Our War The Triumph

I’m surprised they gave up so quickly, but then again they were outgunned and outmatched from the start; I suppose it isn’t too crazy to believe they surrendered though. Well now to celebrate! I took another swig from the bottle and joined the others in song well into the night

“Interesting captain, so your unit was key in the swift fall of Vaverfront?” Keeping his composure I could still see him crack a small smile at the image of myself drunk off my flank singing slurred songs with other soldiers. “We did our part sure, but I wouldn’t say we were vital; though I suppose this discussion gets answered when I was recalled to high command. See Queen Chrysaliss had been keeping notes on us, we were Trimmel’s pet project of sorts and despite his considerable influence in the government we had our fair share of detractors. Despite no official plans being drawn up my unit was being prepared to be deployed into Equestria while I returned to the capital to give our case.”

Vesalipolis Royal War Room April 2nd

While I’ve been trained to lead troops into battle and dodge bullets without a second thought, to befriend and kill anyone who happens to stand in the way of my mission; to become imbedded within the enemy at the possible risk of being executed as a spy or shot by my own comrades on accident; never have I been more nervous than I am at this moment. I stood at attention with the entire high command gazing at me as we wait to begin the meeting, Queen Chrysalis herself sits upon her royal seat as the last of the reports come in. Every major changeling General and Field Marshall was here to assess whether or not my work was worth the effort, strange how much pressure that puts on a bug. Her highness decided to begin the debriefing leaning back in her seat.

“Meine Herren” The room was deathly silent as all eyes turned to the Queen. “First of all I wish to congratulate each of you for our decisive victory in Olenia, the world has seen but a taste of the changeling war machine!” Cheers answered her praise before the room calmed down. “Now we know why we are here, before we proceed regardless of the outcome I wish to also congratulate you Captain on your flawless work in Vaverfront; such precision and execution reflects well upon your status.”

“I’m honored your highness.” I kept my response short, no point in risking her ire by drawing things out or even worse gloating about my accomplishments. With that out of the way Chrysalis continued.

“ The purpose of this particular debriefing is to establish whether or not the Emerald Commandos are worth continued investment for future campaigns, or if they should be assimilated back into regular army units. Field Marshall Trimmel, as this was your idea I shall allow you to state your thoughts on their performance and how we should proceed.” Straightening out his uniform simply to pad his own pride, the Field Marshal stood and slowly circled the table as he began his speech.

“I believe the Vaverfront operation was not only a success, but a perfect demonstration of why the Smaragd Kommandos will be not only useful, but essential in future operations.” Turning to the map on the table Trimmel pointed at the fateful city. “ It does not need to be stated how valuable the capture of the city was, notably how fast it crumbled. The precision of which we exploited the holes in their defense coupled with knowing when and where to strike with our heavy weaponry; only further augmented by the disorganization of the local defense from within should be a glowing testament to the utility of the unit. They did not weaken the city, they handed it to us on a silver platter!” His excitement was tangible, again most likely due to him being able to gloat about how right he was; had a habit of that. “Now imagine similar scenarios playing out in Equestria, Los Pegasus, Canterlot, Baltimare and more! The ability to systematically pinpoint and decimate the enemy command structure or at the very least give us detailed information on every move the enemy makes is an obvious tactical advantage; I feel it is imperative we expand upon this unit and continue to give them access to greater resources for even grander results.”

With that he returned to his seat and sat back feeling confident in his argument, The Queen once more addressed the gathering. “Many fair points Field Marshall, now General Pharynx I believe you still remain in opposition to this plan, you may state your case.” Pharynx rose from his seat but opted to remain where he stood.

“With all due respect to the Field Marshall I believe the resources that would be given to this unit would be better served on the wider front. We are more technologically advanced than our enemies, and possess superior equipment and training for our soldiers. While the Commandos were useful in taking the city, they were nowhere near essential. Our enemies were outnumbered, outgunned, and outmatched in every single category plausible; there was no alternative to victory. I also believe our infiltration regiments can do similar, if not the same job while also not diverting resources to a tactically speaking insignificant force. Talk has been made of heightening their clearance to be able to commandeer local forces at will for their own objectives, not to mention the time and material spent to deploy them behind enemy lines should they be left behind by an enemy retreat and need to be reinserted. The Equestrian army has no tank divisions and practically no counters to an armored assault, we can crush them on the open fields and in the cities due to our larger airforce, it seems redundant to focus so much on so little when we already hold practically every advantage we need for victory. That is all your highness.”

