Rainbow Six-Darkened Skiesby Mkchief34ChaptersPrologue-The CapsuleChapter 1-Our TownChapter 2-Execute AuthorityChapter 3-First Incursion, Part OnePrologue-The CapsuleOur Town Eastern Mountains, Equestria It was nighttime, and everypony in Our Town was asleep. That is, except for one. Blizzard Ski, the Watchpony. His task was to make sure no beast made it into the town during the night. Ski was your typical earth pony, with a pale blue coat and white mane. His flashlight jumped from shadow to shadow, until he looked up at the sky. "What in Celestia's name…" he murmured. A bright yellow light was cutting through the air, towards the upper part of the mountain near the town. Ski realized it was a meteorite, or some sort of stellar debris. Deciding the town would watch itself, Ski set out for the impact site. ==== It took a few minutes of rough hiking, but Ski reached the small plain where the light had settled. He looked around, then he noticed something odd. A piece of glass, cracked and shattered. Ski's flashlight illuminated a second, much larger piece, then a large white orb. It was scorched from the impact with the ground, and it was covered in strange markings, including a red flag marked with a hammer and sickle. Ski approached the object, ready to run if possible. Then, noticed a broken porthole, the source of the glass fragments. He shone his flashlight inside, and to his surprise, the inside was covered in black and red crystal or chitin. He attempted to break a piece off to show the other residents, pulling on a small spire with all his strength. The only thing he got as a reward was a gash in his hoof. "Ow!" he yelped. He brought his flashlight over to see how bad his injury was. To his relief, it was small, with only a small sliver of the material inside. Deciding he needed to return to the town, he took a step away. Only to then start feeling rather warm. He looked at his hoof, and then, he gasped. Some kind of scab had formed over the cut, black and red, and web-like. He attempted to pull it off, only for the web to spread along his hoof and towards his chest. His screams went unheard as his eyes turned from blue to a deep red. Chitinous spikes lanced out of his back, and his last sentient thought was one of fear and horror. The newly infected Blizzard Ski, now an Apex Grunt, looked towards the town below him, his mouth dripping with black saliva. With an animalistic grunt, he set off down the mountain, towards Our Town. ==== Truth or Consequences New Mexico Quarantine Lab Ash walked through the sealed Lab tent with a sigh. Five days ago, a handpicked team of Rainbow Six operators had infiltrated the Apex-infested town and not only retrieved Dr. McIntosh, but destroyed the source and extracted Jaeger from a downed helicopter. The infection was dying, albeit slowly and doggedly. Now, Ash was heading to see if Operator Doc had anything new. "Ah, madame Ash!" Doc said. "I have made some progress!" "Some is better than none." Ash replied. "What's new?" "I managed to isolate the genetic makeup of the original parasite recovered from the capsule." Doc said. "It's similar to cancer, only instead of replicating cells, it transforms their protein construction in seconds. Simply put, it can infect and transform any bodily system into more Apex in a very short time." "Can we cure or repel it?" Ash asked. "Not yet." Doc replied. "The parasite has a very fine sense of danger, and it forms new cells rapidly whenever an anomaly is detected. It's almost like each cell has its own immune system. Many of my experiments have yet to work towards disabling it.' "Keep at it, Doc." Ash said. Doc nodded and returned to his work as Ash exited. Soon, she was joined by Thermite, who did not look very happy. "Penny for your thoughts." She asked. "I'm feeling like this isn't over." Thermite said. "Something tells me that we'll all have to deal with this again sometime soon." "Be careful what you wish for." Ash replied. "By the way, Delta Force sent us backup." "Newbie?" Thermite asked. "If you could call him that." Ash said. "His call-sign is Gaunt. Several black-op missions under his belt, exceptional record in service. He's all yours when he arrives." "Alright then." Thermite said. "Where's he landing at?" "Helipad, as always." Ash said. "See ya." Ash was walking away when her cell phone rang. "Ash here." she said. "This is Six." said a distorted voice. "I need a team of operators for a ultra high-risk mission." "Done." she said. "Briefing?" "Available on channel 9852, frequency 11." Six replied. "Time is of utmost importance." Before Ash could reply, the line was silent. As she notified Thermite, Smoke, Ying, Buck, Kapkan, Tachanka, Glaz, Recruit, and Gaunt to meet her in the briefing room, she could only wonder what Six would need from the Operators. ==== As the called Operators settled in, Glaz noticed a new figure. He was wearing black and auscam colored fatigues, a combat helmet, coupled with a scarf. The US Delta Force logo was printed on his ballistic vest. "Who's the new one?" Recruit asked. "Name's Gaunt." the man said. "Your newest member. Thermite briefed me before I came here." "Nice to meet ya." Glaz said. "Alright, settle down." Thermite said, as he and Ash came in. "We tuned in?" "As of now, yes." Ash said. "Be briefed or be sorry." On three plasma screen televisions, Six's briefing appeared. "Operators, I have a special mission for you, one of utmost importance." The screens showed a world map, that zoomed in on the state of Massachusetts, on a city east of Boston. "This is Canter City." Six said. "A small city of around three thousand inhabitants. And also home to a cross dimensional portal to a world that we believe is the subject of another Apex parasite outbreak. Your mission is to investigate on the other side of the portal. Under cover of US military war games to occur nearby, you are to retrieve this woman, alias Sunset Shimmer." The girl's image appeared on the screen, along with related info such as physique and appearance. "She is believed to be an inhabitant of the other world, and you are to extract her, and find out what she knows of this other world. Once you have gathered enough intel, you are to head through the portal and establish First Contact. Depart at 1300 AM, Local time. Leave as soon as you all are ready. Six out." The feed ended, and Gaunt crossed his arms. "Sounds like bullshit." he said simply. "Too good to be true. I thought that parasite was from the former Soviet Union." "Gaunt, that capsule was Russian, not the Parasite." Ash said. "All of you are to head out once prepped. A chinook will retrieve you from the helipad. Get moving." The various operators shrugged, nodded and gathered their equipment and kits as they headed outside. Ash turned to Thermite, who shrugged. "Why would there be a portal to another world in that city?" he murmured. "No clue." Ash said flatly. "Let's get back to business here." "By all means." Thermite said as they headed to Doc's lab. Author's Note Yep, new story. I also need a cowriter, one that is familiar with the operators and the story of R6-Siege. Please comment or PM me if you can help! Do you like it? Chapter 1-Our TownPonyville Castle of Friendship Twilight Sparkle and Spike normally didn't open up their castle for official business until after 9 AM. That was apparently changed when Princess Celestia, along with two platoons of Solar Guards, appeared in their dining room with a flash. "GAH! Celestia!" Twilight said, jumping up so quickly she fell to the floor with her chair. "What's up?" "No time for explanations!" Celestia said, with an element in her tone that Twilight had never heard. Fear. "Get the Element Bearers and head to Starlight Glimmer's village IMMEDIATELY!" Before Twilight or Spike could respond, there was another bright flash, and they were gone. Spike looked at Twilight with a confused look. "What was that all about?" the dragon asked. "No clue." Twilight replied. "Let's just get the girls." ==== As the assorted Element Bearers boarded a Solar Guard train, they were greeted by Celestia once more. "I'm sorry for the sudden appearance." she said. "But we have a major problem on our hooves." "Like what?" Pinkie asked. Celestia handed her two photographs. One