Fallout Equestria: Shaping Shadow - Book 3

by Mindrop

Rating: mature
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Slice of Life, Crossover, Fallout
Length: 170040

After the betrayal: Cardinal Spitfire, Deke, Olive Pit and Golden Dawn have to deal with life and duties above the clouds. All while they search for a way to get the Inquisitors back.

The Inquisitors have been betrayed. Above the clouds, all they know is that they were reported MIA for a month. The world doesn't end and responsibilities continue. Duty to the Pegasus Race, they all swore it. Cardinal Spitfire, has to go along with her duty as a Wonderbolt, leaving others to investigate the Inquisitors' MIA status.

But Cardinal Spitfire isn't the only one with a duty to perform. Deke, Olive Pit, and Golden Dawn have their own duties to carry out. They are not always grand, but they are life. They have to deal with life above the clouds. All while they search for a way to get the Inquisitors back.

Part 1: Consequences (69-73)
Part 2: Silver and Gold (74-77)
Part 3: Clear Skies (78-82)
Part 4: Hope (83-86)
Part 5: Mighty Third (87-90)
Part 6: The Future (91-95)

The Series:
Book 1: Training
Book 2: The Mission
Book 3: Above
Book 4: Below
Book 5: Grand Pegasus Enclave (Writing/releasing)
Sagas of Shanyisa: (Writing/releasing)
Anthology

- Like what I do? I have a Patreon.
*Missing or forgotten information? The Fallout Equestria Wiki has Shaping Shadow and anything you might need to know.

**Cover made with permission using vectors from Brisineo, and Lightning5trike.

Published 2019-01-24 01:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-05-21 23:24:43 UTC

Chapter 69 - New Stripes Same Platoon

Author's Note

BOOK 3: PART 1: CONSEQUENCES

Chapter 69 - New Stripes Same Platoon

Golden Dawn glided down to land at the incoming flight deck for Nellie Air Force Base. It was mid afternoon, but her Major should still be in her office by the time she could walk there. Check in was fast and she set herself a good trot to make it there on time.

She knocked on the door

“Come,” The Major ordered.

Golden Dawn opened the door and stepped in, saluting.

“Those are some fancy stripes you have,” The Major said before Golden Dawn could announce herself.

Golden Dawn closed the door. She slid off her gear and sat down at the gester of the Major.

“And some fancy ribbons,” The Major added.

“The Colonel over training fixed the oversight in my rank and records. I should have graduated from combat school at least a Corporal. And a Sergeant from my training in EOD and Heavy Weapons. I lacked proper ribbons and devices as well.”

“I guess you should have,” The Major replied nodding.

“And after this training, many of us were promoted to reflect our greater value to the Enclave. Those that didn’t were given proper due in their files for upcoming promotions. I can’t talk about the training, but I have been assured that the Staff Sergeant strips are well deserved.”

“I can not argue with that,” The Major smiled. “However, the 256 is on night rotation right now. Report in with your Lieutenant at the start of the shift. In three days, we will begin open combat training.”

Golden Dawn grinned.

“Now, what is that smile?” The Major asked.

“Nothing special, I have a new toy to try out. I still have my battle saddle, but I was given permission to run field trials on a weapon we covered.”

Golden Dawn opened of the hard case she had been carrying and pulled out the Applesnack Submachine Gun.

“The Applesnack Submachine Gun. Often shorted to Snack gun. Combat range is 75 yards, 100 if I can take a second to breath.”

“You use that free?” The Major asked, picking up her jaw.

Golden Dawn shrugged. “I never had a problem with it. But you need the sling to work it. Again, field trials. I have plenty of loaded magazine, but also was given sufficient training magazines.”

“I look forward to seeing this,” The Major grinned. “Since it is field trials, you are to remove your battle saddle and use this gun at all times while on duty. How hard is it to get ammunition?”

Golden Dawn grinned. “It takes standard 9mm rounds.”

“I am guessing you want some range time?” The Major asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I hadn’t thought about it,” Golden Dawn replied. “But I really should have some.”

“Tomorrow, or the day after. Actually, any time, and with any ammo you need. I will send the orders over.”

“Thank you Ma’am.”

“Now go. You have a shift starting soon and a Lieutenant to confuse.”

“He he,” Golden Dawn chuckled. “I will conduct myself with the utmost integrity, honor, and respect.”

Golden Dawn exited the office with a salute.

She got to her room and took a shower. It felt good to shower after the long flight, especially alone. After that, she pulled the rifle off her battle saddle. She still needed the saddle because the left side had the bag to hold ammunition and medical gear.

Golden Dawn put on her uniform and took the extra five minutes to make sure it was perfect. It was a bit lopsided with the gun removed. She would have to get a new saddle that had bags on both sides for balance and to better carry the ammunition.

Golden Dawn selected her magazines. She ignored the drum magazines she had. They carried more, but she didn’t like the weight compared to the box magazines. The 40 round stick magazines stacked better in her saddlebags.

Golden Dawn and Vengeful Blade were the top two at the training when it came to the use of the weapons. The other combat soldiers were right behind them. All of them were leagues better than the mechanics with one exception. Striker and the other two from his unit were the best non-combat fields on the range.

Golden Dawn had quickly shown real skill with the Snack Gun, which is why she was allowed to field test it. Golden Dawn wanted to carry it, almost pleading for it, and it was granted to her. Nopony else in training wanted to carry one of the rifles, not even the other combat soldiers.

She already missed the others. The Terrifying Tetrad had been the best all around. There was no actual scoring, but they worked together better than any other group and were the quickest to respond. It had been a real pleasure to be working with an intelligent and fun team. She had forgotten how important that was for your job.

When she got out of Officer School, the four of them were going to see where she went and try and link up. At least at the same base.

Golden Dawn checked the time. It was 20 till they started. She aimed to be there by 15 till. Right on time. Especially to check in with her Lieutenant.

Golden Dawn opened the bolt her her gun, slid a magazine in and flipped on the safety. As an extra precaution, every magazine had the first round as a red dummy round. They were on security detail, not in combat. For safety the were forced to cycle the dummy round out before firing.

Golden Dawn confidently stepped out of her room and went to her post. She arrived on her target time and only a few others were there, ready. She stood at parade rest and ignored the looks she received from the others. They were focusing on the gun and didn’t notice her new stripes.

Lieutenant Zealous Arrow arrived and immediately called them to attention. A minute later the platoon they were relieving marched up. The Lieutenants exchanged command and soldiers filed out to their posts. Golden Dawn approached Lieutenant Zealous Arrow, who was talking with the other Lieutenant. They were in the same cohort together.

Gold Dawn saluted. “Staff Sergeant Golden Dawn reporting for duty after specialized training Sir!”

“Staff Sergeant?” Lieutenant Zealous Arrow asked, annoyed.

“Yes Sir. The Colonel over the training I received noticed several errors in my record, including rank. Those errors were corrected.”

“How was there so many errors that you made it to Staff Sergeant?” Lieutenant Zealous Arrow asked smugly.

“That was not an error Sir. I exited Basic Training as a Specialist. I placed first in Combat School. I should have been promoted to at least Corporal. That was the first oversight. After, I went to Heavy Weapons Training and EOD. By their end I should have been promoted to Sergeant.”

“This specialized training was, unique. There is a reason why it is kept quiet and there is a reason why I needed to attend. By the end, the value I have to the Enclave warranted a promotion to express that. Most in attendance received promotions.”

“That leads into the weapon I have. I am field testing this Applesnack Submachine Gun and have been directed to carry it on duty. It fires from an open bolt position. The safety is on. If we had to go live, I would flip her off safety, pull the trigger, and then cycle the bolt manually to load a live round. All proper safety precautions are taken.”

“This school, was a preparatory school for command?” Lieutenant Zealous Arrow asked.

“No Sir,” Golden Dawn replied with a smile. “It had to do with weapon systems. Hence my field testing this weapon. I love her so much.”

“Staff Sergeant,” Lieutenant Zealous Arrow said with a bit of an edge. “I can not reassign you to a different squad. You will fall in under your superior, Staff Sergeant Charged Bolt. They are on patrol and can be found in the dispatch office.”

“Yes Sir,” Golden Dawn saluted. “Can you point me in the right direction?”

Lieutenant Zealous Arrow rolled his eyes and pointed Golden Dawn to the proper door. From there she found dispatch easily.

“Ah, good to see you back Specialist,” Charged Bolt said. “If you were not aware, in three days we will be undergoing some large scale exercises.”

“I am aware Sir,” Golden Dawn replied. “Thank you.”

“Now, I need you,” Charged Bold said looking up at her. He cocked his head, trying to comprehend the change in stripes.

“Am I being replaced?” He asked confused.