Taking his seat all eyes had turned to me, I couldn’t blame him though as his points were valid and he always was one for simply smashing the enemy and swatting aside the leftovers. Remaining statuesque I waited to be addressed. It wasn’t long before the Queen gave me my chance. “Well, it seems both sides have spoken and made fair points, but it is only fair I give you a chance to give your side of the story Unteroffizier; you may now present your argument for the preservation of your unit.

Taking a deep breath I calmed my nerves, no time to think, only action. “Thank you your highness, while there is little to be said on the larger scale from what has already been stated, I wish to give a different perspective. My team would be wasted being reintegrated into the army, our talents are what brought us together in the first place; I believe we stood out for a reason. My sniper can nail a pony in the eye from 500 yards easy, while most other snipers can attest the same she has a particular talent that is useless in the standard regiment; her acting.” Noticing the looks I was getting I decided to elaborate. “I will not lie, Clava is an extreme sociopath, she feels nothing, emits no real emotion, follows orders to the letter and never hesitates, yet she was vital in gathering intelligence for the operation. She can pretend to be anything, not just in her looks but in her voice, her body language, she makes people believe what she wants them to believe about her; she gains their trust, finds out what makes them tick, then uses that dagger and goes for the throat. I’ve never seen such mastery of deception in my life, to simply relegate her behind the sights of a rifle would be a tragedy at its’ finest.” Taking a moment to catch my breath I continue.

“Clypeus, my explosives expert could be relegated to an artillery brigade or a pioneer battalion, but that’s not how he operates efficiently. He doesn’t adhere to plans or rigid doctrine and often improvises how he sees fit to the ever changing landscape we find ourselves in; his flexibility is his strength, not to mention he sees orders more as….suggestions; but never enough to earn serious reprimand.” Feeling like I was slowly winning them over I continued.

“Moxa is a medic so naturally she would be sent to a medical attachment, and while I have no concerns of her ability to do her task, she is a trained rifleman like the rest of us and would be more useful in direct combat operations to apply immediate medical attention as well as supporting fire. She is like a mother to us, helping us remember basic things so easily forgotten when on a mission. Eat some breakfast, get some rest, take a shower, don’t forget we have dinner with the neighbors today.” Some laughter echoed through the chamber including my own. “She looks after us when we forget to look after ourselves, and I feel splitting up our pseudo family would negatively impact her performance in the field.” Preparing for the final blow I met the Queen’s gaze head on.

“Finally myself, I’ve fought and trained alongside these soldiers; I know how they tick, how they work, how to use them to the best of their abilities. We are not an army, but we are far stronger together than we are apart. Thank you that is all.” With that it was finally over… now just for the verdict. Small conversations bounced from wall to wall as the Queen obviously pondered the idea herself. I felt my heart race as I tried to remain calm, this could easily be the end of my career; I dread the thought of being thrown into some infantry division as a regular officer with a bunch of grubs hyped up on victory and propoganda going into battle. Minutes felt like years until it seems Chrysalis had made her decision as all speech ended allowing silence to drown the room once more.

“I have come to a decision.” Her majesty’s voice echoed deeply “After much thought I have decided to approve Marshall Trimmel’s decision to allocate further resources and higher powers to the Emerald Commando unit, they shall continue to serve the empire in our future endeavors; That is all.” letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding I could feel the relief wash over me. Trimmel came over and rested a hoof on my shoulder smiling brightly “Gute Arbeit! You did it! I knew you had it in you haha!” before I could respond he was already trotting off victoriously. Despite feeling like I’d just taken Canterlot castle, I knew this was only the beginning; the war was inevitable and we would be ready.