A War On Two Fronts

The quiet click-clack of the train’s wheels thundering over the rails was something that Sam had gotten used to after she, Gwen, Paige, and Pip had managed to get out of Canterlot. They had loaded the truck on a flatbed, secured all the weapons, and almost immediately after had started to make their way west towards Applewood. There were fighter planes this time, and they managed to keep the train from coming under attack while they rolled away… That had been nearly a day and a half ago, and news about what was happening was still scarce.

Sam looked down at the infant in her arms, the little girl was bundled up in blankets and sleeping quietly, with just barely a tuft of brown hair visible from her head. The woman held the child close as they sat in their cabin on the third car in the train, it was just her and Paige at the moment. Gwen had stepped out to talk with some officials, and Pip was standing outside guarding the door. The pegasus had been assigned to keep them safe, even now as he was the last soldier in his National Guard unit.

The woman couldn’t stop reflecting on all that had happened, it seemed like once again no matter where she ran the war just followed her. She knew that wasn’t really the case, but it sure felt like it. She knew that the Griffons were using Trottingham Island as a refueling station for their largest airships, the ones that could make the hop over the ocean and back again. Most importantly she knew that there’d be no stopping those airships until Trottingham was recaptured or the airships were destroyed.

It was a miracle to her that the majority of her owned factories were on the west coast, firmly in Equestrian territory. They would soon be churning out E-34 tanks like mad, and already plans were in the works for more aircraft. Still, Sam wasn’t sure any of that would help. As she looked out the window at the whipping snow that was now almost as tall as she was it occurred to her that she was in a very different position now than she had been before.

The first time she had been displaced she had somewhere to go, Canterlot was as much her home as Silver Lake, but now… Now she had nowhere to go, she’d never used her fortune to buy any property in Applewood other than factories… What was worse, however, was now that fortune was useless to her. It was safe and secure, insured for every bit by the Equestrian government, but right now the Equestrian government was far from willing to part with that much money. In fact, the government had taken all profits as the result of an edict by Princess Celestia, all the funds necessary to win the war…

It seemed like a good idea on paper, but Sam was feeling the effects of it as she stared at the freezing cold weather beyond the thin pane of glass. They had taken everything from her, her home, her security, her sense of safety and now… Her only means of supporting herself and her child. The Equestrians were clearly scrimping on everything, and as long as there was a war on she couldn’t refuse to let them use her factories… Even if they provided her someplace to live, Sam couldn’t be sure that it would be suitable for an infant, or even a human being.

Sam gently rocked Paige back and forth in her arms, leaning her head back against the hardwood that made up the wall of the second class cabin. She looked around, it was small and cramped, barely enough room for Sam alone, let alone Sam, Gwen, and Paige. That, coupled with what she had seen in the city told her the Equestrian’s were less concerned with civilian lives than they let on. Tanks produced by her factories had been used to fire on civilians… Guns she had given the government at barely above cost for the express use of fighting the enemy had been used in the same fashion, all because those ponies wanted food… Warm clothes… Wood for their fires.

“What have I done…?” Sam asked herself quietly, her chest heaving slightly as she felt her eyes become hot and slick with tears. “Oh god, Paige… What did your mommy do?” She held the infant tightly, but not too tight. Quietly she leaned her head down into the blankets that warmed the child, and for what felt like the thousandth time began to sob. “What am I going to do…?”

She half expected Gwen to step through the door, but she knew that was probably just her getting her hopes up. Unlike her, Gwen was still useful to the Equestrians. They needed her to keep the war winnable in the public eye, to put a good spin on the bad news, to make it seem like there was some hope left.

The woman felt something soft weakly brush against her cheek and then grab her ear. Sam lifted her head and wiped her eyes and nose with a free hand, then looked at the the baby. Paige had woken up and was looking at Sam with a curious expression, one of her tiny arms had wriggled loose from the bundle of blankets and was grasping at the air while her big brown eyes glistened in the dim light. Quietly Paige brought her thumb back to her lips and started to suck on it, though her eyes still looked questioningly at her mother.