“No Sir,” Golden Dawn smiled. “The training I attended brought to light some oversights on my record, rank being one of them. The promotion from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant has to do with the special knowledge and skills I have acquired during all my trainings. I am still under your command, despite the stripes. Please, treat me as you would any other soldier under your command. Even if that means treating me like a Specialist.”

“Noted Sergeant. Thank you,” Charged Bolt smiled. “You have not done any patrolling here with the 256 yet, so you will be under Sergeant Treasured Rose. She knows this area very well and is our best. The others will follow a designated route, she will keep things lose and unpredictable like a security patrol should be. Rover is what we call them.”

“Sorry,” Charged Bolt said. “I keep thinking you are new.”

“By the actual time logged here, I am,” Golden Dawn chuckled. “They kicked me around a few units and then soon after getting stationed here, off to another special training.”

“Good. We need whatever that special training was. They sent two Scout Teams below not to long ago, looking for a recon team or something that is MIA.”

Golden Dawn felt like she had been kicked in the gut. She couldn’t breath. He body would not inhale. She finally fought through the panic of it all and coughed.

“Sorry, I think I know some, Pegasus on the recon team,” She said to clarify everything.

They relaxed seeing that she was breathing normal again.

“Lets go,” Treasured Rose said pointing with her head. “We need to hit the streets.”

Golden Dawn grabbed the security belt given to her and strapped it on.

They wound a path all through the area. Their squad was the only one from their platoon that was on roving duty. The others squads were at posted stations. All together, this whole area was being secured by four platoons from 8 different companies. There were three other Rover patrol teams.

They approached another Rover.

“Any news Summer?” Treasured Rose asked.

“Yeah, we were told somepegasus was seen carrying a new weapon. A free one, not locked onto a battle saddle. No idea who or what weapon.”

“That would be me,” Golden Dawn said.

She slid the gun off her back and into a ready position.

“Its a field test,” Golden Dawn explained. “A submachine gun.”

“What is up?” another Pegasus asked. He was followed by three others.

“Gang’s all here,” Treasured Rose said. “Outside of the field test Staff Sergeant Golden Dawn is doing with the special gun, any actual news?”

“So, you are the special mare who got to go to some secret training,” A stallion said.

Golden Dawn just held up the gun in response.

“Meet anypegasus special?” Summer asked.

“They all are special,” Golden Dawn chuckled. “All picked from various groups for various reasons to learn the same stuff. But I had to shoot down the stallion in our group who was sweet on me. And I mean group as in our little cohort, the Terrifying Tetrad. It was a shock to all three of them to find out I don’t swing that way.”

“Never would have pinned you for that either,” Treasured Roses said looking Golden Dawn up and down. “Looks can be deceiving. Especially when they can kick your ass to the wasteland and back with out breaking a sweat.”

They all laughed.

“Meet back here at 2145 for the walk through,” one of the others said as they broke off.

“Walk through?” Golden Dawn asked Treasured Rose.

“Yeah, around that time we make sure that there are no domestic problems by doing a walk through by all the housing in our zone.”

“I have not heard or seen that. I usually am up at that time.”

“Its just our group,” Treasured Rose replied. “None of the others are that smart. Any time something happens, it is while we are off duty. It isn’t planned, but it sure feels that way sometimes.”

The base was significantly different at night. It was a good thing Golden Dawn was paired up with Treasure Rose. The shadows seemed alive, but Treasured Rose knew them like the back of her hoof. If something was off, she could tell at a glance.

“So,” Treasured Rose said breaking the silence. “You don’t swing that way. I want to hear about having to shoot down your close friend. I don’t get much action. Pegasi read me as dangerous and don’t even want to talk.”

“Uggh,” Golden Dawn groaned. “I know. It is nice to know I am noticed. But, yeah. I picked up on things way to late. Halfway through the other mare, Gunmetal, had to pound it into my head that he was hitting on me. Striker is his name. A Lieutenant, runs as a mechanic who is heading up a major overhaul on AC units at his post.”

“It wasn’t too bad. I addressed it as soon as we were free for the evening. It was barracks again, so no real private place to talk. His bed was across the room from mine and Gunmetal’s, so we talked there. It was over pretty quick and our friendship didn’t slip, not even down a peg.”

“Telling somepegasus you are not into stallions is a lot easier to take than saying they are not your type. I guess it’s less humiliating since it has nothing to do with who you are as an individual.”

“That sounds right,” Treasured Rose replied as she scanned the area. “I wouldn’t mind having to turn down a mare or two if it means somepegasus is actually interested in what they see.”

They continued on their patrol. They spoke to different regular patrols who stayed on a designated path and timing, and every so often they would stop at a stationary post. They met up with the other Rovers at the designated time.

They began to walk through the buildings. They were standard housing, not for families. Private rooms on either side with a center isle. One big unit made it better for climate control and it saved on materials. Each Rover team worked through a building. They spread out, hoping that the distance in between would allow them to catch something.

Golden Dawn heard a thump at the door on her right. She was security, so it wasn’t prying.

Golden Dawn knocked loudly on the door. “Security. Is everything alright in there? I heard a fall.”

Treasured Rose was quickly by her side and Golden Dawn knocked again, but harder.

“This is Security! Is everything alright in there! I heard a fall!”

A few heads poked out of other doors but there was no response from inside.

“This is why it is good being the Rover, and not standard patrol,” Treasured Rose smiled as she held up a set of keys.

“Dispatch,” Treasured Rosed radioed. “Potential fall reported at Building 764 A, Room 32. Breaching Door.”

“Understood,” Dispatch replied.

Treasured Rose inserted the master key and turned the knob. Golden Dawn was first in, breaching like they had been taught. The only difference was her rifle was relaxed. It didn’t stay that way as she found herself staring at a stallion and a mare who was wrapped up and gagged. The Mare was sobbing, frightened. The safety had been flicked off and Golden Dawn had cycled a live round into the chamber.

“Wings up! Don’t move!” Golden Dawn ordered.

“Dispatch!” Treasured Rose radioed. “We need emergency medical teams here now and all Rovers to this building for lock down.”

The others were there within a minute. Two posted up at each entrance and Summer and her partner met them at their door. There were a lot of orders for ponies to stay inside their room.

With back up, Treasured Rose slowly approached the mare and undid her gag. Her screams were deafening and made Golden Dawn’s mane stand on end.

“Summer?” Golden Dawn asked. “Can you cuff him. I haven’t exactly been taught how.”

Summer laughed at the irony and forced the Stallion against the wall and had him cuffed in seconds.

“You can’t forget the wings,” Summer grinned.

The Stallion took that second of her distraction to throw his shoulder into Summer and toss her onto the bed. Summer collided with the mare on the bed.

Golden Dawn immediately reacted with the butt stock of her gun. As he recovered from tossing Summer she drove it into his face, above his left eye. The gun’s weight gashed open his forehead. Golden Dawn needed him to stay down and followed through with a second strike his his left shoulder. She felt the rifle push against the bone and the snap as bone lost and the rifle continued. He was left groaning on the floor.

“This is a live round in the chamber,” Golden Dawn warned. “Move and I get to add live fire on duty to the field test report. As well as an autopsy to see how the ballistics played out.”

Summer was helped off the bed and they finished untying the mare. She was quickly wrapped in some clean towels. The spare blankets were in the closet, which was blocked by the stallion. A blanket was quickly retrieved from a nearby room.

“Three minutes,” Treasured Rose groaned. “Where is that medical team? Golden Dawn, can you give dispatch an update.”

“Dispatch, this is Staff Sergeant Golden Dawn. We entered the room to find a mare tied and gagged. It appeared to be against her will. A stallion was also in the room. When we went to cuff him, he resisted and is currently on the floor where he belongs. We will need a medical team for him as well.”

“Understood Staff Sergeant. The building has been declared secured by the other teams and our Major is being woken up.”

“I do not want that job,” Golden Dawn replied without thinking.

Dispatch chuckled. “She doesn’t shoot the messenger. Thankfully.”

“Dispatch, make sure she is directed to the hospital. That is where both of them will be headed, as soon as medical gets here. There won’t be any time to stop.”

“Understood. She will meet you there.”

“ETA on medical, we are getting close to five minutes.”

“Only that they are in route to you. Two teams were sent out at the same time.”

“Thank you.”

It took another uncomfortable two minutes for the medical teams to arrive. They immediately got the mare on a stretcher and off to the Emergency Room. Before they could take the stallion in, they had to bind his wings. They were not gentle.

Summer and her partner had accompanied the mare. Golden Dawn and Treasured Rose were escorting the stallion. One of the other Rover teams came in to seal the room off and survey the place for any immediate evidence.

When they touched down at the Emergency room, the security there was keeping Lieutenant Zealous Arrow back. It was the Major’s orders.

“Ah!” The Major said as they came out of the triage center. “I just spoke with her. Well, I did all the speaking. And this is the other individual?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Golden Dawn nodded. “He decided to resist his wings being bound. I don’t think I told you how much this gun weighs. It is hefty.”