was an image of Our Town. "That was taken yesterday." Celestia said. "Flip it over." Pinkie flipped the picture over, and gasped, letting the image fall to the floor of the car. Twilight and the others looked at it. The once-bustling town was now totally destroyed and ruined. Black and red, ghastly-looking spikes covered the earth, and if Twilight didn't know better, she would say that the Town was being consumed by...whatever it was that made the spikes. "What happened?" Twilight asked, floored from shock. "We don't know." Celestia replied. "Whatever it is, it's not from Equestria, as that is perfectly clear. The Guards, when they arrived, reported that nearly everypony in the town...was not themselves. They had presumably been infected by whatever that is. There were three uninfected survivors that we recovered, but everypony else....was lost. The town has been quarantined, and we're trying to stop whatever foul thing this is before it can spread." "What do we know?" Twilight asked. "Next to nothing, I'm afraid." Celestia sighed. "We don't know how to fight it, cure it, or destroy it. I've personally hoofpicked a research team to do what they can, but we can't learn anything without knowing what it is. That is why I need you. If this spreads beyond the Town, there will be no Equestria left standing." Twilight and everypony else gulped as the train chugged to the northwest. ==== Canter City, Massachusetts Canterlot High Principal Celestine Daymont, or Celestia, was not expecting a phone call in the middle of Lunch hour. Especially since the only number on the screen of her phone was "6". She picked up the receiver, and asked "Hello?" "Principal Celestine Daymont?" said a distorted voice. "Yes, who is this?" she asked. "I identify as Six. I work for the United Nations. And if you hang up, we cannot protect you." Celestia flinched. "How did you know?" she asked. "I have my ways. Are you aware of the portal to another world, currently located on the grounds of your school? Or the being from this world masquerading as a human?" Celestia gasped. "I'll take that as a yes. Be advised, My operators need to speak with her on a dire matter. Have her meet my teams outside the school at 1PM your time. They are authorized to use force." "Might I ask why?" the Principal asked. "That is classified." Six said. "She will be waiting outside, or you'll have more to worry about than just the United Nations breathing down your neck. And if this goes accordingly, you won't have to worry about a potential dossier being leaked worldwide of the occurrences at your school, complete with evidence of your coverups of said occurrences." "Are you blackmailing me?" she asked, rather irked. "Call it what you like. Sunset Shimmer will be waiting outside when my operators arrive, or the dossier goes live. You don't have much time, and neither do we. Six out." The line went dead. Celestia reluctantly turned on the PA. "Sunset Shimmer, please report to the entrance hall immediately." ==== Sunset headed over to the doors, and to her surprise, nearly ten men and women in special ops gear and carrying various weapons were speaking with the principal. "There she is." Celestia said. The clear leader, who wore a yellow demolition suit marked with various signs of burning, walked up to her. "Sunset Shimmer?" he asked. "Yeah?" she asked. "I'm Jordan Trace, nicknamed Thermite, Rainbow Six. We need you to come with us. To make it short, we know who you are, and your world is in danger. So we'd better get moving." Sunset gasped, but walked with them to the waiting humvees outside, marked with a star-embedded six logo. "By the way, Principal." Ash said, walking up. "We'll need to lock down this site, as I assume you know of the portal?" "I do." Celestia replied. "Then we'll need the school for a couple of weeks." Ash said. "Wasn't my call, but Six made it clear that we can't have a second outbreak. Make sure they leave out the back." "I can't exactly close school in the middle of a day." Celestia protested. "We've taken care of the school board and transport." Ash replied, motioning to the school buses that drove past them. "The only thing you have to do is read this over the PA." Ash handed Celestia a piece of paper, marked with the UN and Rainbow Six logos. "Do that, and we'll delete the dossier." Ash said. "Up to you." Celestia nodded, and with a sigh, headed back inside. Thermite turned to a mystified Sunset. "What's going on?' Sunset asked. "Get in the Humvee and we'll tell you." Ash said. Seeing as there were no other options, Sunset boarded the Humvee with Ash and Thermite. ==== As the Humvees headed to the military base that was serving as Rainbow's base of ops, Ash handed Sunset a folder full of documents and photos. "That there is classified by the UN." Ash said. "And what I am telling you now has never occurred or will never occur again." She pulled down a video screen, which displayed a GPS image of Truth or Consequences. "That is Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, as of four weeks ago." Ash said. "This…" She swiped on her tablet, revealing the Apex outbreak and the drestruction. "is the town as of one week ago." Ash said. "All a result of the Apex Parasite, an extraterrestrial lifeform." "An alien did this?" Sunset asked. "Sort of." Ash replied. "The parasite was captured by a Soviet Satellite, and it crashed outside the town. I bet you can imagine what happened. Parasite got loose, town and its residents were completely infected, and there was only ONE survivor." "What's this have to do with me?" she asked. "Because your world, from what we hear, also received an outbreak." Ash said. "We need your help. You're the only being that can open the portal, so we can intervene before something bad happens. And if we don't, your entire world is doomed. So, will you help us or not?" "Do I have a choice?" Sunset asked. "Fine." "Great." Ash said. "I'm afraid I'm not up to speed about your world, so tell us everything. And I mean...everything." ==== As the humvees returned to Canterlot High a couple of hours later, Sunset saw a fully functioning military base had been established around the school and portal. "You work fast." Sunset said. "Won't anyone notice?" "We're using US Army war games as cover." Ash said. "No one else knows that." They headed for the Gym, which was now serving as Doc's research lab. "Ah, our subject?" he asked. "I'm Gustave Kateb but you can call me Doc. Rainbow Six Team Medic, and now parasitic researcher for the Apex outbreak." "What do you need from me?" Sunset asked. "Well, I need to know if there'll be any medical concerns regarding cross-world travel and exposure." Doc said. "Atmosphere, for example." "Equestria's atmosphere is identical to Earth." Sunset said. "Apart from the inhabitants, they're parallel in nearly all aspects." "Good." Doc said. "I'll pass that along." Sunset and Ash left, and they headed for the Portal, where Thermite and the Operators chosen for the mission were waiting. "What's our backup in case things go to shit?" Gaunt asked. "Three US army battalions." Ash said. "Only if necessary. Sunset, if you will?" Sunset accessed the Portal, and it opened accordingly. Each operator headed in, followed by Doc, Lion, and Finka, who were carrying crates full of research material, ammo, and siege tech. ==== Crystal Empire Spire Sunset and the Operators appeared in a flash inside the Crystal Empire's portal room. "Clear!" Ash said as the operators got to their feet. "Sunset, where are we?" "Crystal Empire, north of Equestria." Sunset said. "Let's get moving. We'll be found sooner or later." Sooner proved correct, as they heard footsteps coming from down the hall. "The portal opened?" "Yes your highness." said a Crystal Guard's voice. "We don't know what came through." As the door opened, Shining Armor groaned. "Let's just hope whatever it could be is…" He took one look at the assembled humans, and flared his horn for combat. The operators raised their weapons, and a standoff seemed inevitable. That is, until Sunset walked forward. "Prince Shining Armor." she said. "Sunset Shimmer?" Shining asked, recognizing her. "What's going on? Who are they?" "We are your best bet for survival as a species." Ash said. "I’m Eliza Cohen