“We’ll be okay, sweetie… I promise, I’ll make everything okay.” Sam said quietly, choking back her sobs while trying to control the tears running down her cheeks. Once more the woman lapsed back into silence, leaning against the window and staring out into the snow while Paige tucked her arm back under the blanket and went back to sleep. She watched the trees flying past, or the occasional farm that looked abandoned. Not an uncommon sight, almost all stallions that could be drafted from rural areas had gone during the first wave… The wave that had taken Turner away from her.

It was mostly political, as Sam had found out. The ones who passed the draft law thought that the soldiers should come from places that offered the highest chance of physical strength and endurance, at least that was the official line. Well, they were right, as ninety five percent of those who were drafted went on to become soldiers. Rural farming towns were practically depopulated literally overnight, and with no one to work the farms… Sam shuddered as she remembered the things she had seen and heard in Canterlot.

She was taken from her thoughts as the train’s brakes let out a high pitched squeal, she felt the cabin jolt as it began to slow down. The whistle blew loudly at the head of the train, followed by the tolling of a bell. Sam looked outside at where they were stopping, seemingly a random rural town. There was no sign of the coast or any of the things that Sam would associate with Applewood, but despite that the train was creeping to a stop at a station. The door to the cabin opened, and a pair of unicorn soldiers peeked in.

“Samantha Turner?” One of them asked in the cold mechanical tone that could only come from a Royal Guard. Sam nodded quietly, prompting one unicorn to look at the other. They were white furred as usual, and almost looked identical except that one had a shorter mane than the other. They seemed like stormtroopers from Star Wars in that regard, all Royal Guard’s did, practically indistinguishable. “This is your stop, gather your belongings and prepare to disembark. We’re unloading your vehicle.”

“My stop? I thought we were going to Applewood.” Sam asked, but the stallions just stood there expectantly. Not wanting to cause any trouble, Sam gathered her things and pulled on her coat, gently resting Paige on the seat while she did so. That was what seemed to get the attention of the first Guard, who looked at the second with an uncertain expression and leaned closer to hold a hushed discussion. The second soldier, the one with the shorter mane, shook his head firmly, which seemed to make the first uncomfortable.

Sam picked up Paige and made sure she was wrapped in some extra blankets, she had little more than the clothes on her back at this point, so it didn’t take her too long to be done gathering her things. The Unicorns backed out of the cabin to allow her to exit, then began to follow behind her. The woman could see more out the windows of the car, the exterior of the train was practically whited out with snow, but the faint sight of buildings gave her some hope that maybe at the very least there would be a warm place for her child and her.

The pair of soldiers lead Sam towards an exit, and when she stopped briefly to look outside she felt a firm shove in order to get her moving again. A sense of dread was beginning to rise in her stomach, she looked down at Paige and held her closer as they reached the door to the station platform. It was shoveled, mostly, the snow was up to her knees. Sam stopped, as she didn’t see any sign that anyone was their to receive them. She could see other ponies outside were milling around, some trying to get back on the train while guards held them at bay… They were all ponies that Sam recognized, business owners and politicians, and like her all had been made ‘Obsolete’ by edicts designed to keep Equestria in the war.

“You’re just leaving us here, aren’t you?” Sam asked accusingly, looking back at the two guards while trying to keep Paige covered as the cold wind blasted through the opening. “You’re going to leave us here to die!” The stallion with the shorter mane didn’t respond other than giving her a sharp shove, forcing her to stumble back and nearly fall on the platform. “No! Please, take my baby! Please!” The crowd on the platform was starting to understand what was happening, as did the longer haired unicorn. The train let out a tremendously shrill whistle, and Sam began to look for the vehicle they’d had apparently unloaded.

Thankfully, that bit of news was true. The old Ford was parked off to the side, and it seemed that someone had even had the decency to leave the family guns sitting upright in the front seat… Likely so they wouldn’t feel guilty about leaving so many to freeze on that platform. Sam could see the logic behind it, almost all of the ponies there had been negatively impacted by the Edict… With their influence and the tension in the country, they could start another revolt, one that could turn into a full blown civil war. Celestia was cleaning house, trying to preserve what little power was left. In that moment Sam knew that whatever the outcome of the fighting, even if the Griffons were defeated, Equestria had lost the war…

“Lieutenant, this isn’t right!” Sam looked back at the train, the unicorn with longer hair was glaring at his superior. “She has a child for Faust’s sake! This is murder!”