“A pity,” The Major said. “Another pity that the first day back and your assigned duties ended up with this.”

“I know, its going to be boring from here on out,” Golden Dawn smiled.

The medical staff was dealing with the Stallion’s head wound and preparing to deal with his shoulder. They stepped out of the way.

“It is a shame,” The Major whispered. “That is First Lieutenant Snowflake Strike. Lieutenant Zealous Arrow’s best friend.”

“I’m fucked,” Golden Dawn smirked.

“It is a really good thing that you are a Staff Sergeant and that Sergeant Treasured Rose is a highly acclaimed Rover. It puts weight into your report.”

“You have a nasty report to write,” Treasured Rose stated. “Just stick with the facts and only those on the report.”

“I am going to go see if she will talk,” The Major said.

“I will come too,” Treasured Rose added. “I was first by her side. That may help.”

Golden Dawn crossed over to the curtain that hid the Lieutenant and entered. She stood off to the side. She was in the way a bit, but it was her job to watch over him. She realized that the safety was off. Golden Dawn flipped it on, but for now was going to keep the gun ready.

A few hours later, the Major allowed regular security to take charge of the Lieutenant. The investigator had arrived and talked with everypegasus except for Golden Dawn. She gave her report from start to finish. Every move she made and every thing she saw. Nothing she supposed. No per-drawn up conclusions. Only the facts.

Their shift had been over for an hour when they were let go. Once they were outside of the hospital and well clear; Golden Dawn unloaded her gun and inserted a fresh magazine. She picked up the live round and pocketed it.

“I guess I need a new safety round,” Golden Dawn stated. “Mine is back in the room.”

“It is a good reason to need a new on,” Treasured Rose pointed out. “It can be embarrassing to have to get a new one issued.

She was giddy from the adrenaline cost.

“You made it seem like you have never had an incident happen on your watch,” Golden Dawn stated. “Yet the Major said you have a very good reputation.”

“Yeah, because I help a lot of pegasi. Its late, they are coming home. A bit to much to drink. Had to call medical in a few times for ones passed out. That sort of thing. No real crime. Not like this. And he threw Summer with his shoulder. That isn’t easy to do.”

“But your rifle proved quite useful.”

“Yeah, it was. I have open range time and unlimited ammunition, what time do you usually wake back up?”

“On this schedule, we get off at 0700, so usually 1500.”

“Not much time before we are back on at 1900,” Golden Dawn replied.

“Yeah, well tonight is our last night since we are doing those exercises. So tomorrow afternoon?”

“Sounds like a plan. Lets check out and get food.”

They dropped off and signed back in the patrol gear. They had to mark that a set of restraints had been transferred to the hospital security.

“Lets get breakfast,” Treasured Rose yawned.

They meandered over to the closest mess hall. It was pretty quite since it was on the tail end of breakfast.

“Finally arrived,” A Pegasus called out.

Golden Dawn knew the voice by couldn't place it.

“Forget what I look like already?”

“Gunmetal?” Golden Dawn stuttered. “How are you here?”

“Eh, I enjoyed your company so much, I looked at a transfer. Easy enough since the Quartermaster doesn’t have a qualified gunsmith. That spot has been open for a while. Even easier to transfer because of the promotion. A new Staff Sergeant threw things out of balance.”

“How did you get here so fast? I got in late yesterday.”

“Cloudship,” Gunmetal shrugged. “Plus, you are a relaxed flier. I didn’t know I was accepted until I got back to my post.”

“We never exactly discussed where you were posted,” Golden Dawn stated.

“The Overcast just docked here last night,” Gunmetal chuckled. “Making that a nice and easy transfer.”

“Of course,” Golden Dawn chuckled. “But, this is Treasured Rose. We are in the same squad together. And same patrol team.”

“And tore it up last night from the gossip,” Gunmetal chuckled as she joined them at the table.

“We did our job,” Treasured Rose shrugged. “But it is great meeting you.”

“And that is all it has to be,” Gunmetal replied annoyed. “I really need to check in with the Quartermaster. I know with the exercises coming that she will be loaded down with even more weapons checking in. Idiots.”

“Well, if you have the time, we are going to the range tomorrow afternoon,” Golden Dawn said.

“I will be working all night,” Gunmetal shrugged. “We will see. Like I said, they have been lacking a qualified gunsmith for a while now.”

Gunmetal departed to get to work.

“She is something,” Treasured Rose chuckled. “And the dowel?”

“She has always had something in her mouth like that, but they had to upgrade it to a sturdy dowel in Basic Training. Their instructor didn’t like her face without one. Its an old habit.”

“Cool,” Treasured Rose shrugged. “Although now I feel bad. My rifle could use some oil. It didn’t cycle well last night.”

“1600, we can meet up at the cage. She can talk and work. Hopefully we can get some from her.”

“Sounds good,” Treasured Rose said as she stood up. “Lets get some sleep. It was a really difficult night last night.”

Golden Dawn finished the last few bites and was out the door. Sleeping during normal waking hours wasn’t easy. That is why they rotated every few weeks.

Chapter 70 - Hearing

Golden Dawn almost missed her 1500 alarm. A cold shower fixed her, for now. Coffee would come soon. She was first at the cage. Treasured Rose looked like she had a hangover.

“I feel like I drank too much last night,” Treasured Rose groaned. “Except I only had water. I do not touch alcohol.”

“Do you need anything?” Golden Dawn asked.

“I will be fine, the more I wake up,” Treasured Rose replied.

They headed inside. There was a short line.

“Gunmetal?” Golden Dawn called out.

“One sec.” Gunmetal said.

She came to the cage and opened it to let them in.

“What do you need?”

“Just coming to check on you,” Golden Dawn replied. “Although I lost a safety case last night.”

“9mm is in vault A2,” Gunmetal replied pointer her to the right vault. “Grab what you need.”

“How do I sign them out?” Golden Dawn asked.

“Pffft. They are a bit a dozen. Don’t worry about it.”

Golden Dawn shrugged and grabbed several.

“You could use double saddle bags,” Treasured Rose added. “Balance things out.”

“Give me a second,” Gunmetal grunted as she worked a pin loose.

The saddlebags were easy to get signed out.

“Want help?” Golden Dawn asked.

“Yeah,” Gunmetal replied. “I know your skills. I can trust you. You are fast too. Just grab ones that need cleaning.”

“We can get yours cleaned alongside us,” Golden Dawn said to Treasured Rose.

Golden Dawn grabbed one marked for cleaning and brought it back to the cleaning table. It was much nicer than the field kit she had to maintain her rifle. In theory, all of the soldiers were supposed to maintain their weapons. They all had to prove they knew how in Basic Training, and were expected to maintain theirs to near perfection in Combat School. That was in theory only. Few maintained theirs.

“Damn,” Golden Dawn grunted as she tried to open the action. “This bastard is really stuck.”

After another minute, the action slammed open and ejected a case. Gunmetal and Golden Dawn paused and listened as the case settled on the floor. It was a live round.

“Third live one I have found,” Gunmetal growled. “None were marked with even a spent casing in them. That bitch is going to get it from me.”

Gunmetal checked the tag and wrote ‘live round’ on it. Golden Dawn placed the round with the rifle and continued to strip it all the way down for cleaning. The round never fired because the firing pin was broken.

Treasured Rose tried to keep up with Golden Dawn to clean her rifle, but it was not easy. Golden Dawn was very proficient at cleaning the GPER 55-6 rifles.

Things were moving well. Golden Dawn was making a good dent in the logged rifles for cleaning.

“Staff Sergeant,” The Quartermaster called. “I have a pistol coming in for cleaning.”

“Coming,” Gunmetal replied. “And I hate being called Staff Sergeant. Call me Gunmetal.”

“Will do.”

Gunmetal approached the front of the cage.

“I need it done immediately. I go on duty at 1900.”

“Right,” Gunmetal said rolling her eyes. “Give me 20. Name?”

“First Lieutenant Zealous Arrow.”

“Rule number one idiot,” Gunmetal said holing his pistol up. “Never bring a loaded gun into the quartermaster office to be checked in or out!”

Gunmetal dropped the magazine and pulled back the slide to eject the round. She was pissed as she should be. A strip clean didn’t even take her ten minutes to do.

“Don’t be an idiot,” She growled as she gave it back. “Do it again, and you will be dealing with the paperwork side of me. I hate paperwork.”

Gunmetal walked away. “Fucker.”

Lieutenant Zealous Arrow was not happy but couldn't argue with her for his stupidity.

“I see what you two deal with around here,” Gunmetal said to the them.

“And that was our XO,” Treasured Rose stated.

“I feel bad for you,” Gunmetal said as she focused on work.

“That is all I can do,” Golden Dawn announced. “I have to get dinner and then be at my post.”