but you can call me Ash. I'm with Rainbow Six. These here are my Operators." "Why are you here?" Shining asked, not ceasing his magic buildup. "It's quite complicated." Ash said. "Sunset?" Sunset sighed and told Shining about the potential Apex outbreak, and Rainbow Six. She finished with "...and where's Twilight? She needs to know, like right now." "Twilight and the Element Bearers are with Celestia, in a mountain town west of here." Shining said. "Celestia said something about the whole town being attacked by some red-and-black...thing." "That's the Apex." Ash said. "And if not checked, it will and most certainly consume your entire world. We've stopped the Apex outbreak in our world, so let us stop this one, here. Get us to this town, now." Shining raised an eyebrow, but sighed. "I'll get you an airship." he said. "But I'm coming with you. I want to know for myself what's going on." "Fine." Ash said. "Let's go." They were about to leave when Doc, Finka, and Lion appeared with their supplies. "Bonjour." Doc said, standing up with Lion and Finka."We miss anything?" Ash sighed and looked at Shining. "Not much." Ash shrugged. "Let's get moving." The group headed for the airship docks, Shining making sure to alert Cadance of his departure. ==== Author's Note Update! Next time-The two worlds meet at Our Town. Chapter 2-Execute AuthorityAs the airship sailed into the sky, there was a tense atmosphere on board. While the Operators checked their gear, Shining escorted Sunset, Ash, Doc, and Thermite into the crew bay and closed the door. As they all sat down, Shining sighed. "This "Apex"..." Shining said. "What exactly is it? How do we stop it?" "That's the thing, we're not sure yet." Ash said. "Our only outbreak in New Mexico was stopped and the source was destroyed, but we're still researching it. It is extraterrestrial, but we don't know where it comes from." "How'd you kill it?" Shining replied. "We barbecued it." Thermite said, hefting a NanoThermite charge onto a table. "These nano-incendiary charges burned the parasite's source inside and out. The other problem was the Roaches." "Roaches?" Shining asked. "The residents of the town." Ash replied. "All but one were thoroughly infected and basically became zombies, controlled by the parasite. We've identified multiple forms they can take using a human host, but we don't know what it can do here." "Great." Shining groaned. "So it can adapt, and it's intelligent?" "To a point." Doc said. "The Apex isn't an organism, but each cell is a living being, working as a team. They feature a precise immune system and a replication process that transforms biomass upon interaction. Simply put, even the briefest of contact with skin can infect you." "How do you kill the forms, then?" Shining replied. "We shot them." Thermite replied simply. Ash shot him a dirty look before speaking. "You'll need to know what you're up against." she said. The forms we've identified are as follows. Grunts are infected who haven't fully developed yet. They're dangerous in groups, but they can still spread the Parasite on their own. Also, they're easy to kill when unaware, but when they notice you, they sprout armor" Shining scribbled notes down before nodding. "Breachers have spines loaded with an acidic substance that can eat through nearly anything. Rooters burrow below you and trap you in place with spikes. They're also particularly quick. Breachers are big, slow, and stupid, but they're strong enough to bash through concrete like butter. They're vulnerable from behind. And the Apex forms are the top of the chain. They can direct and fortify other forms, and they can fire projectiles loaded with the parasite than can blind the target. They're exceedingly dangerous and they lead from the rear." Ash said. "Good to know." Shining said. "We're almost there." "Roger that." Thermite said, loading the charges with their fiery payloads. "Let's go." The four of them exited the cabin to find each Operator ready and waiting. "You know the drill." Thermite said. "We can't have another Truth or Consequences, folks. Let's do our job." The Operators nodded and headed for the departure ramp. As they approached Our Town, which was surrounded by a magical shield, Ash saw several ponies waiting for them, some armed with spears. ==== Two Hours earlier As Twilight and her friends exited the train, they found Our Town had been shielded off, and multiple Solar and Lunar guard teams were performing their duties. "This way." Celestia said. As they followed, Twilight could see the three survivors receiving medical treatment. One was Sugar Belle, and the others Twilight didn't recognize. There was a unicorn with a green coat, and a pegasus with a dusty brown coat. Celestia shepherded them into the lab, where a single pony in a lab coat was analyzing samples. Though he seemed to be advanced in years, he was buzzing about like a hyperactive worker bee. "Clean Slate." Celestia said to Twilight. "He's an award winning biologist, and he specializes in parasitic life." "Indeed." said the gray-coated Unicorn. "And frankly, your Highness, I've never seen anything like this. The Parasite spreads in a way I can't understand. Any biological matter that touches it instantly becomes infected." "Can't you remove it?" Applejack asked. "Unfortunately, no." Slate replied. "Whenever I try to extract a sample, it forms chitin around itself. Chitin that is so hard, my magic-enhanced steel could barely cut it enough to retrieve a sample." He motioned to a double-reinforced test tube where a small segment of skin was covered in Apex material. "Whatever it is, Princess." he sighed. "It's intelligent enough to know what constitutes a threat, and since we only have three survivors, I can't do more since they're uninfected. And to infect them would break quarantine and my standards." "I know. We'll get you live samples as soon as we get in there." Twilight said. "We'll leave now." "No, you won't." Celestia said. "Twilight, you and your friends are not going in there. What would happen if you get infected? Or hurt? Or killed?" she said as Twilight prepared to protest. Twilight and her friends froze as they realized what Celestia said was true. "...Right." Twilight sighed. "Has anypony else gone in?" "One team attempted to locate the source." Celestia said. "None came back." Twilight was about to reply, when a Solar Guard poked his head in. "Princess, there's a Crystal Airship approaching." "I thought you told Shining and Cadance to stay at the Empire." Twilight said. "...I did." Celestia replied, heading out. "What is Shining Armor doing, coming here?" As they headed outside, they were greeted by the airship setting itself down in the courtyard. First came Shining Armor, to Celestia's annoyance. Next, to Twilight's surprise, was Sunset Shimmer. Finally, to everypony's surprise and shock, came Ash and the Operators. Ash walked forward, flanked by Doc and Thermite. "Who's in charge here?" she asked. Celestia walked forward with a raised eyebrow. "I am." She said. "Wrong." Ash said. "I'm in charge here now. I'm Eliza Cohen, my callsign is Ash. I'm with Rainbow Six. The others behind me are my Operators. And with all due respect, if you don't let us help, you're all fucked as a species." Celestia flinched, but quickly regained her composure as she glared at Ash. "Why is that?" She asked. Because we know how to stop this." Ash replied. "And if we all act quickly, we can stop this outbreak together...before it gets worse." Celestia sighed as she looked at the human with mistrust, but eventually she caved. "Fine." she said. "However, my Guards will work with your Operators under my supervision." "Alright." Ash replied. "We'll need all the info you got, and then we'll pool our knowledge and figure out a plan." Celestia and the Elements escorted the Operators to the command center, and they all sat down. "Alright, Miss Ash…" Celestia said. "Let's talk." Author's Note Update! Chapter 3-First Incursion, Part OneCelestia brought the Operators, Shining, and Sunset into the command tent. They all sat down, Thermite planting his legs on the table. "So, let's talk." Celestia said. "What do you know about this blight?" "We know it as the Apex Parasite." Doc said, handing Celestia a tablet with