“Stand down, Sergeant!” The lieutenant barked, glaring back at his subordinate. The other ponies on the platform were trying like mad to get back on, begging and pleading with the guards, but none of them moved. “We’re following orders, plain and simple.”

“We’re soldiers, damn it! Not butchers!” The sergeant declared, to Sam’s surprise he stepped off the train and into the snow. “If you’re leaving them here, I’m staying. I won’t be party to this, I’d rather freeze.” There was loud yelling coming from inside as the train began to pull away, blasting its whistle louder and louder. Sam was doing her best to keep Paige warm, and once again she began pleading with the Lieutenant to at least take her child…

“Please! Don’t leave her here! She’ll die! Please!” Sam shouted, even if she died she at least wanted to know her child would be safe, but the lieutenant just looked at her with a rueful expression. She could see in his eyes that he desperately wanted to say yes, or that he wanted to do as the Sergeant had done and step onto the platform with them, but for whatever reason he couldn’t take that step… Sam’s desperation turned to anger, and she nearly stormed up to the Lieutenant to scream at him. “Damn you! You fucking bastard!”

Angry yelling erupted from inside as two more guards stepped into the door and heaved a familiar pegasus onto the platform, Pip was bruised and his uniform was a mess. She didn’t know him all that well, but she knew that he was a good enough person not to go along with what was happening… Likely why he had been tossed there. Sam wanted to charge onto the train, but the guards standing there now were armed with SMGs. More yelling began to emerge as the train began to pick up more speed, and Sam caught a glimpse of Gwen’s face as the red head tried to fight her way through the guards.

“Sam!? Sam!” Gwen shouted, barely heard over the hissing steam. The woman watched as the platform began to move away, all while the guards held her back. “Get off of me! You can’t just leave them out there!” Her shouting became more and more distant as the train steamed away, until finally all that could be heard of its existence was the hissing steam and screeching whistle as it pulled away into the misty clouds of snow.

“What the fuck do we do now?” Pip asked as he stood up, brushing himself loose before looking at the Sergeant. “What’s the plan, huh!? What the fuck do you expect us to do!? Why didn’t you just leave us behind!? Why bring us this far!?” The somewhat smaller pegasus was practically frothing at the mouth with anger as more of the crowd of abandoned ponies turned their attention to the lone Royal Guard that had stepped onto the platform and stayed.

“Pip, he’s alright…” Sam said quietly, stepping between the two while trying to tuck Paige beneath her jacket for extra warmth. “He chose to stay rather than leave us here.” The woman looked towards the rural town, which appeared to be less abandoned than originally believed as Sam could see several ponies emerging from buildings and approaching the platform. “W-We should move into town, at least we’ll be out of the snow, maybe they’ll help us. P-Pip, I hope you don’t mind, but could you drive the truck over here? We can load people into the back and move them faster.”

“What’s the point?” Pip asked, and Sam noticed that a great many of the ponies there were looking at her with similar expressions. The woman looked at her child, then back at the group of ponies shivering in the cold.

“Equestria has abandoned us…” Sam said quietly, looking towards the train tracks. “The Griffons will be coming this way, eventually…” Loud murmurs went through the crowd. “I know, that isn’t the best solution, but it’s the only solution I can hope for right now… I have to hope it will work.” Sam looked at Paige, who was starting to stir as the cold became more prevalent. “I don’t want to be your leader or your savior, I just want my daughter to live… What you all do is up to you.”

Over the next hour Sam, Pip, and Sergeant Autumn as they came to know his name made their way into the rural town. Paige was thankfully kept warm in the cab of the truck. Of the thirty or so ponies that had been left on the platform, ten of them endeavored to try walking back towards Canterlot and the Griffon Army, the rest opted to go west to try and reach Applewood… The thought of staying in one place just didn’t seem right to either group.

As Sam watched their silhouettes disappear into the mist from the front porch of an old feed store she could barely believe what was happening… The ponies of the town, mostly comprised of young stallions that had hidden there from the draft or older stallions and mares that had been sheltering them, was hesitant at first to allow Sam or the others in. Ultimately, they had to bargain for their safety with what little they had left. Sam would keep the truck and the guns, knowing that being well armed would likely keep the locals from helping themselves to anything she managed to scrounge.