“Thanks,” Gunmetal grunted. “Big help. Joy to have you. Both of you.”

“That was impressive,” Treasured Rose said as they left. “I had no idea you were that good at cleaning.”

“We all are supposed to be good at it,” Golden Dawn replied. “But, I am on the top when it comes to executing that task. I took really good care of my rifle in Combat School. Basic too, but really in Combat School. I returned mine cleaner than I received it.”

“Those rifles are dirty,” Treasured Rose gasped. “That takes skill.”

“A vital skill to have,” Golden Dawn chuckled. “It could mean life or death in combat.”

As soon as command was passed off they headed into dispatch. Their Lieutenant came in a minute later with an announcement.

“Squad Three is being moved to Squad One’s roles. I am rotating you out of patrol duty.”

“Like hell you are,” Charged Bolt said. “We are the only squad to know the routes.”

“They can learn them easily,” Lieutenant Zealous Arrow stated. “You will do as you are told.”

“I will not,” Charged Bolt replied. “I am going to call our commanding Captain.”

“No need,” Their Captain said coming out of an office. “And no, you are not getting rotated out. You, Lieutenant, should know better than to take a choice a friend made out on your soldiers. They did their job and he made his choice.”

“Also, Staff Sergeant Golden Dawn and Sergeant Treasured Rose, you two will need to report 1000 in the morning for the trial.”

Golden Dawn took a deep breath in before saluting. “Yes Sir.”

“I didn’t get to set the schedule,” The Captain added. “I know it will be tough.”

“We have been through worse,” Golden Dawn replied. “That is what training was for.”

“Excellent,” The Captain smiled.

“Okay Staff Sergeant,” Charged Bolt said. “Same thing as last night, except you will patrol all night, hopefully.”

Charged Bolt shook his head. “Damn promotion. I’m the Sergeant in this squad. Can I call you Staff? Like I used to call you Specialist.”

“Yes you are the Sergeant in charge,” Golden Dawn smiled. “Please, Staff is a great way to address me. It is less confusing and gives you your full, proper due.”

Charged Bolt smiled at her. “Don’t count yourself out, you have the same rank for a reason. Last night was just a glimpse of that reason.”

Things were going well on patrol. Nothing was happening, as the usual, and it wasn’t a weekend, so regular shifts were not out drinking. Their housing sweep went by as usual. Some more heads poked out, seeing if they were consistently patrolling the area.

“Rover 256,” Dispatch called. “You are needed at the Quartermaster cage.”

“Roger,” Treasured Rose replied.

“Probably just Gunmetal,” Golden Dawn stated. “Doing whatever she is doing.”

They made their way over to the quartermaster cage and the back gate was unlocked. They were the last Rover to arrive.

“Please, remove your hooves from the weapon.”

“I can’t,” Gunmetal hissed. “If I do, this entire thing not only falls apart, but shoot springs, pins and other parts everywhere. I am not going to spend the rest of eternity trying to find those tiny ass springs.”

Golden Dawn chuckled as the approached the gate. “Are you messing with a 1919?”

“Yeah. The tag said doesn’t fire. It was logged in a year ago. I got bored of cleaning the same damn rifles.”

“You know who this is?” Summer asked Golden Dawn.

“Yes,” Golden Dawn chuckled. “This is a pissed off Staff Sergeant Gunmetal. She just transferred here today to be the full time armorer for here. I was in here before we went on duty helping her clean rifles. Everypony wants their rifles cleaned because of the upcoming exercises. And she started backlogged before they starting asking for stuff for the exercises.”

“Need help?” Golden Dawn asked Gunmetal.

“Yeah, my hooves are hurting. I can’t fight these springs much longer.”

Golden Dawn slid up beside Gunmetal and with a few taps had the springs decompressed. Gunmetal pushed the action closed.

“It sounded fine,” Golden Dawn stated.

“I know. I ran a test fire and it didn’t work. But, I get the feeling that some of the others on patrol here were wanting their rifles in for cleaning?”

None of them wanted to admit it.

“I already helped Treasured Rose do her own. In pairs, it will take me no more than an hour, probably 40 minutes. But you will be learning to clean them.”

“We are on duty,” Summer stated.

“Yeah, and if your rifle fails when you need it on duty? You can take the short moment to get them up full speed while the others patrol. Then you switch out. Simple and effective. ”

“You need to,” Treasured Rose said. “She is being kind enough to offer it to you, take it.”

“How bad is the case?” Gunmetal asked them.

Golden Dawn finally spoke up. “We have to be at the hearing at 1000.”

“Ouch,” Gunmetal said.

She turned to them and was completely serious. “Do not give them any form of technicality. Do not give them a leg up. Stick with the facts and only the facts. A technicality can mean they are let go. And if it sounds half as bad as the rumors, you do not want a technicality to drop charges. I would know.”

“What did somepegasus get away with doing to you?” Summer asked.

“Oh, no,” Gunmetal chuckled. “Its what I got away with.”

Gunmetal began to work the action and knew something was wrong. She opened the 1919 again.

“I was a stupid Corporal, got drunk and ended up socking an idiot lieutenant. Charges were assaulting a superior officer. It was brought to the attention of the count that we were off base, the lieutenant was not in uniform and didn’t address himself as an officer. I was in uniform.”

“Since I didn’t know it was an officer, and none in my group did either, the charge was dropped. But they never put assault and battery on the initial charges. Or drunk and disorderly conduct. Only assaulting a superior officer.”

“I had no way of knowing he was a superior officer. Therefor, it was dropped with no fallback. I have marks on my record, but no mark for that. And that is when I lost respect for the system. If I could get away, red hoofed, with that; something was wrong.”

“So don’t let the bastard slip away. But don’t panic if you feel like you lost control. That will cost you the case. Just present the facts and only the facts. They will sort that shit out. It is not your place to deal justice. Only to stop the action, make the arrest and give the facts of what you did and what you saw. Nothing less, absolutely nothing more.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Treasured Rose said. “I really appreciate all you are doing for us. I feel more confident knowing how to proceed. I can leave a report like that, but that’s a report. The hot seat is different. And I feel more confident knowing the rest of the groups’ rifles are going to be squared away.”

They set their pattern and the others went to continue roving. Golden Dawn took a second look at the 1919. It was a belt fed medium machine gun. It was a short recoil operated gun. She wasn’t too familiar with them, but Combat School gave her the opportunity to get a look inside one.

“Gunmetal,” Golden Dawn said holding up a spring.

“What is that?” Gunmetal asked.

Golden Dawn showed her where it came from.

“Fucking idiots. That is the wrong spring. No wonder why the damn thing won’t fire. The spring is too powerful. Three or four times. I don’t think we have any in stock here. But now I know what to get.”

“Thanks,” Gunmetal said as she went back to the rifles.

“I only know enough to get by,” Golden Dawn immediately stated to Treasured Rose. “I have only ever looked at one. That spring was a different coil wind than the others. Easy to spot.”

“Still,” Treasured Rose smiled, shaking her head. “You could help her open it up and then pinpoint the wrong spring. You have a really good grasp on your guns.”

“Some,” Golden Dawn corrected her. “Not all. But a decent amount. More than enough to do my job.”

It was a boring, but strained night. Knowing that there would be no sleep after their shift was a stress none of them expected. Especially at the level it was at.

By 0930 all 8 of them were lined up and waiting in dress uniforms. Golden Dawn brought her Snack Gun, but it had a training magazine inserted. The court would want to see it since she had struck the Lieutenant with it.

They were brought into the room by 0945. This was a military trial. Three Generals sat as the judges and jury. General Gemmed Law sat at the head, with General Spring Dust and General Winter Lilly.

Golden Dawn was asked to place her gun on table for the time being. They started with the two teams that had secured the building. They had nothing to report. There was nothing to get out of them. All they did was make sure all exits were blocked and secured, as well as yell at pegasi to stay in their rooms.

The defense counselor put Golden Dawn on the stand first.

“Staff Sergeant, you were recently promoted and skipped several ranks?” He asked.

“No Sir,” Golden Dawn replied.

“Why does your file indicate that in the past six weeks you went from a Specialist to a Staff Sergeant?” Especially the big leap here four weeks ago from Specialist to Sergeant.”

“It was brought to the attention of a Colonel that my records were behind. They were rectified.”

He smirked. “And your promotion from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant. How did you earn that in just a month?”

“I received special training in that time span. At the end, I was promoted.”

“What training was this?”

“I am not at liberty to say,” Golden Dawn replied.

“This is a closed hearing. You can say what training it was.”

“I can not,” Golden Dawn smiled. “If you do not know, then you can not find out. If you know, then you already know what it is and why I can not speak of it.

“Who was this Colonel?”

“It was so secret, I never learned his name. Their names were their rank.”

The Captain switched tactics. “You got back from the training the other day. You had never done a night patrol, is that correct?”

“Yes,” Golden Dawn replied.