his research. "It's extraterrestrial, and extremely adaptable and intelligent. We had one small outbreak, but it wiped an entire town off the map." Celestia frowned. "How do we stop it?" she asked. "Technically, we're still killing it." Ash replied. "Our NanoThermite charges killed the source, but the infection is still dying. It's persistent, I'll give it that. Let's make a deal, shall we?" "What kind of deal?" Celestia asked. "We'll work with you to stop this outbreak." Ash said. "We'll exchange information, weapons, and troops. In exchange, you'll do what we ask, and don't screw us over. Deal?" "...Deal." Celestia replied. "I take it you are the medical specialist?" "Yes. Gustav Kateb, call me Doc." Doc replied. "I'll have my research ready ASAP." "Then let's get going." Celestia said. "We don't have time to waste." ==== As Shining took Doc to Clean Slate to drop off his research, Celestia took Sunset aside to make amends. That left Ash and the Operators in the care of the Elements of Harmony. Ash and her team were taken to a small armory near the entrance to Our Town. "Feel free to wait here." Twilight said. "I'm not sure what you need to do." "We'll be fine, miss." Ash said. "We'll check our gear. Then, we're getting to the bottom of this." Twilight raised an eyebrow, but the Elements left. The various Operators then set about, checking their gear and weapons. "I'll tell you one thing…" Tachanka said, loading his Mounted Turret. "This seems quite odd." "How so?" Buck replied, loading his Skeleton Key Breaching Shotgun. "It seems like...it's organized." Tachanka continued. "Like we kill one outbreak, another pops up." "That is odd." Lion said, as he and Finka came in with crates of ammo and armor "However, we still have a job to do." "Amen to that." Kapkan said. "We're stacked and ready." "Agreed." said a new voice. The operators turned to see a new Operator appear. He was covered head to toe in SWAT Gear, and he carried an SC 2010 assault rifle. On his back were two large canisters. "Who are you?" Thermite asked. "I'm Miguel Ximenez." he said. "Call me Matador. I'm your newest Operator, Madrid Special Services." "Good to have you." Buck said, shaking his hand. "You've been briefed?" "Thoroughly." Matador replied, loading a MAC-11 SMG. "I've also got these." He unfurled the canisters, revealing a scroll of mesh netting. "What's this?" Kapkan asked. "Antibreach net." Matador said. "Prevents hostile entry by two methods. Electrically charged material and kevlar plating." "Neat." Thermite said, as he came in. "Ash just gave us the go-ahead. We're entering the town via Airship. Princess Celestia's spoken with Six, and she's on our side. Everyone, lock and load. Lion, Finka, get ready. Doc's going to be busy here, so you'll be our Medics." "Roger that." the two Operators said. Thermite gave them three NanoThermite Charges, and they headed for the waiting airship, Doc already on board and waiting. ==== The Operators took their seats, and the airship headed to the top of the shield dome, flying just like a helicopter. "Your mission is as follows." Ash said over the radio. "Find the source and destroy it, eliminate all hostiles, secure live samples if possible. If there are any survivors, which most likely won't be the case, extract them. Am I understood?" "Yes, ma'am!" the Operators said as the shield opened. The airship descended, and with a chorus of metallic clicks, the Operators loaded their weapons. "Here's your stop! Good luck!" the pilot yelled as the Operators disembarked. "See you at the rendezvous!" The airship exited the shield, and Gaunt took point. ==== "It pains me to say this…" Matador said, his assault rifle sweeping around, checking the corners and alleys. "...I've got a bad feeling about this." "Tell me you didn't just quote Star Wars." Buck replied. "Or is that for real?" "For real." Matador replied. "We're not alone out here." "Wait, up ahead!" Tachanka said as he loaded his SASG-12. The Operators ducked into cover as a Roach appeared. The humans could tell it was once a pegasus, due to the mangled wings covered in Apex-infested feathers. And even more disturbing was the fangs in its mouth. "Drop it." Buck said to Matador. Matador fired a round, killing the Roach with a headshot. It fell, and Doc immediately surged forward to document the new form. "We need to keep moving." Gaunt said. "No time for photos." "There is time for live samples." Doc replied, placing a small fragment of dead Apex into a vial. "Now, we go." The Operators advanced, then they heard loud screeching coming from a nearby location. As they crouched behind the stalls of a ruined open-air market, they eyed several more infected Pegasi eating what remained of… Well, let's just say the sight sickened even the hardened Rainbow Six operators. "Are they seriously doing that?" Gaunt asked. "That's sick." Ying said. "No time to stand gawking, Rainbow." Ash's voice came over their radios. "Keep moving. We've identified an infection source at the Town Hall. Move there ASAP." "Roger that." Buck said. "Gaunt, Matador, drop these fuckers." "Rog'" "Roger." A few silenced gunshots, and the three roaches fell dead. Lion and Finka quickly secured virus samples before the remaining Operators continued their trek through the town. ==== Quarantine HQ "I will admit, Miss Ash…" Celestia said. "Your Operators are skilled." "We aim to be." Ash said. "However, our primary function is counter-terrorism, not dealing with alien parasite outbreaks." "Tell me how it came to your world." Clean Slate requested from his table, that he was sharing research with Doc. "All right." Ash said, pulling out a tablet. "Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, United States. A Cold-War era Soviet space Capsule crashed near this town. A local, Ben Boyd, salvaged it for sale, inadvertently releasing the Apex into the surrounding area." "The Virus was passive at first, slowly infecting the town." Ash continued. "The residents bunched up at the Town center, which was reissued as a CDC Clinic and serology lab. Dr. Ellen Mackintosh led containment efforts. However, Boyd himself received enough exposure to the Apex, infecting him. He headed to the lab, the parasite slowly taking over his body. Once he arrived, he was fully changed. Then, all hell broke loose." "The Apex started changing all the residents who were infected, no matter how severe their case." Thermite said, coming in with additional NanoThermite charges. "Soon, Dr. Mackintosh was the only uninfected survivor. Everyone else was infected or killed. Town was quarantined, National Guard and Army units were deployed, followed by us." "So you came to destroy it?" Celestia asked. "We also want to know its origins." Ash said. "And if possible, develop cure or inoculation." "Lofty goals, Miss Ash." Clean Slate said. "However, are you sure your Operators will deliver?" "Dead sure." Ash said. "We've stopped multiple terrorist threats across the globe and then some. We can handle this." "Princess!" The humans and ponies turned to see a Guard appear, out of breath. "We've got a report from one of our aerial units. The creatures are attempting to breakthrough the shield near the Town Hall." "If they do, that'll let the Apex spread unrestrained." Ash said. "Can you reinforce it?" "No." Celestia said. "I'd have to lower the shield in order to cast a stronger ward. That'll be the end of Out Town, and possibly Equestria." "Then we don't have a choice. Thermite said. "Operators, this is Thermite. We have a problem." "So we hear." Tachanka said. "We're en route now." "Move quickly." Ash said. "If those parasites break through, we won't have an Equestria to clean up. Your objective has changed. Stop the Apex, use any means necessary." "Understood." Lion said. "We'll make it count." "Good luck." Thermite said. Celestia frowned at this. "Something wrong?" Ash asked. "In my experience, Eliza…" Celestia said. "There is no such thing as luck." Author's Note Yeah, this took FOREVER. Mostly because I've been busy. Now, I own R6 Siege, so that's a boost. I should be more familiar over time with the game. Anyway, sorry this took so long. Next Chapter-The Operators move to stop the escaping Apex, and a second Apex Capsule enters planetary orbit... Big thanks to EvanZeGeek for the editing and all the support he's given me.