Pip opted to trade his services as a soldier to the town, volunteering to sit in the bell tower of the local schoolhouse and watch the distant landscape for any sign of danger. Understandably, the locals were referring to Equestrian forces rather than Griffon ones. Autumn meanwhile had experience as a carpenter before joining the guard, making his skills almost worth his weight in gold. Sam offered what help she could, she’d worked in an aid station and picked up a few things, but ultimately she had a feeling that wouldn’t be enough.

Whatever she had to do, no matter how much she may not have liked it, if it kept her daughter warm, fed, and safe it was more than worth it. So, as she ducked into the storefront that was now the defacto ‘home’ of the three that had chosen not to brave the cold, she looked to the sky and wondered what the next morning would bring. The clouds above swirled malevolently and she could see the Windigos doing their wicked dance as day started to turn to night, the snow growing even deeper. Fitting, she thought, as it seemed to match her despair.

Turner and Thomas lay in the freezing cold snow, watching the road from around twenty yards away. Their Marshal was stashed under some fallen tree branches and snow for the time being, and with good reason. The Griffons had stepped up their activity in the area, which had made travelling by road during the day impossible. At the moment the two men were watching as a column of Griffon tanks rolled slowly by, flanked on either side by columns of infantry. What they both found interesting was that the column seemed entirely comprised of human soldiers, even the tank crewmen were human.

“Jesus Christ, there’s gotta be hundreds of them…” Turner whispered, watching the soldiers clad in white winter uniforms as they marched down the road. “The resemblance to the Germans is pretty uncanny when they’re all human.” Thomas only nodded quietly as he stuffed another bit of snow into his mouth, his eyes locked on the soldiers marching ahead of them.

The two of them had been driving for about two days before they had been forced to stop doing so during daylight hours, there was only around twenty miles or so between them and Equestrian air cover. They had no idea what was going on, the radio was still a little screwy after the A.R.E. had fried everything in the area, and using it to call out would likely alert every Griff radioman in a fifty mile radius.

The seemingly endless line of tanks eventually tapered off, at which point the two lone Equestrian soldiers watched a staff car as it slowly plodded along the road with a truck of troops behind it. It wasn’t uncommon to see that during their daily observation of the enemy, but was uncommon was the two vehicles proceeding to pull off to the side of the road. Turner and Thomas looked at one another with uncertainty, the Lieutenant Colonel quietly slid his rifle over to the Gunner Sergeant as it had been determined he was a better shot. Turner gave Tom his SMG, and both men watched as the staff car stopped its engine.

The passenger side door opened and a few human figures stepped out, Thomas brought a pair of binoculars to his eyes and looked down range. The snow was still falling, though not as heavily at the moment. They were on a small gnoll looking down at the enemy, their position hidden by snow and a white wool blanket they had managed to secure when they were scavenging an abandoned Maretonian town for supplies.

“Looks like they’re sightseeing…” Thomas whispered, his binoculars focussing on the staff car. “I got two majors and… Hold on, someone’s getting out of the back.” The two majors turned towards the back of the vehicle and snapped to attention, Thomas watched a woman with light auburn hair get out of the back and salute them. Turner couldn’t see much detail, but to the Lieutenant Colonel it was a shock. “Holy fuck…”

“What?” Turner asked, Thomas focused the binoculars on the female officer for a second, not daring to take his eyes off of her.

“Remember that op in Justadot about six months ago?” Thomas asked, Turner nodded silently. “We recovered an artifact that let us see things, that what was so important…” He trailed off, his expression was one of great surprise and anticipation. “Princess Luna wanted it kept secret, she thought if she could learn the identity of their Field Marshal Woodham we could put an operation in place to eliminate them…” He simply made a small pointing gesture to the woman. “Well, that’s her… Well within range of that rifle.”

“Yeah, but you forget there’s something like a thousand enemy soldiers marching along on that road.” Turner said quietly as he took aim with the rifle. The way the target had appeared seemed more akin to deer hunting than anything else. “We do this and it’s likely we don’t get home…”

“Yeah, but if we take out their chief military planner, it could knock months, maybe years, off the length of the war.” Thomas replied, Turner looked at his friend for a moment, then sighed and steadied his aim on the woman below who seemed to be taking pictures and chatting with the other officers.

