard halfway across the continent. The same could be said for the lights, which were clearly visible from the city on the mountain-side.

///LOCATION - NLTT-512-3A/EQUESTRIA/CANTERLOT///TIME - 23:20 LMT///DATE - 19-05-2232///

"Will the LRS please report at the Ops-Room? I repeat, will the LRS please report at the Ops-Room? That is all."

The loudspeakers went quiet yet again. The Lunar Recon Squad had just been called into action. They were the top-of-the-line, the elite-of-the-elite. They were famed for their ability to improvise, yet they were still a mystery to most. They were the newest addition to the Royal Equestrian Guard, and were a separetly-functioning unit under Princess Luna's control.

The basis of the LRS was the ability to improvise and adapt to any possible situation. Members of the LRS were encouraged to obtain their own weapons, in order to innovate combat. Although they sometimes function on the front-line, they usually only operate behind enemy lines, or undercover in own territory.

One of the members of the LRS was Lieutenant Sturdy Shield, a thestral who had been one of the first members of the LRS. He was there when the LRS was first created by Princess Luna to investigate mysterious occurences outside the kingdom. She had decided that a special recconaisance-squad would have to be established if they wanted to know what was happening out of the kingdom's juristiction.

Now, the LRS had to respond once again. Lieutenant Sturdy Shield put down his book, got up from his bunk, and began to head towards the Operations-Room, where all the briefings take place. As he walked in the direction of the Ops-Room, various ponies looked over at him. It wasn't every day that they saw a thestral, let alone one in such a high role.

The LRS was the only squad in the Royal Equestrian Guard where non-ponies were allowed to serve. After all, thestrals weren't officially recognised as inhabitants of Equestria. Most of them lived in the former-Arimaspi-Territory, while some of them lived off-grid inside Equestria's forrests. Equestria was, however, becoming more and more acceptant of these pony-likes. Therefore, Princess Luna had ordered that the LRS would be open to both ponies and non-ponies.

With Sturdy Shield now present in the Ops-Room, the briefing could begin.

"Is everyone present?" Major Bladed Sword asked. He had received temporary control over the LRS for as long as the Changelings were active. Most of the Squad therefore expected the mission to be Changeling-related, which wouldn't be too difficult or special. Therefore, none of them expected the mission to involve the weird creature that had arrived a few days ago.

"I'm sorry sir, but with all respect, are you sure that this is a good idea? You only need to look towards the North to see that these creatures aren't screwing around! They have lights flying up and down non-stop, and as far as we can see, they go up all the way into space towards those giant metal things! You want us to fight THAT?" Sturdy Shield asked, as respectfully as he could.

"Negative Lieutenant. I don't want you to fight them. In fact, I don't even want you to be seen by them. Instead, I want you and your Squad to find out what they are doing, and where they are doing it. You will be transported by truck towards FOB Xerxes, which is the closest known location to where we believe those creatures to be. From there, you will be on your own. All you need to do, is find them, observe them, and then report back to me. Transport will be waiting for you at Xerxes. Understood?"

"Understood Major."

"Good. In that case, MOVE OUT!"

The Major left the LRS there, to let them come up with their exact plan of action. They would have to be quiet, sneaky, and stealthy. These creatures seemed to be incredibly technologically advanced, so who knows what kind of observational equipment they might have. This was going to be the LRS's hardest mission yet, that was damn sure.

And Lieutenant Sturdy Shield knew that all too well.

Author's Note

This one took me a while! With all the technical-terms, dimension, statistics, and the inclusion of a map, the time required for 1 chapter significantly increased. Add to that the fact that I was gone for 1 week on vacation, and that I was sick for another one, I didn't really get around to writing. But, here it is nonetheless!

Hey Wild Balance, I hope you like what I did with Sturdy Shield! This is just about the only way it would fit into the story! I'm also not that experienced with other species, so I had to do some research, and some improvisation. I hope that's okay?

Featured Characters:
Sturdy Shield - Wild Balance