“So you have a lot to prove with your new rank.”

“No Sir.”

“It is reasonable to say that you may have been a bit overexcited on your first time at this new job.”

“No Sir.”

“It isn’t reasonable or you were not?”

“It is not reasonable to assume that a Staff Sergeant would fall prey to such a rookie mistake and I was not excited to be on this job. I did what I had to do. I was under the authority of Sergeant Treasured Rose.”

“You have bounced around a lot since you came out of training, several months ago.”

Golden Dawn took a deep breath in, calming herself before replying in a manor that was unbecoming. Professionalism was the name of the game. “Irrelevant.”

“I do not think it is irrelevant.”

“You have my file. This courtroom has my file. I do not need to answer that irrelevant question.”

“What is your relationship between you and your commanding officer.”

“That, again, is irrelevant. My commanding officer has no connection to this case.”

“I have it recorded that you have told your commanding officer to earn his salute?”

“Irrelevant. Plus, I question the validity of your source for that record.”

Golden Dawn looked over at Lieutenant Snowflake Strike. He was not happy with her questioning his report or calling his defense’s bluffs.

“Perhaps I should call in Lieutenant Zealous Arrow to confirm that?”

“Perhaps you should,” Golden Dawn smiled. “But even it was confirmed, what would that prove? It is an irrelevant question.”

“I decide what is relevant and what is not,” The Captain declared.

“Then,” Golden Dawn said standing up. “I am done with you trying to discredit my name and Rank. Defamation tactics are below a defense attorney’s skill and I won’t let you slander my name in front of this court. I shall take my leave. You have my report. You need nothing else.”

“Staff Sergeant,” General Winter Lilly said. “Sit down.”

“Yes Sir,” Golden Dawn said complying.

“Captain, you obviously have no questions for the Staff Sergeant. Defense is done questioning the witness. Prosecutor?”

“Yes.” The Prosecuting Captain said standing up. “Thank you.”

“Staff Sergeant,” He said approaching where she sat. “I have your official report here, but please walk me through the situation again.”

“While doing a routine patrol through the housing, I heard a thump. It was a hard thump. One I believed to be of a fall.”

He held his hoof up. “You said routine. But this was your first night patrolling?”

“Yes Sir. Sergeant Treasured Rose can give more information. But the four platoons who are always on rotation with each other are very thorough. That includes patrols through the general quarters to be on hoof for safety reasons. The presence of security is often enough of a deterrent for crime. And it provides us a way to check on the health of anypony inside.”

“Damn it!” Golden Dawn swore. “Fuck. I am sorry. I had Shadow Flare, Filly Fooler, in my Basic Training Barracks. I was good friends with him. I make that mistake every so often.”

“Understandable,” The Prosecutor smiled. “Your record does indicate that. But please, continue.”

“I understood that the four Rovers always work together to better sweep the area and keep tabs on things. Including checking on the housing units at least once a shift. I understand that no other night shift rotation does this.”

“For example. Last night, we all converged on the Quartermaster Cage because somepegasus was inside. It was just the new armorer who was catching up on cleaning orders before the exercises. But they are, we are, there to back each other up.”

At the time of the incident, I was moving through the hallway several paces behind Sergeant Treasure Rose in Building 764 A. It kept us safer so we could not get jumped at once together and it allowed us to hear more.”

“I hear a loud thump in Room 32, strongly knocked, announced myself as security and asked if everything was okay. It sounded like somepegasus fell out of their bed. The Sergeant was immediately by my side, I explained what I heard and pounded on the door, announcing us louder.”

“Dispatch was informed and we used the master key to unlock the door. I was first in. I saw two individuals and cycled a live round into my chamber, flipping the safety off. Their lack of a response when there were two of them was enough to warrant going hot.”

“A stallion was by the closet and a mare was tied up on the bed. I kept my gun on the stallion while Sergeant Treasured Rose went to the mare. I can not report on anything that happened with her. The other three Rovers converged on our location, securing the building’s exterior doors and the third team joined us. You should have the dispatch records and that medical was called.”

“We do,” The Prosecutor nodded.

“As standard procedure, Sergeant Summer moved to cuff the stallion for safety purposes only. He resisted, shoving her onto the bed where she collided with the mare. Because he assaulted a security personnel, I made sure he was not capable of continuing to resist while we secured him. I swung the butt stock of my rifle at his head and then his shoulder. The shoulder strike finally put him on the floor. I did not strike a third time. There was no reason to.”

“Staff Sergeant, I am curious about your weapon. It is unlike anything I have heard of and it is free, not locked onto a battle saddle. Can you demonstrate it’s use?”

“Yes Sir,” Golden Dawn said standing up.

Golden Dawn removed the training magazine. She pull the bolt back. She was making sure it was pointed in a safe direction. She showed the Prosecutor that the action was open and that there was no round in the chamber.

“It fires from an open bolt position. The first trigger pull, it released the bolt and closed the action, all while firing. It is a fully automatic submachine gun. I am field testing it and am to use it as my service weapon for now until given orders otherwise.”

Golden Dawn pulled the rifle up and locked it into her shoulder.

“This design allows for a bit to rotate the T-bolt trigger. I can also slip my hoof around just enough to work the trigger with my hoof.”

“What is the name of this weapons?” General Gemmed Law asked.

“This is the Applesnack Submachine Gun. I am currently field testing it.”

“This special training taught you this?”

“Yes Sir.”

“What are the qualifications to carry this weapon.”

“I am well versed in the firearm. There is no direct qualification testing for it as of this time. My skill in the safe operation of this gun qualified me, in their eyes, to field test this weapon.”

Golden Dawn placed the gun back on the table.

“This special training had to do with that weapon?”

“One part of the training was this weapon,” Golden Dawn said as she sat down. “It has a good weight to it, allowing for better control of the recoil and to strike an opponent if it comes to that.

“I do trust you,” General Gemmed Law stated. “But I wish to verify the validity of your claim to training. Can we step into the back and phone up the Colonel who trained you?”

“That is acceptable,” Golden Dawn smiled.

They got up and headed into the deliberation chambers. When the door closed Golden Dawn instructed them to call Camp Bullis. They had to look through the directory for the camp. Only the general number was listed. They each took a phone line so they didn’t have to project it through the loud speaker and risk being heard through the door.

“How can I help you?” CWO4 asked answering the phone.

“This is General Gemmed Law. I am here with General Winter Lilly, General Spring Dust and Staff Sergeant Golden Dawn. We have stepped into the back for this private call. We are at a hearing.”

“What did you do?” CWO4 asked.

“My job on security detail,” Golden Dawn replied. “I am not on trial.”

“We are wishing to speak with the Colonel,” General Gemmed Law said.

“I am Chief Warrant Officer 4, his second. Is that good enough?”

“Yes,” The General replied.

“Staff Sergeant Golden Dawn just finished training at a special, secret training that focuses on weapons from the war and prewar, on both sides. Equaggan War Weapons training. She has been cleared by the Colonel to carry one of the guns, the Applesnack Submachine Gun, on duty and has been supplied with sufficient magazines to carry out her duties. Both live fire and training magazines were provided.”

“You trained her to bash with the butt stock?” General Winter Lilly asked.

CWO4 Laughed heartily. “No, but she was a natural with it unlike any we have ever seen. And a natural with most of the weapons. I am not surprised she executed that flawlessly.”

“That you Sir,” General Gemmed Law said. “We are satisfied. She kept blocking us with need to know orders.”

“Good,” CWO4 said. “Go get them Staff Sergeant.”

“Yes Sir,” Golden Dawn replied before they hung up.

They filed back into the room and all took their seats.

“We are satisfied with her training for the weapon,” Gemmed Law stated.

“Staff Sergeant,” The Prosecutor said getting back up. “What were your thoughts entering the room?”

“My thoughts are irrational and have no bearing on the case,” Golden Dawn replied. “You have my report on the facts. My thoughts are not facts.”

“Let me phrase that properly. You were acting. What was your first plan of action from what you knew?”

“That we had a fall. A fall means were would have to provide immediate medical care, either a contusion or for a laceration, depending on the fall.”

“And after, you saw two pegasi, what was your plan of action?”

“My plan of action was to separate. At that moment, all that mattered was making sure both were safe and unharmed.”

“No thoughts of their actions being consensual or non-consensual?”

“I put myself in their position. If it was consensual, I would want security to make sure that it was. Separate and sort things out. Embarrassing, but the only logical way to proceed. Outside of that, I am no judge.”

“And when Sergeant Summer was thrown?”

“Make sure he could not assault any of us,” Golden Dawn replied coldly, without hesitation. “He proved to be a threat to everypegasus in the room, and to the whole building for it.”

“Do you know the Lieutenant?”

“No Sir?”

“Have you ever heard his name?”