“I make that to be about fifty yards.” Turner muttered, Thomas nodded and the man adjusted the knob on the semi-automatic rifle which set it for the correct range. The man began to slow his breathing, stopping only for a moment to put more snow in his mouth to hide his breath from view.

Field Marshal Woodham sighed as she stood in the freezing cold snow, her two aides were standing with her taking in the view of the trees and snow around them. The scene was picturesque, which was why she had brought her camera. Sending photos home from areas where she had traveled was a good way to let her family know that she was okay, even as the war dragged on. She had to hand it to the Equestrians, they were putting up more of a fight than anyone else, but ultimately they would fall just as the others had.

“Field Marshal?” One of the majors, Gunther, called out. The woman turned her head to look at him, he was young, only around twenty two, one of the younger officers in the Griffon Army but very capable… That was one area where they differed from the Equestrians, their youngest soldiers were only around nineteen or twenty, not seventeen or even sixteen. “I’ve been meaning to ask, are we going to attempt to retake the Minotaur Republic? You’ve been rather tight lipped on the subject.”

“Seeing how fractured it is at the moment, I would say it’s likely, but not any time soon…” The woman spoke with a faint southern accent, she adjusted the strap on her camera and raised it to take a picture of the woods. “We’ll stop at the Maretonian border and hold the Equestrians there until we can amass enough forces and equipment to properly reinvade and pacify the various insurgent groups. Good question, Gunther…” The other Major, Andrew, walked closer to the woman and was going to tap her on the shoulder when he suddenly slipped in the snow. “I’ve got you!” Woodham bent down and grabbed Andrew’s arm as he was sliding into the snow, and in that instant, the loud crack of a rifle cut through the air.

Everything seemed to freeze, it had sounded like a Griffon weapon at first, but the fact that the crack had been so loud and clear made it seem like she had been directly in front of the barrel. The woman looked behind her at the staff car, the white and light gray four door utility vehicle was based on a Russian vehicle, a UAZ if she recalled correctly… It was mostly intact, save for a brand new bullet hole in one of the windows, right where she had been standing.

Two more loud cracks echoed from the woods, one bullet grazed Andrew while the other found its mark in Woodham’s shoulder. Five more shots rang out as she and her aides ran for cover behind the vehicle, meanwhile the soldiers that had been marching and riding in the truck were scrambling into battle positions. The tell-tale ‘ping’ of an Equestrian Semi-Automatic Rifle clip echoed from the woods.

“How the fuck did you miss that shot!” Woodham heard a frantic voice shout from the forest, she was holding one hand on her shoulder as she peeked around the vehicle to see where it had come from.

“It’s fucking cold and my hands are shaking, and it’s not like this thing is a sniper rifle!” Another gruffer voice shouted back as the Griffons began to open fire and push into the woods. “Get to the truck! Come on!” Woodham stood up, earning several panicked shouts from her aides, but she ignored them as she continued to put pressure on the wound which was now starting to become quite painful… It was the first time she had ever been hurt more than a papercut or a small scrape.

“Major!” She shouted, looking at Gunther. “I want them alive, see to it.” The Major nodded and began running up the snowy hill after the other soldiers who were moving in a strict battle line. A medic approached the woman and began to tend to the wound in her shoulder, she could hear the familiar high pitched chatter of an Equestrian SMG and the rumble of one of their Marshals starting up…

Turner watched as Thomas began hosing the incoming Griff troops with his SMG, after suppressing the position the man climbed into the Driver’s seat. Turner had started the engine and removed some of the branches that had camouflaged the vehicle, and now stood in the gun turret. It was unlikely they’d get away, but they had to try and alert the Equestrian lines of what was going on and just who was at the front. Turner slapped the roof of the truck as Thomas put the vehicle in gear, as if trying to spur it on like a horse.

“Floor it! Go go go!” Turner shouted, Thomas hit the gas as the Gunnery Sergeant began to suppress the top of the gnoll where they had climbed down from with the HMG. The truck took off in a small gully. “Radio this in! They know we’re here now!”