Prologue-The CapsuleOur Town Eastern Mountains, Equestria It was nighttime, and everypony in Our Town was asleep. That is, except for one. Blizzard Ski, the Watchpony. His task was to make sure no beast made it into the town during the night. Ski was your typical earth pony, with a pale blue coat and white mane. His flashlight jumped from shadow to shadow, until he looked up at the sky. "What in Celestia's name…" he murmured. A bright yellow light was cutting through the air, towards the upper part of the mountain near the town. Ski realized it was a meteorite, or some sort of stellar debris. Deciding the town would watch itself, Ski set out for the impact site. ==== It took a few minutes of rough hiking, but Ski reached the small plain where the light had settled. He looked around, then he noticed something odd. A piece of glass, cracked and shattered. Ski's flashlight illuminated a second, much larger piece, then a large white orb. It was scorched from the impact with the ground, and it was covered in strange markings, including a red flag marked with a hammer and sickle. Ski approached the object, ready to run if possible. Then, noticed a broken porthole, the source of the glass fragments. He shone his flashlight inside, and to his surprise, the inside was covered in black and red crystal or chitin. He attempted to break a piece off to show the other residents, pulling on a small spire with all his strength. The only thing he got as a reward was a gash in his hoof. "Ow!" he yelped. He brought his flashlight over to see how bad his injury was. To his relief, it was small, with only a small sliver of the material inside. Deciding he needed to return to the town, he took a step away. Only to then start feeling rather warm. He looked at his hoof, and then, he gasped. Some kind of scab had formed over the cut, black and red, and web-like. He attempted to pull it off, only for the web to spread along his hoof and towards his chest. His screams went unheard as his eyes turned from blue to a deep red. Chitinous spikes lanced out of his back, and his last sentient thought was one of fear and horror. The newly infected Blizzard Ski, now an Apex Grunt, looked towards the town below him, his mouth dripping with black saliva. With an animalistic grunt, he set off down the mountain, towards Our Town. ==== Truth or Consequences New Mexico Quarantine Lab Ash walked through the sealed Lab tent with a sigh. Five days ago, a handpicked team of Rainbow Six operators had infiltrated the Apex-infested town and not only retrieved Dr. McIntosh, but destroyed the source and extracted Jaeger from a downed helicopter. The infection was dying, albeit slowly and doggedly. Now, Ash was heading to see if Operator Doc had anything new. "Ah, madame Ash!" Doc said. "I have made some progress!" "Some is better than none." Ash replied. "What's new?" "I managed to isolate the genetic makeup of the original parasite recovered from the capsule." Doc said. "It's similar to cancer, only instead of replicating cells, it transforms their protein construction in seconds. Simply put, it can infect and transform any bodily system into more Apex in a very short time." "Can we cure or repel it?" Ash asked. "Not yet." Doc replied. "The parasite has a very fine sense of danger, and it forms new cells rapidly whenever an anomaly is detected. It's almost like each cell has its own immune system. Many of my experiments have yet to work towards disabling it.' "Keep at it, Doc." Ash said. Doc nodded and returned to his work as Ash exited. Soon, she was joined by Thermite, who did not look very happy. "Penny for your thoughts." She asked. "I'm feeling like this isn't over." Thermite said. "Something tells me that we'll all have to deal with this again sometime soon." "Be careful what you wish for." Ash replied. "By the way, Delta Force sent us backup." "Newbie?" Thermite asked. "If you could call him that." Ash said. "His call-sign is Gaunt. Several black-op missions under his belt, exceptional record in service. He's all yours when he arrives." "Alright then." Thermite said. "Where's he landing at?" "Helipad, as always." Ash said. "See ya." Ash was walking away when her cell phone rang. "Ash here." she said. "This is Six." said a distorted voice. "I need a team of operators for a ultra high-risk mission." "Done." she said. "Briefing?" "Available on channel 9852, frequency 11." Six replied. "Time is of utmost importance." Before Ash could reply, the line was silent. As she notified Thermite, Smoke, Ying, Buck, Kapkan, Tachanka, Glaz, Recruit, and Gaunt to meet her in the briefing room, she could only wonder what Six would need from the Operators. ==== As the called Operators settled in, Glaz noticed a new figure. He was wearing black and auscam colored fatigues, a combat helmet, coupled with a scarf. The US Delta Force logo was printed on his ballistic vest. "Who's the new one?" Recruit asked. "Name's Gaunt." the man said. "Your newest member. Thermite briefed me before I came here." "Nice to meet ya." Glaz said. "Alright, settle down." Thermite said, as he and Ash came in. "We tuned in?" "As of now, yes." Ash said. "Be briefed or be sorry." On three plasma screen televisions, Six's briefing appeared. "Operators, I have a special mission for you, one of utmost importance." The screens showed a world map, that zoomed in on the state of Massachusetts, on a city east of Boston. "This is Canter City." Six said. "A small city of around three thousand inhabitants. And also home to a cross dimensional portal to a world that we believe is the subject of another Apex parasite outbreak. Your mission is to investigate on the other side of the portal. Under cover of US military war games to occur nearby, you are to retrieve this woman, alias Sunset Shimmer." The girl's image appeared on the screen, along with related info such as physique and appearance. "She is believed to be an inhabitant of the other world, and you are to extract her, and find out what she knows of this other world. Once you have gathered enough intel, you are to head through the portal and establish First Contact. Depart at 1300 AM, Local time. Leave as soon as you all are ready. Six out." The feed ended, and Gaunt crossed his arms. "Sounds like bullshit." he said simply. "Too good to be true. I thought that parasite was from the former Soviet Union." "Gaunt, that capsule was Russian, not the Parasite." Ash said. "All of you are to head out once prepped. A chinook will retrieve you from the helipad. Get moving." The various operators shrugged, nodded and gathered their equipment and kits as they headed outside. Ash turned to Thermite, who shrugged. "Why would there be a portal to another world in that city?" he murmured. "No clue." Ash said flatly. "Let's get back to business here." "By all means." Thermite said as they headed to Doc's lab. Author's Note Yep, new story. I also need a cowriter, one that is familiar with the operators and the story of R6-Siege. Please comment or PM me if you can help! Do you like it?