“No Sir. Wait. I should restate that. I can not confirm that I have or have not heard his name. I can confirm I have not heard his name in a way that connected it to the individual. I entered the room not knowing who anypegasus was and with no biases.”

“When did you learn their identities?”

“I learned the identity of Lieutenant Snowflake Strike in the emergency room after some time had passed. I was informed by our Major. But I still do not know the name of the mare. Night shift has kept me isolated and I was busy with other work until my shift last night. It was all focus, work. No time for idle gossip.”

“Thank you,” The Prosecutor said. “That is all I have for now.”

Golden Dawn had to wait with the others and fight off sleep. Treasured Rose was clean, with just the facts, so was Summer. Summer’s partner never entered the room and had no observations to give.

They were released at 1442. Their normal wake up time.

Golden Dawn yawned. “I don’t think I should do range time today. I am too tired.”

“At least tonight was our last one on,” Summer yawned. “Due to the exercises. Sucks to be our replacements.”

“I am tired, but I also am really intrigued about the results of the hearing.”

“What were the official charges?” Summer asked. “You guys went to the hospital, I did not.”

Treasured Rose looked around. They were clear from any listening ears. “I was with the Major when they were given. Rape, Sexual Assault, Unlawful Entry, Trespassing, Assault And Battery, Failure To Comply With Security Officers and Assaulting Security Officers. He can’t get out of the last two.”

It was suggested that they run some PT to wake up. As a group, they made it through the rest of the day and evening. Coffee was a must.

The morning had them in the Major’s office before anything could be started.

“Thank you all for coming,” She smiled. “The verdict is not public yet, and will be quiet due too it’s sensitive nature. But I was told to inform you that First Lieutenant Snowflake Strike is no longer a Lieutenant of any rank. He was before a court-martial board. He has been dishonorably discharged for his actions. Along with other appropriate actions that the court took.”

“Staff Sergeant Golden Dawn and Sergeant Treasured Ruby, be ready for some heavy actions against you. Do not be afraid to give me a call if Lieutenant Zealous Arrow oversteps his boundaries. He will probably blame you two, especially the Staff Sergeant, for his best friend’s actions since you two caught him in the act.”

“Now, none of this gets spoken about until after the announcement has been made. And even then, discretion is wise. Public doesn’t mean it was announced to the world.”

“We are so happy to hear that,” Treasured Rose yawned. “But, I am still tired from no sleep yesterday. I will be up and ready to go for the exercises tomorrow morning.”

“We start in an hour,” Golden Dawn told Treasured Rose.

“Shit,” Treasured Rose swore. “I’ll make it.”

“I believe you can,” The Major smiled. “You are all dismissed. Go finish getting ready for the exercises.”

Chapter 71 - Aerial Combat Medic School

It was past dinner when the Wonderbolts cruised into a smooth landing at the Squad Barracks. The place was busy since the next ACS was a few days off. Nova wanted to see Marble Falls immediately upon arrival. It was so important that it was general knowledge and multiple ponies passed on the word to them.

Marble Falls didn’t bother knocking.

“Ah dear. Good to see you. How is she?”

“Holding up,” Marble Falls said taking a deep breath. “She did an amazing job flying. She didn’t slow us down. But we have to keep her moving, for her own good.”

“That won’t be a problem. I need you to train a special group this ACS.”

Nova held up a sealed envelope, but he didn’t extend it.

“0800, at the flight deck. They will be there. Do not open it until they assemble. Their officer will be able to tell you more.”

“Special? In what way?”

“Specifically, the extra two days for conditioning. I will leave the rest to their Lieutenant to expand on things. He deserves that right. And you will need all of your Unit.”

“Understood,” Marble Falls said, finally able to take the envelope.

It was thick and heavy. There were a lot of records inside.

Marble Falls found the others in the mess hall. It was past dinner, but the crew knew they were coming in late and had dry food out for them.

“0800,” Marble Falls declared, letting the envelope slam onto the table. “Can’t open it until then. All 6 of us are needed to give these guys at little extra love.”

“Damn,” Lemon Lime swore. “Not even a breather.”

“Its obviously important,” Raspberry Lemonade said. “Or else we would not need to start before the rest of the ACS trainees. And entrusted to all of us.”

“All Colonel Nova said was extra conditioning,” Marble Falls stated. “But there is more. Now, you will line up proper, except at the instructor’s orientation. Cardinal Spitfire, since you are my wingmate, you will hang back with me. A perfect two or three minutes late to shake them up. Everypony in our flight jackets.”

They all agreed and parted ways. Marble Falls hadn’t seen Razzleberry, which meant he had to be very busy. Nova would have informed him they were on their way back. Marble Falls crashed on the bed, ignoring sides. Razzleberry could sleep on their couch if it was a problem.

Cardinal Spitfire was staring at all her books neatly stacked. The room was four times the size of the one in Fort Griffin’s Gate. It had a sitting area. In the end she shrugged, tossed her saddlebags to the side and climbed into the comfy bed.

Olive Pit dashed into the clinic, shocking Bright Starr, Lavender Star and Star Hooves. The three of them were making a good team and were playing off their names, Star Force.

“Meeting, now, here,” Olive Pit panted. “Starr, Lavender, gather the others.”

Most had gone to bed, making it easy to find them. But a few were scattered around. Olive Pit couldn't blame them for the hour it took to assemble them all. It was a sudden meeting. They gathered, rather than falling into place.

“Order from Colonel Nova. 0800, front of the Squad Barracks at the flight deck. It’s time for Areal Combat School.”

“I thought that wasn’t for another few days,” Summer Bolt stumbled. She was not prepared.

“It is,” Olive Pit smiled. “For them. But for us, in the morning. Our instructors just arrived.”

“Instructors?” Sunset Fury asked surprise.

“It is a lot of us,” Olive Pit stated. “Colonel Nova just said Instructors. And he is not pulling a fast one on us. I can guarantee you that. Besides, he put his bet on me. Now go, get rest. And don’t be late.”

Olive Pit grabbed the phone and called over to the main hospital. They were sending over replacements to watch the clinic ahead of schedule.

It was an early morning for all. Pony Patrol was up by 0600 and moving. They had to be loose. Unit 0 was up and slowly assembled the last ten minutes outside the Squad Barracks as ordered. They were facing Raspberry Lemonade, Lemon Lime, Fountain and Cinnamon Swirl.

Olive Pit was secretly perched on the Squad Barracks rooftop to make sure they made it on time. They should be able to file in without needing direction. He had them organized in 6 pony squads. But they were loosely in those Squads, not even coming to a full parade rest position.

Marble Falls strolled out with Cardinal Spitfire by her side. Two minutes late like she planned. She led them to the front and did a quick count.

“Where is your officer?” She asked.

Nopony answered.

“I asked you a question! Where is your officer!”

“We do not know Ma’am,” Staff Sergeant Star Chaser replied, snapping to attention.

“What are you? A group of shit spitting pigeons?”

“HA!” Razzleberry laughed. Nopony had seen him leaning against the Squad Barracks, watching. “Your Lieutenant didn’t even show up. I win. Fools.”

Marble Falls glared at Razzleberry for the interruption. This was the first time she had seen him since she got back and she was pissed this was how it happened.

“Stuff it!” Olive Pit said gliding in and breaking the tention. “I was not part of the deal and was observing how they handled this.”

“He is right,” Nova said joining them. “Forgive my interruption dear. Lieutenant Razzleberry was being a pain to find this morning. I have orders for him.”

Razzleberry took the orders and opened the envelope to find a folder. He opened the folder, scanned it and passed it off to Olive Pit. Olive Pit read through it briefly and passed it back.

12 more soldiers to train. Privates who were pulled from the middle of CMS. They were at the final practicums, meaning their practicums would be ACS. They had passed the medical side with perfect scores. They were the best in their class by a long shot and should handle the transition with ease.

Olive Pit glared at Nova. “Really, not even a little warning?”

“Can’t handle it?”

“I can,” Olive Pit replied, face set in frustration. “A little warning would have been nice, that is all. Plus, I would prefer to have them training with us.”

“Lieutenant Razzleberry will have them training alongside you shortly.”

“Thank you Sir.”

“Now, be a good lad and get your troops in line.”

“My pleasure,” Olive Pit smirked at them.

“Lieutenant,” Olive Pit said turning to Marble Falls. He saw her Captain's bars. “I mean Captain. This is Unit 0. The Combat Medic force for the Aerial Combat Units. Every single one of us is supposed to be ready and able to play supporting medical roles when the ACUs are deployed. Right alongside them in combat.”

Marble Falls raised an eyebrow. “I have never heard of Unit 0.”

“She has been around since the reorganizing a few decades back. Forgotten since then. We can talk history later.”

“Indeed we shall.”

Marble Falls opened the envelope to take a closer look at things. While she did, Olive Pit turned to Cardinal Spitfire and smiled.