“Trying!” Thomas shouted up from inside the truck, Turner was jostled as the vehicle went over bumps, the Lieutenant Colonel at the wheel was weaving through trees as best he could while Griffons started to swarm the area. One bump was so heavy that Turner’s helmet fell off his head and nearly went into the snow, he grabbed it at the last second and strapped it more securely to his head before hopping right back on the HMG. “Uh, Gunny!? We’re gonna be a lot more exposed in a second! Road’s coming up!”

“Fuck!” Turner shouted as he ran out of ammunition, the man tossed the empty box over the side and hefted another into the slot. He was surprised he could reload at all with all the bumping and jostling, but he was so relieved when he racked the bolt back and felt the familiar shudder in the gun that told him it was ready to fire. The truck hopped up a berm and onto a road that had been made passable by hundreds of Griff vehicles rolling down it. It helped to drive on, but the fact that it was lined with enemy troops was not helping.

As they sped down the road Turner was about to engage the walking troops, until he noticed that they hadn’t noticed the vehicle careening down the road wasn’t Griffon… At least, not until they flew by. Turner swung the weapon around to the rear, ducking as several bullets flew past his head. He began to fire back, his weapon letting out its well known booming ‘chock-chock-chock’. A familiar staff car appeared on the road behind them, and rapidly it started to get closer and closer.

“Tom! We got company, six o’clock!” Turner announced as the staff car sped towards them, he swung the weapon to bare and let off a burst, but the rounds went too high and the vehicle swerved to the side. “Fuck, that thing’s fast!”

Woodham groaned in pain as she looked up from the back seat at the Equestrian truck which was flying down the road south towards the Minotaur Republic. The Olive Drab monstrosity looked like it had been cut apart, put back together, and then almost cut apart again… This told the Field Marshal that the vehicle had been through the Minotaur Republic campaign, and that the soldiers within were likely battle hardened. A burst of machine gun fire flew over the roof of the staff car, missing by only a few meters if she had to guess.

“Bring us up right behind it, get under their gun!” She ordered, this was the most alive she had felt in years, and for the moment she forgot that she was a Field Marshal. Major Gunther had taken the wheel when he had returned, and now did as ordered by hitting the gas again and pulling up even closer to the vehicle. “It looks like they have a minotaur on the gun… Hard to tell with the scarf.” As if on cue the gunner pulled down his scarf to shout something down into the truck. “Human?” The gunner tried to aim at the staff car again, but as Woodham had planned they were below the ability for him to traverse the HMG.

The man seemed to stare at them in confused amazement for a second before he caught sight of Woodham in the back seat. She could see his face clearly, tired and battle hardened as expected, though he had a fair bit of stubble and his clothes were filthy…The Gunnery Sergeant stripes on his jacket told her the rest. There were intelligence reports on four humans that the Griffons were aware of in Equestria, perhaps one of the most interesting to read was that of one Gunnery Sergeant Paige Wilson Turner. Woodham was now convinced, this sniper duo represented perhaps some of the most well decorated soldiers in the Equestrian Army… Capturing them would be a major blow to the enemy’s morale.

It seemed the Gunnery Sergeant had different ideas, however, as he reached to his belt and drew his sidearm. Eight bullets hit the staff car, all directed at the engine block. Trees and soldiers were screaming past at nearly fifty miles an hour, the two vehicles locked in a chase that would likely be discussed in many history books after the war ended. When his weapon was empty Woodham watched as the man ducked down into the truck for a moment, after a few seconds he emerged again, this time with an SMG.

“Oh, if you gotta God I’d start prayin’!” She heard him yell over the wind as he shouldered the weapon and once again took aim at the engine block. She could see what he was doing, if they slowed down they would once again be within the reach of the HMG, and that’d make them all very well and truly dead. The quick ‘pop-pop-pop’ of a burst from the weapon cut through the air like a razor, bullets went into the engine block once more and Gunther seemed to be struggling at the wheel.

Turner stared at the enemy staff car with surprise, he’d put at least fifteen rounds of pistol and SMG ammunition into her engine block and she was still going strong. He fired a few more rounds, but they went wide as suddenly the truck swerved to the right.