Chapter 1-Our TownPonyville Castle of Friendship Twilight Sparkle and Spike normally didn't open up their castle for official business until after 9 AM. That was apparently changed when Princess Celestia, along with two platoons of Solar Guards, appeared in their dining room with a flash. "GAH! Celestia!" Twilight said, jumping up so quickly she fell to the floor with her chair. "What's up?" "No time for explanations!" Celestia said, with an element in her tone that Twilight had never heard. Fear. "Get the Element Bearers and head to Starlight Glimmer's village IMMEDIATELY!" Before Twilight or Spike could respond, there was another bright flash, and they were gone. Spike looked at Twilight with a confused look. "What was that all about?" the dragon asked. "No clue." Twilight replied. "Let's just get the girls." ==== As the assorted Element Bearers boarded a Solar Guard train, they were greeted by Celestia once more. "I'm sorry for the sudden appearance." she said. "But we have a major problem on our hooves." "Like what?" Pinkie asked. Celestia handed her two photographs. One was an image of Our Town. "That was taken yesterday." Celestia said. "Flip it over." Pinkie flipped the picture over, and gasped, letting the image fall to the floor of the car. Twilight and the others looked at it. The once-bustling town was now totally destroyed and ruined. Black and red, ghastly-looking spikes covered the earth, and if Twilight didn't know better, she would say that the Town was being consumed by...whatever it was that made the spikes. "What happened?" Twilight asked, floored from shock. "We don't know." Celestia replied. "Whatever it is, it's not from Equestria, as that is perfectly clear. The Guards, when they arrived, reported that nearly everypony in the town...was not themselves. They had presumably been infected by whatever that is. There were three uninfected survivors that we recovered, but everypony else....was lost. The town has been quarantined, and we're trying to stop whatever foul thing this is before it can spread." "What do we know?" Twilight asked. "Next to nothing, I'm afraid." Celestia sighed. "We don't know how to fight it, cure it, or destroy it. I've personally hoofpicked a research team to do what they can, but we can't learn anything without knowing what it is. That is why I need you. If this spreads beyond the Town, there will be no Equestria left standing." Twilight and everypony else gulped as the train chugged to the northwest. ==== Canter City, Massachusetts Canterlot High Principal Celestine Daymont, or Celestia, was not expecting a phone call in the middle of Lunch hour. Especially since the only number on the screen of her phone was "6". She picked up the receiver, and asked "Hello?" "Principal Celestine Daymont?" said a distorted voice. "Yes, who is this?" she asked. "I identify as Six. I work for the United Nations. And if you hang up, we cannot protect you." Celestia flinched. "How did you know?" she asked. "I have my ways. Are you aware of the portal to another world, currently located on the grounds of your school? Or the being from this world masquerading as a human?" Celestia gasped. "I'll take that as a yes. Be advised, My operators need to speak with her on a dire matter. Have her meet my teams outside the school at 1PM your time. They are authorized to use force." "Might I ask why?" the Principal asked. "That is classified." Six said. "She will be waiting outside, or you'll have more to worry about than just the United Nations breathing down your neck. And if this goes accordingly, you won't have to worry about a potential dossier being leaked worldwide of the occurrences at your school, complete with evidence of your coverups of said occurrences." "Are you blackmailing me?" she asked, rather irked. "Call it what you like. Sunset Shimmer will be waiting outside when my operators arrive, or the dossier goes live. You don't have much time, and neither do we. Six out." The line went dead. Celestia reluctantly turned on the PA. "Sunset Shimmer, please report to the entrance hall immediately." ==== Sunset headed over to the doors, and to her surprise, nearly ten men and women in special ops gear and carrying various weapons were speaking with the principal. "There she is." Celestia said. The clear leader, who wore a yellow demolition suit marked with various signs of burning, walked up to her. "Sunset Shimmer?" he asked. "Yeah?" she asked. "I'm Jordan Trace, nicknamed Thermite, Rainbow Six. We need you to come with us. To make it short, we know who you are, and your world is in danger. So we'd better get moving." Sunset gasped, but walked with them to the waiting humvees outside, marked with a star-embedded six logo. "By the way, Principal." Ash said, walking up. "We'll need to lock down this site, as I assume you know of the portal?" "I do." Celestia replied. "Then we'll need the school for a couple of weeks." Ash said. "Wasn't my call, but Six made it clear that we can't have a second outbreak. Make sure they leave out the back." "I can't exactly close school in the middle of a day." Celestia protested. "We've taken care of the school board and transport." Ash replied, motioning to the school buses that drove past them. "The only thing you have to do is read this over the PA." Ash handed Celestia a piece of paper, marked with the UN and Rainbow Six logos. "Do that, and we'll delete the dossier." Ash said. "Up to you." Celestia nodded, and with a sigh, headed back inside. Thermite turned to a mystified Sunset. "What's going on?' Sunset asked. "Get in the Humvee and we'll tell you." Ash said. Seeing as there were no other options, Sunset boarded the Humvee with Ash and Thermite. ==== As the Humvees headed to the military base that was serving as Rainbow's base of ops, Ash handed Sunset a folder full of documents and photos. "That there is classified by the UN." Ash said. "And what I am telling you now has never occurred or will never occur again." She pulled down a video screen, which displayed a GPS image of Truth or Consequences. "That is Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, as of four weeks ago." Ash said. "This…" She swiped on her tablet, revealing the Apex outbreak and the drestruction. "is the town as of one week ago." Ash said. "All a result of the Apex Parasite, an extraterrestrial lifeform." "An alien did this?" Sunset asked. "Sort of." Ash replied. "The parasite was captured by a Soviet Satellite, and it crashed outside the town. I bet you can imagine what happened. Parasite got loose, town and its residents were completely infected, and there was only ONE survivor." "What's this have to do with me?" she asked. "Because your world, from what we hear, also received an outbreak." Ash said. "We need your help. You're the only being that can open the portal, so we can intervene before something bad happens. And if we don't, your entire world is doomed. So, will you help us or not?" "Do I have a choice?" Sunset asked. "Fine." "Great." Ash said. "I'm afraid I'm not up to speed about your world, so tell us everything. And I mean...everything." ==== As the humvees returned to Canterlot High a couple of hours later, Sunset saw a fully functioning military base had been established around the school and portal. "You work fast." Sunset said. "Won't anyone notice?" "We're using US Army war games as cover." Ash said. "No one else knows that." They headed for the Gym, which was now serving as Doc's research lab. "Ah, our subject?" he asked. "I'm Gustave Kateb but you can call me Doc. Rainbow Six Team Medic, and now parasitic researcher for the Apex outbreak." "What do you need from me?" Sunset asked. "Well, I need to know if there'll be any medical concerns regarding cross-world travel and exposure." Doc said. "Atmosphere, for example." "Equestria's atmosphere is identical to Earth." Sunset said. "Apart from the inhabitants, they're parallel in nearly all aspects." "Good." Doc said. "I'll pass that along." Sunset and Ash left, and they headed for the Portal, where Thermite and the Operators chosen for the mission were waiting. "What's our backup in case things go to shit?" Gaunt asked. "Three US army battalions." Ash said. "Only if necessary. Sunset, if you will?" Sunset accessed the Portal, and it opened accordingly. Each operator headed in, followed by Doc, Lion, and Finka, who were carrying crates full of research material, ammo, and siege tech. ==== Crystal Empire Spire Sunset and the Operators appeared in a flash inside the Crystal Empire's portal room. "Clear!" Ash said as the operators got to their feet. "Sunset, where are we?" "Crystal Empire, north of Equestria." Sunset said. "Let's get moving. We'll be found sooner or later." Sooner proved correct, as they heard footsteps coming from down the hall. "The portal opened?" "Yes your highness." said a Crystal Guard's voice. "We don't know what came through." As the door opened, Shining Armor groaned. "Let's just hope whatever it could be is…" He took one look at the assembled humans, and flared his horn for combat. The operators raised their weapons, and a standoff seemed inevitable. That is, until Sunset walked forward. "Prince Shining Armor." she said. "Sunset Shimmer?" Shining asked, recognizing her. "What's going on? Who are they?" "We are your best bet for survival as a species." Ash said. "I’m Eliza Cohen but you can call me Ash. I'm with Rainbow Six. These here are my Operators." "Why