“Cardinal Spitfire! It is so good to see you. And in a Wonderbolt flight jacket.”

“Hey Olive Pit,” Cardinal Spitfire half smiled. “You made it too.”

“Yeah. Deke will be here soon. Arrow and Dipper are getting married and he is deployed with Arrow’s older sister. Have you heard from Golden Dawn or Filly Fooler?”

Cardinal Spitfire took a sharp breath in. There was no avoiding the conversation. It would happen at some point. She let the breath go.

“I have not heard from Golden Dawn. And,” Cardinal Spitfire took a deep breath in. “Filly Fooler’s whole team is MIA, with at least one KIA. Scout missions failed to locate any sign of them.”

“Shit,” Olive Pit mumbled. “How come you know and we don’t?”

Cardinal Spitfire sniffed back a tear but the pain won.

Marble Falls looked up from her paperwork with dread. “Fountain, no wait, I need you. Lemon, get her inside. Better yet, get her to the clinic. Get her on an IV drop. I don’t need her falling out from all the flying we did.”

Cardinal Spitfire made it to the stairs without help before collapsing. Another Pegasus helped carry her inside.

“What was that about?” Olive Pit shot at Marble Falls.

Marble Falls was working to not grind her teeth. “Filly Fooler ended up at ACS, as her wingmate. I taught them after, not important. I taught them and then they got married without us knowing. After that it is a complicated mess, but our primary station is the same as where Filly Fooler was also based out of.”

“We got the news first. And not gently. It got ugly, fast. And it’s a good thing we were sent back ahead of schedule, or that idiot would be dead. Publicly and painfully. Stupid fucking Lieutenant.”

Olive Pit was visably crushed. Marble Falls had to force herself to refocus. Raspberry Lemonade took over.

“You know what I see?” Raspberry Lemonade asked. “I see a bunch of sorry ass excuses for medics who can’t make it in the real military. Only a few of you are correct. Some of you are presentable, but I see a shit ton of the Sergeants and senior NCOs unable to dress themselves properly.”

“Captain,” Raspberry Lemonade smirked. “I think spot inspections are in order.”

“I think you are right,” Marble Falls smiled as she got her hooves under her.

“Spot inspections!” Summer Bolt protested. “We have our own rooms! That is an invasion of privacy!”

“Talks out of line and resists instruction,” Marble Falls said as she wrote a fake notation. They had no idea she didn’t have paper to write on.

“First business, Fountain, you are going to stick to Lieutenant Olive Pit like glue and push him harder than the rest. Make him not only get his Silver Wings, but to leading the best fucking Unit. Because he is going to need it to balance these fucks.”

“Yes Ma’am!” Fountain said as she enthusiastically snapped to attention with a salute.

“I need him for a moment, so help the others. Lieutenant Raspberry Lemonade is going to get them whipped into proper shape. We will work on uniforms later.”

“One last order of business, Lieutenant, you have them organized in Squads of 6 like any other Unit. Am I allowed to reorganize them?”

“No Ma’am,” Olive Pit said confidently. “I have put a lot of time and effort into balancing each Squad. We can discuss changes and I welcome that discussion. But for now, they stay were they are.”

“Understood Lieutenant. Now, Rasp, take care of them”

“ATTENTION!” Raspberry called. “I MEAN IN YOUR 2 BY 3 SQUAD FORMATIONS! IDIOTS! You have 12 brand spanking new privates being trained to do your job. You do not want them to be better than you. You hold the ranks. Truly pathetic if you let them be better than you at your job! They don’t have any devices yet. Show them that you have actually earned yours!”

Raspberry Lemonade began to bark orders for them to run. The four of them corralled Unit 0 and began to drive them like they were back at Basic Training. Marble Falls smiled with joy.

“Olive Pit, I am going to run a spot inspection on your Unit’s rooms. If I need to, there are some vacant Units I can toss them in. Lead on. Oh, and you can call me Falls. We are going to become good friends. The good kind of good friends. Like I became with Cardinal Spitfire and Filly Fooler.”

“You are still going to whip me into shape,” Olive Pit chuckled.

“Only if I have to. I hope you haven’t slipped.”

“Its only been a few weeks since I graduated CMS. Deke and I both went to Officer School, but he was put in a different group, one that focused on being an officer on a Cloudship. They tossed me in with all the hard ass soldiers, not in any of the support focused groups. It made me stronger, better.

“I was sent right here. Colonel Nova didn’t even know I was coming and he didn’t really know we existed. I am the first officer they have had in over ten years. I have been desperately trying to fix that oversight, but they have been pushing back. Lazy and their ranks are undeserved, coming from service years, not skill. But I can’t strip them of their rank, not unless they force me to. They know they are being held to the expectations for the rank they hold.

“I have been a terror on them, reworking their schedule so they have to work. They typically had one running the clinic while there were eleven of them. The last time any of them had done any combat exercises had been three years prior.

“Razzleberry helped me put them through a few days training. We had to get them combat equipment. That is how far off they were.

“Everypegasus here got involved in getting them training again. It was a blast. They did well considering they had nothing, but still poor. No speed, they were timid, and they wouldn’t even try and fight; like their guns were evil. There were training exercises where whole groups died because the medics wouldn’t stand their ground and tried to just patch somepegasus up.

“I requested seven more, hoof picked. Colonel Nova chose six additional ponies without me knowing. They have been a big help, but its been rough and they have not been here more than two weeks. Colonel Nova has been throwing me through some loops. But He did build us this nice Unit 0 Barracks.

Olive Pit opened the door for Marble Falls. “And that would be what the wager board hanging on the wall in the mess hall is for. First off, all 24 had to make it, on time, to first formation of ACS. I am surprised they did. Now at least 12 of them need to get their Silver Wings or I lose.”

“Nice,” Marble Falls chuckled. “I am sure it has proven to be a good motivator.”

“So far,” Olive Pit smiled back. “But it has had it limitations.”

They were still in the front atrium and main hallway.

“Where are all these pictures from?” Marble Falls asked.

“Mostly my CMS. Me and my NCO friends. The group there passed on some of the best photos from other years as well. And this one, nice and prominent, is me getting my Combat Medic Device, with my Lieutenant Bar prominently displayed. I figured, if I was the first officer in ten years, I deserved to be right smack there when you walk in.”

Marble Falls chuckled. “Yes you do. I can tell by your enthusiasm that you are giving this your all, but that ACS is your last hope before you begin retiring soldiers and overhauling the shit out of personnel.

“I told you in Basic, its on my head if you fail. Here, its different.”

“They have to earn it,” Olive Pit finished. “They have to prove that they have what it takes. They are not learning anything new, or at least not much new material. They have to prove they know what aerial combat means and that they can handle the pressure.”

“I originally wasn’t going to force them to go to ACS. They are not ready physically. But I was challenging them to at least go and try. Colonel Nova gave the order for them all to go. I had told them if they fail, then they fail. So long as they did their best. Colonel Nova said they all had to go and do their best. That was an order.”

“Good,” Marble Falls nodded. “He gave you the backbone they had stripped.”

“They are stripping things fast,” Olive Pit said shaking his head. “Its dead around here job wise. Even my hoof picked team is having some trouble. They were in the best shape this morning, but its wearing on them. We will figure it out.”

“One bad apple spoils the whole barrel,” Marble Falls stated.

Olive Pit opened the first door on the right. “This is my office.”

Marble Falls’ jaw was open as she walked in. It was not only clean and neat, but it was big.

“This is like four or five times the size of mine. You have so much space. I didn’t picture you as the neat type. Although I never saw your barracks or did spot inspections.”

“I am the compulsive neat. Deke is the messy doesn’t know where shit is type. Shadow has nothing to make messy. Cardinal Spitfire is an organized mess and Golden Dawn is a messy but learned to keep things pretty neat out of necessity type.”

Marble Falls was checking out his oversized, three sided desk. One side was slid up against the wall, and the whole thing was right as you came in. There was a simple rack with files on it.

“Are these your soldier’s files?”

“Yes,” Olive Pit smiled. “If I am not in, this office is locked so it is safe enough. I had to do something with the amount of time I was spending reading and adding notes. I don’t like an organized pile.”

“Good system. Easy to grab. But outside this, you have so much storage space. So much open space.”

“Well,” Olive Pit shrugged. “I know what the Pen is like and used it up until I got this the other day. But, I am not just juggling an oversized Unit, I am running a medical office here. That includes watching over the recruits when they come out here. I have to have the sitting area and I have already used it to deal with personnel problems in a more comfortable setting.”

“This Unit is designed to take 96 Combat Medics. That is not including the 8 officers needed to be over two Squads of 6 and then another 2 or 4 to be over them.”

“You know you pass, you are coming out of ACS a Captain, right?”