“Tanks!” Thomas shouted, and sure enough not a few seconds later Turner saw they were driving past the tank column they had watched roll past earlier. Even more surprising, the staff car was still coming at them. “We’re about ten miles out! Keep them off us a little longer!”

“I’m trying to kill this bitch!” Turner shouted back as he fired the rest of the rounds in his magazine at the staff car, bullets cut through the windshield but the vehicle still kept coming. “God damn, what the fuck!? I need another mag!” He leaned down in the gun port and held out a hand.

“Last mag, make it count!” Thomas slapped an SMG magazine into his hand, Turner lifted it and began to slip it into the weapon when the truck went over another bump and he lost his grip on the magazine. He frantically tried to catch it, but it thudded and skidded off the roof and into the snow on the side of the road. “Turner… Was that what I think it was!?”

“Yup!” Turner shouted as he tossed the SMG back down into the truck. “Fuck! Fucking god damn it! Give me your rifle!” The man ducked down into the turret as a burst of SMG fire pelted the truck’s rear. He looked around in the seats for a second before grabbing the weapon and a small pouch which he knew contained at least a dozen clips. Turner stood up and slipped one of the enbloc clips into the rifle, yelping in pain as the action closed on his thumb. He could see one of the Majors was leaning out of the staff car’s right window with a Griff SMG. It was the one he had grazed before, and he fired another burst at the truck with cold precision. “Sir, I think they mean to take us alive! They ain’t shooting at me!”

“Oh, fucking great!” Thomas shouted angrily, Turner leveled the rifle at the Major and squeezed the trigger, the bumpiness of the terrain made accuracy impossible so he was merely suppressing the vehicle as best he could. After a few shots the Major ducked back into the Staff Car, allowing Turner to empty the remaining five into the engine block. That did something, as he heard the enemy vehicle’s engine start to whine. The tank column was starting to take notice as well, and some of the armored vehicles were pulling out ahead of the Marshal to try and force it to stop. Thomas would swerve, Turner would curse, and the Staff Car would stay right on their tail.

“Hey, Tom? I have an idea!” Turner shouted after firing another clip and failing to hit a damn thing. If they kept this up neither of them would get out of there, but maybe the Griffs would let up if they got at least part of what they wanted. Turner lowered the rifle and straightened his helmet as he took a deep breath. “Just promise me you’ll make it worth it, okay!? Get to our lines and tell them who’s in the area, maybe something good will come of it! Tell Sam I’m sorry, and I love her!”

“Turner!? What’re you doing?” Thomas shouted from inside, Turner pushed himself up and out of the gun turret, steadying himself on the gun mount with one hand as he looked down at the Griffon Staff Car. “Turner, you’ll get yourself killed, or worse!”

“You said it yourself, if we can take out Woodham maybe we can end this war earlier! Save some lives!” Turner shouted back, straightening his helmet as he looked at the driver of the Griff Staff Car with a cold expression. “It has to end, Tom! If I have to die to make it end sooner, so fucking be it… So promise me you’ll tell Sam and look after my baby girl!”

“Turner-!”

“Promise me!” Turner bellowed, several tears being blown sideways along his cheeks, though he quickly wiped them away.

“I promise.” Thomas said, though it was barely audible over the wind and engines. Turner popped his neck, staring down the officer driving the car with one of cold resolution. The man closed his eyes, took a deep breath and used his free hand to make the sign of a cross over himself.

“See you on the other side, Tom!” Turner shouted as the Staff Car got closer, so close that there were only inches between its front bumper and the Marshal’s rear bumper. With one final deep breath he let go of the gun mount and let himself slide off the back.

Woodham watched in astonishment as the Gunnery Sergeant let go of the weapon mount and slid off the rear of the truck, he rolled onto the hood of her Staff Car with an audible thud and came to a stop staring up at Andrew and Gunther with a look of resolve in his eyes that no one in the vehicle had been expecting. What shocked them even more was when he reached to his belt and grabbed the hilt of a combat knife, he yanked it free from its sheath and slammed it down through the hood with tremendous force over and over again, until steam erupted from beneath and a smile crossed his face.