are you here?" Shining asked, not ceasing his magic buildup. "It's quite complicated." Ash said. "Sunset?" Sunset sighed and told Shining about the potential Apex outbreak, and Rainbow Six. She finished with "...and where's Twilight? She needs to know, like right now." "Twilight and the Element Bearers are with Celestia, in a mountain town west of here." Shining said. "Celestia said something about the whole town being attacked by some red-and-black...thing." "That's the Apex." Ash said. "And if not checked, it will and most certainly consume your entire world. We've stopped the Apex outbreak in our world, so let us stop this one, here. Get us to this town, now." Shining raised an eyebrow, but sighed. "I'll get you an airship." he said. "But I'm coming with you. I want to know for myself what's going on." "Fine." Ash said. "Let's go." They were about to leave when Doc, Finka, and Lion appeared with their supplies. "Bonjour." Doc said, standing up with Lion and Finka."We miss anything?" Ash sighed and looked at Shining. "Not much." Ash shrugged. "Let's get moving." The group headed for the airship docks, Shining making sure to alert Cadance of his departure. ==== Author's Note Update! Next time-The two worlds meet at Our Town.
Chapter 2-Execute AuthorityAs the airship sailed into the sky, there was a tense atmosphere on board. While the Operators checked their gear, Shining escorted Sunset, Ash, Doc, and Thermite into the crew bay and closed the door. As they all sat down, Shining sighed. "This "Apex"..." Shining said. "What exactly is it? How do we stop it?" "That's the thing, we're not sure yet." Ash said. "Our only outbreak in New Mexico was stopped and the source was destroyed, but we're still researching it. It is extraterrestrial, but we don't know where it comes from." "How'd you kill it?" Shining replied. "We barbecued it." Thermite said, hefting a NanoThermite charge onto a table. "These nano-incendiary charges burned the parasite's source inside and out. The other problem was the Roaches." "Roaches?" Shining asked. "The residents of the town." Ash replied. "All but one were thoroughly infected and basically became zombies, controlled by the parasite. We've identified multiple forms they can take using a human host, but we don't know what it can do here." "Great." Shining groaned. "So it can adapt, and it's intelligent?" "To a point." Doc said. "The Apex isn't an organism, but each cell is a living being, working as a team. They feature a precise immune system and a replication process that transforms biomass upon interaction. Simply put, even the briefest of contact with skin can infect you." "How do you kill the forms, then?" Shining replied. "We shot them." Thermite replied simply. Ash shot him a dirty look before speaking. "You'll need to know what you're up against." she said. The forms we've identified are as follows. Grunts are infected who haven't fully developed yet. They're dangerous in groups, but they can still spread the Parasite on their own. Also, they're easy to kill when unaware, but when they notice you, they sprout armor" Shining scribbled notes down before nodding. "Breachers have spines loaded with an acidic substance that can eat through nearly anything. Rooters burrow below you and trap you in place with spikes. They're also particularly quick. Breachers are big, slow, and stupid, but they're strong enough to bash through concrete like butter. They're vulnerable from behind. And the Apex forms are the top of the chain. They can direct and fortify other forms, and they can fire projectiles loaded with the parasite than can blind the target. They're exceedingly dangerous and they lead from the rear." Ash said. "Good to know." Shining said. "We're almost there." "Roger that." Thermite said, loading the charges with their fiery payloads. "Let's go." The four of them exited the cabin to find each Operator ready and waiting. "You know the drill." Thermite said. "We can't have another Truth or Consequences, folks. Let's do our job." The Operators nodded and headed for the departure ramp. As they approached Our Town, which was surrounded by a magical shield, Ash saw several ponies waiting for them, some armed with spears. ==== Two Hours earlier As Twilight and her friends exited the train, they found Our Town had been shielded off, and multiple Solar and Lunar guard teams were performing their duties. "This way." Celestia said. As they followed, Twilight could see the three survivors receiving medical treatment. One was Sugar Belle, and the others Twilight didn't recognize. There was a unicorn with a green coat, and a pegasus with a dusty brown coat. Celestia shepherded them into the lab, where a single pony in a lab coat was analyzing samples. Though he seemed to be advanced in years, he was buzzing about like a hyperactive worker bee. "Clean Slate." Celestia said to Twilight. "He's an award winning biologist, and he specializes in parasitic life." "Indeed." said the gray-coated Unicorn. "And frankly, your Highness, I've never seen anything like this. The Parasite spreads in a way I can't understand. Any biological matter that touches it instantly becomes infected." "Can't you remove it?" Applejack asked. "Unfortunately, no." Slate replied. "Whenever I try to extract a sample, it forms chitin around itself. Chitin that is so hard, my magic-enhanced steel could barely cut it enough to retrieve a sample." He motioned to a double-reinforced test tube where a small segment of skin was covered in Apex material. "Whatever it is, Princess." he sighed. "It's intelligent enough to know what constitutes a threat, and since we only have three survivors, I can't do more since they're uninfected. And to infect them would break quarantine and my standards." "I know. We'll get you live samples as soon as we get in there." Twilight said. "We'll leave now." "No, you won't." Celestia said. "Twilight, you and your friends are not going in there. What would happen if you get infected? Or hurt? Or killed?" she said as Twilight prepared to protest. Twilight and her friends froze as they realized what Celestia said was true. "...Right." Twilight sighed. "Has anypony else gone in?" "One team attempted to locate the source." Celestia said. "None came back." Twilight was about to reply, when a Solar Guard poked his head in. "Princess, there's a Crystal Airship approaching." "I thought you told Shining and Cadance to stay at the Empire." Twilight said. "...I did." Celestia replied, heading out. "What is Shining Armor doing, coming here?" As they headed outside, they were greeted by the airship setting itself down in the courtyard. First came Shining Armor, to Celestia's annoyance. Next, to Twilight's surprise, was Sunset Shimmer. Finally, to everypony's surprise and shock, came Ash and the Operators. Ash walked forward, flanked by Doc and Thermite. "Who's in charge here?" she asked. Celestia walked forward with a raised eyebrow. "I am." She said. "Wrong." Ash said. "I'm in charge here now. I'm Eliza Cohen, my callsign is Ash. I'm with Rainbow Six. The others behind me are my Operators. And with all due respect, if you don't let us help, you're all fucked as a species." Celestia flinched, but quickly regained her composure as she glared at Ash. "Why is that?" She asked. Because we know how to stop this." Ash replied. "And if we all act quickly, we can stop this outbreak together...before it gets worse." Celestia sighed as she looked at the human with mistrust, but eventually she caved. "Fine." she said. "However, my Guards will work with your Operators under my supervision." "Alright." Ash replied. "We'll need all the info you got, and then we'll pool our knowledge and figure out a plan." Celestia and the Elements escorted the Operators to the command center, and they all sat down. "Alright, Miss Ash…" Celestia said. "Let's talk." Author's Note Update!