The Staff Car was forced to slow down as its engine rapidly overheated, and eventually pulled off the road to the side. Woodham watched as the Marshal sped away, until finally it disappeared over the horizon. Her vehicle came to a stop on the side of the road, and the Equestrian Gunnery Sergeant slipped off the hood and stood up in front of it. As a testament to his courage, he clenched his fists and took up a fighting stance before spitting on the ground. Gunther and Andrew opened the doors and stepped out, with Andrew holding an SMG trained on the man while Gunther attempted to approach him.

Woodham winced as the Gunnery Sergeant belted the Major in the face, Gunther sprawled onto the ground clutching his now bleeding and very broken nose. It was only after Andrew racked the bolt on the SMG that the soldier held his arms out to the side, a small grin playing on his features. The Field Marshal stepped out of the back of the Staff Car, a hand holding the bandage that had hastily been applied to the wound on her shoulder.

“Major, are you okay?” She asked, looking at Gunther as the man stood up from the snow, more soldiers were rushing over and the tank column had stopped to watch.

“Y’all might wanna tilt yer head back a spell.” The Gunnery Sergeant said with a wry grin, his tired and worn features looked almost unnatural with the way he was grinning, and Woodham could tell that like most Equestrian NCOs, this man was usually pretty grim. The man turned his attention to the Field Marshal, the same smirk gracing his features. Woodham followed his eyes and saw he was looking at the wound in her shoulder. “Damn… Missed ‘er by that much.” Andrew moved up to the man and began to feel pat him down for weapons, but he didn’t find anything of the sort. “Paige, Turner Wilson. Gunnery Sergeant, Equestrian Lunar Corps. Zero-Five-Zero, two-two-one, zero-four-nine-nine.”

“I know who you are, Gunnery Sergeant.” Woodham replied as Gunther held up a hand to signal he was okay, and reluctantly took the Sergeant’s advice of pinching his nose and leaning his head back. “Though, I didn’t have you pegged for the kind of man that would jump from one moving vehicle to another.”

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” The man said with a shrug, and despite his cordial somewhat joking tone Woodham could hear the fire in his voice. She knew that if this man was given the chance, even if it meant death, he’d kill her. “Well, what happens now? I ain’t never been no POW before.”

“Well, you’re in luck, I’ve never taken one before either.” Woodham replied with her own bit of wit, prompting the man to start chuckling and shaking his head as he lowered his arms. “It’s not like we can drive you out of here, you saw to that…”

“Well, judgin’ by the blood pourin’ from that guys nose and that hole in your arm, I’d say an ambulance won’t be too long.” Turner said simply as he gestured to Gunther before he quietly looked at his hand. “I gotta say, your boy over here’s got a head like an anvil! Jeez, think I just about broke my hand on his skull.”

Woodham hummed quietly, wincing in pain now that the adreneline of the chase was starting to subside. As the Gunnery Sergeant had predicted, an ambulance soon arrived to carry them to safety. Rather than send Turner back to the Empire and a normal POW camp, Woodham gave the order to have him brought to her field headquarters for further questioning. Of course, ordering them to take him there and actually getting him there were two entirely different things. It took about five men to shove the behemoth of an NCO into the passenger seat of the ambulance, and all five ended up going away with a decently large shiner or a bloody nose. Ultimately, the deciding factor had been that the Gunnery Sergeant’s knuckles had started to swell and he actually needed medical attention.

The Field Marshal’s original assumption about him was right, he was a tall tough bastard with a mean streak a mile wide when push came to shove… And boy could he shove. When the MPs tried to take his helmet he had nearly gone ballistic, and Woodham feared he might’ve beaten one of the panicked young Griffons to death with the olive drab piece of steel. His rampage was averted, however, when he was allowed to retrieve his wife’s pictures from the helmet liner. Woodham hadn’t even dared try take his harmonica after that, for all she knew he’d use it to rip someone’s throat open.

For the first time in the war Turner was completely on his own, he didn’t have to control himself for anyone. No appearances needed to be maintained, no order had to be upheld, it was just him versus the Griffons… They were the enemy… There side was, at least, and he had to make sure he didn’t give them intelligence that could harm his comrades. He’d continue to beat wholesale ass until such time as he was dead, they were dead, the war was over, or hell froze over…