Chapter 3-First Incursion, Part OneCelestia brought the Operators, Shining, and Sunset into the command tent. They all sat down, Thermite planting his legs on the table. "So, let's talk." Celestia said. "What do you know about this blight?" "We know it as the Apex Parasite." Doc said, handing Celestia a tablet with his research. "It's extraterrestrial, and extremely adaptable and intelligent. We had one small outbreak, but it wiped an entire town off the map." Celestia frowned. "How do we stop it?" she asked. "Technically, we're still killing it." Ash replied. "Our NanoThermite charges killed the source, but the infection is still dying. It's persistent, I'll give it that. Let's make a deal, shall we?" "What kind of deal?" Celestia asked. "We'll work with you to stop this outbreak." Ash said. "We'll exchange information, weapons, and troops. In exchange, you'll do what we ask, and don't screw us over. Deal?" "...Deal." Celestia replied. "I take it you are the medical specialist?" "Yes. Gustav Kateb, call me Doc." Doc replied. "I'll have my research ready ASAP." "Then let's get going." Celestia said. "We don't have time to waste." ==== As Shining took Doc to Clean Slate to drop off his research, Celestia took Sunset aside to make amends. That left Ash and the Operators in the care of the Elements of Harmony. Ash and her team were taken to a small armory near the entrance to Our Town. "Feel free to wait here." Twilight said. "I'm not sure what you need to do." "We'll be fine, miss." Ash said. "We'll check our gear. Then, we're getting to the bottom of this." Twilight raised an eyebrow, but the Elements left. The various Operators then set about, checking their gear and weapons. "I'll tell you one thing…" Tachanka said, loading his Mounted Turret. "This seems quite odd." "How so?" Buck replied, loading his Skeleton Key Breaching Shotgun. "It seems like...it's organized." Tachanka continued. "Like we kill one outbreak, another pops up." "That is odd." Lion said, as he and Finka came in with crates of ammo and armor "However, we still have a job to do." "Amen to that." Kapkan said. "We're stacked and ready." "Agreed." said a new voice. The operators turned to see a new Operator appear. He was covered head to toe in SWAT Gear, and he carried an SC 2010 assault rifle. On his back were two large canisters. "Who are you?" Thermite asked. "I'm Miguel Ximenez." he said. "Call me Matador. I'm your newest Operator, Madrid Special Services." "Good to have you." Buck said, shaking his hand. "You've been briefed?" "Thoroughly." Matador replied, loading a MAC-11 SMG. "I've also got these." He unfurled the canisters, revealing a scroll of mesh netting. "What's this?" Kapkan asked. "Antibreach net." Matador said. "Prevents hostile entry by two methods. Electrically charged material and kevlar plating." "Neat." Thermite said, as he came in. "Ash just gave us the go-ahead. We're entering the town via Airship. Princess Celestia's spoken with Six, and she's on our side. Everyone, lock and load. Lion, Finka, get ready. Doc's going to be busy here, so you'll be our Medics." "Roger that." the two Operators said. Thermite gave them three NanoThermite Charges, and they headed for the waiting airship, Doc already on board and waiting. ==== The Operators took their seats, and the airship headed to the top of the shield dome, flying just like a helicopter. "Your mission is as follows." Ash said over the radio. "Find the source and destroy it, eliminate all hostiles, secure live samples if possible. If there are any survivors, which most likely won't be the case, extract them. Am I understood?" "Yes, ma'am!" the Operators said as the shield opened. The airship descended, and with a chorus of metallic clicks, the Operators loaded their weapons. "Here's your stop! Good luck!" the pilot yelled as the Operators disembarked. "See you at the rendezvous!" The airship exited the shield, and Gaunt took point. ==== "It pains me to say this…" Matador said, his assault rifle sweeping around, checking the corners and alleys. "...I've got a bad feeling about this." "Tell me you didn't just quote Star Wars." Buck replied. "Or is that for real?" "For real." Matador replied. "We're not alone out here." "Wait, up ahead!" Tachanka said as he loaded his SASG-12. The Operators ducked into cover as a Roach appeared. The humans could tell it was once a pegasus, due to the mangled wings covered in Apex-infested feathers. And even more disturbing was the fangs in its mouth. "Drop it." Buck said to Matador. Matador fired a round, killing the Roach with a headshot. It fell, and Doc immediately surged forward to document the new form. "We need to keep moving." Gaunt said. "No time for photos." "There is time for live samples." Doc replied, placing a small fragment of dead Apex into a vial. "Now, we go." The Operators advanced, then they heard loud screeching coming from a nearby location. As they crouched behind the stalls of a ruined open-air market, they eyed several more infected Pegasi eating what remained of… Well, let's just say the sight sickened even the hardened Rainbow Six operators. "Are they seriously doing that?" Gaunt asked. "That's sick." Ying said. "No time to stand gawking, Rainbow." Ash's voice came over their radios. "Keep moving. We've identified an infection source at the Town Hall. Move there ASAP." "Roger that." Buck said. "Gaunt, Matador, drop these fuckers." "Rog'" "Roger." A few silenced gunshots, and the three roaches fell dead. Lion and Finka quickly secured virus samples before the remaining Operators continued their trek through the town. ==== Quarantine HQ "I will admit, Miss Ash…" Celestia said. "Your Operators are skilled." "We aim to be." Ash said. "However, our primary function is counter-terrorism, not dealing with alien parasite outbreaks." "Tell me how it came to your world." Clean Slate requested from his table, that he was sharing research with Doc. "All right." Ash said, pulling out a tablet. "Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, United States. A Cold-War era Soviet space Capsule crashed near this town. A local, Ben Boyd, salvaged it for sale, inadvertently releasing the Apex into the surrounding area." "The Virus was passive at first, slowly infecting the town." Ash continued. "The residents bunched up at the Town center, which was reissued as a CDC Clinic and serology lab. Dr. Ellen Mackintosh led containment efforts. However, Boyd himself received enough exposure to the Apex, infecting him. He headed to the lab, the parasite slowly taking over his body. Once he arrived, he was fully changed. Then, all hell broke loose." "The Apex started changing all the residents who were infected, no matter how severe their case." Thermite said, coming in with additional NanoThermite charges. "Soon, Dr. Mackintosh was the only uninfected survivor. Everyone else was infected or killed. Town was quarantined, National Guard and Army units were deployed, followed by us." "So you came to destroy it?" Celestia asked. "We also want to know its origins." Ash said. "And if possible, develop cure or inoculation." "Lofty goals, Miss Ash." Clean Slate said. "However, are you sure your Operators will deliver?" "Dead sure." Ash said. "We've stopped multiple terrorist threats across the globe and then some. We can handle this." "Princess!" The humans and ponies turned to see a Guard appear, out of breath. "We've got a report from one of our aerial units. The creatures are attempting to breakthrough the shield near the Town Hall." "If they do, that'll let the Apex spread unrestrained." Ash said. "Can you reinforce it?" "No." Celestia said. "I'd have to lower the shield in order to cast a stronger ward. That'll be the end of Out Town, and possibly Equestria." "Then we don't have a choice. Thermite said. "Operators, this is Thermite. We have a problem." "So we hear." Tachanka said. "We're en route now." "Move quickly." Ash said. "If those parasites break through, we won't have an Equestria to clean up. Your objective has changed. Stop the Apex, use any means necessary." "Understood." Lion said. "We'll make it count." "Good luck." Thermite said. Celestia frowned at this. "Something wrong?" Ash asked. "In my experience, Eliza…" Celestia said. "There is no such thing as luck." Author's Note Yeah, this took FOREVER. Mostly because I've been busy. Now, I own R6 Siege, so that's a boost. I should be more familiar over time with the game. Anyway, sorry this took so long. Next Chapter-The Operators move to stop the escaping Apex, and a second Apex Capsule enters planetary orbit... Big thanks to EvanZeGeek for the editing and all the support he's given me.