Olive Pit chuckled. “I figured. I also know that if it happens, it is deserved. I have been working my ass off here, applying everything I learned in Officer School. Everything because of the curve balls I keep getting thrown. But it is worth it to rebuild the vision, the purpose. Unit 0 has it clearly spelled out. And they needed a fresh officer with no habits to do it. One who would mold to that design, not resist it.”

Olive Pit pointed to a picture on the wall.

UNIT 0 – THE AERIAL COMBAT MEDICS

At all times be ready to fly.

At all times be ready to Fight.

At all times be ready to care for the soldiers under Unit 0’s watch, both on and off the field.

At all times respect authority.

At all time set the bar high for what it looks like to be in an Aerial Combat Unit.

“And those are ethics charts and diagnosis shit,” Olive Pit added. “And that piece of art, it is the old root of our medical oath. Now known simply as ‘do not harm,’ but it is so much more than that.”

I swear by Celestia, by Luna, by Mage Meadowbrook and by all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will carry out, according to my ability and judgment, this oath and this indenture.

To hold my teacher in this art equal to my own parents; to make him partner in my livelihood; when he is in need of money to share mine with him; to consider his family as my own brothers, and to teach them this art, if they want to learn it, without fee or indenture; to impart precept, oral instruction, and all other instruction to my own sons, the sons of my teacher, and to indentured pupils who have taken the physician’s oath, but to nopony else.

I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrong-doing. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. Similarly I will not give to a mare a pessary to cause abortion. But I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art. I will not use the knife, not even, verily, on sufferers from stone, but I will give place to such as are craftsmen therein.

Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of stallion or mare, bond or free. And whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession, as well as outside my profession in my intercourse with pony kind, if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets.

Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all pony kind for my life and for my art; but if I break it and forswear myself, may the opposite befall me.

Marble Falls shook her head. The oath was a lot to take in. However, the picture displayed behind the desk on the wall was easy to take in and recognize.

“And that against the wall is an amazing shot of all five of you,” Marble Falls smiled.

“I know. That one isn’t actually in our picture books. That was left out for various reason. It is a real gem. I was hoping we could all get together and sign it, for shits and giggles, but…”

“Filly Fooler ain’t dead,” Marble Falls stated. “Not sure what happened, but they got hung out to dry. He has unfinished business. Still, everypony else should sign it.”

Olive Pit nodded in agreement.

“Well, you might as well as start the spot inspection with me.”

Olive Pit opened what Marble Falls had assumed was a broom closet. Olive Pit was living like a king. They were standing in a living room. There was a kitchen off to the left and their bedroom was a little bit further down. On the other side, it had two more rooms for foals. There was a door that led out, so that you didn’t have to go through the office to get into the living quarters. It finished that part of the building into a nice Square.

“A bit dusty,” Marble Falls observed.

Olive Pit chuckled. “I have no need for any of this, yet. So its going to happen while I whip them into shape.”

“I saw that they are building more, large buildings similar to this,” Marble Falls stated. “I really hope one of them is for me. I am practically drooling.”

They laughed and headed out. Olive Pit showed her all the miscellaneous rooms. He was working to have several set up to have on standby for training at all times, but that was taking time. He showed her the other officer offices. They were nice. A good size with simple desks and a few filing cabinets.

Upstairs had the rest of the rooms.

“That is lounge 1 and lounge 2. One is loud, the other quiet. Those are the officer rooms. What really matters here is the eight wings. 12 rooms in each wing.”

“How did you organize their arrangements?”

“Most got to pick in Wing 1 or Wing 2. However Sergeant Major Willow has Wing 1’s Room 1, right here, prominent as she has earned for her rank. The same goes for Wing 2 with Master Sergeant Sunset Fury. He has been helping me boost things up really well. My lifesaver along with Staff Sergeant Star Chaser, but I picked both of them.”

“I have four Staff Sergeants. Each one is the Wing’s Senior Resident. They take the second room. It is their job to look over each wing and make sure things are going right. If something breaks, you go to them, and then it is their job to bring it to the correct person.”

“I did Staff Sergeants because I have four of them and only two Fist Sergeants. The two firsts did take my suggestion and claim the first rooms in wings three and four.”

“You have already been setting them up for taking in more soldiers,” Marble Falls smiled.

“Yeah, to double our numbers in a year, not now,” Olive Pit chuckled. “Once those eight were set. I had the others draw lots for the rooms. None of them had been upstairs yet. Two minutes before the next one could go. They were only allowed to pick in Wings 1 and 2.”

Olive Pit smiled. “I let them trade after that if they wanted. It kept things simple and orderly, but drawing lots was fun and it allowed the lower NCOs a chance.”

“You certainly have it handled,” Marble Falls smiled. “It is a pleasure to see you go on to become such a good officer.”

“I hope I really am turning out to be one,” Olive Pit replied.

“Now,” Marble Falls said getting them back to the task at hoof. “Before I run these spot inspections, do you think you should move them to a regular ACU Unit for ACS?”

Olive Pit took a deep breath in. “I think it would be beneficial to their training. They were not even squared away this morning. I will make the announcement before they break for lunch.”

“Oh, they are not getting lunch today,” Marble Falls laughed. “And they are going to have to earn lunch for a while since they are just shitting lazy. I know you have them working as much as possible, and that they can only do so much in the clinic.”

“I have given them plenty to do,” Olive Pit smiled. “To prepare for ACS, I have been doing daily PT, two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon. My seven hoof picks have not missed a session. The six Nova picked haven’t missed a day. The others, well I keep track of who comes when. And Master Sergeant Sunset Fury has been doing training for them as well.”

“Well then,” Marble Falls said gathering her thoughts. “This will be a very interesting few days.”

Marble Falls realized she didn’t have paper of any kind. They went back down to Olive Pit’s office. He had a clip board, two pens, lined paper and a stack of check list printed paper for her in seconds.

“You custom designed blank checklists?” Marble Falls asked with an eyebrow raised.

“I would have,” Olive Pit chuckled. “But they actually already had it made up and ready.”

Each room was given a grade that was taped to their door. Marble Falls worked to keep comments only about uniforms. But she had to write some others for the messier rooms. One room had uniforms properly taken care of, but the rest was a mess.

Bright Starr’s room was perfect. And the floor to ceiling book shelves looked amazing. Olive Pit had not seen the room since they moved her stuff in. He had kept his nose out of their personal rooms.

“She reads when she has nothing else to do,” Olive Pit explained. “She reads one, shelves it and gets a new one. Insane. Many of these pages were read in the clinic with nothing else to do. Current rule is that so long as it is neat and clean, appropriately sterile, they are in proper uniform up to standards, and the work is done, they can read, play cards, or do whatever. And of course, be ready to drop everything to do their job.”

“You probably will never be able to avoid that,” Marble Falls said as she worked her way through another room. “But that is pure circumstance, nothing more, nothing less. Many units suffer from that. That is why I teach Basic Training when I can.”

Marble Falls finished Wings 1 and 2 with an overall grade that got taped to the Senior Resident’s door under their individual score. Marble Falls called Nova to confirm which Units they could use. Once they made their choices, each of the ponies also had what Unit to report to with their Squad. Along with a checklist of approved items. Books were not approved.

“I think we should just let them find out when they get to their rooms,” Olive Pit stated. “We can see how each of them responds to the change.”

“I like how you think,” Marble Falls chuckled.

Olive Pit shrugged. “I learned from the best.”

“I really hope you can keep ahead of them through this whole thing,” Marble Falls said. “I would much rather have you by my side training them with me.”

“I would prefer to master things quickly and do that as well. I need to keep my command position as strong as possible.”

“I might stash you with some other Unit,” Marble Falls replied. “I have a few in mind that could take on that sixth and run you through the practicums to show you know your stuff.”

“Shall we go interview?”

Marble Falls chuckled and they left to find Unit 17.

Chapter 72 - Broken Wings and Broken Spirits

“Arrow!” Marble Falls called.

“CAPTAIN!” Arrow bounced over to her with her usual energy. “I had heard you were back but hadn’t seen you! Did you hear!”

“Yes, congratulation!”

“Still waiting on Lightning to give me their schedule so we can actually set a date. They are still up north dealing with that shit. Or so she said. Last time we talked. Two weeks ago.”

“Whatever she is doing, it is important,” Marble Falls assured her. “She will get here as soon as her duty allows.”

“You probably are right. I just hate having to wait for her to call me!”

Marble Falls laughed.

“Arrow, you are down one in your squad right?”

“Mhm,” Arrow nodded. “Why?”

“Lieutenant Olive Pit may need to do practicums and some other work away from his Unit. Unit 0 needs to see an officer, not a fellow trainee.”

“Yeah, we can do that,” Arrow shrugged. “I need another officer in my Unit. We can do that while paying attention to which one we want to nab. A good way to train for another and watch the others.”

“Olive Pit, Arrow was in the same ACS Unit as Filly Fooler and Cardinal Spitfire.”

“You heard from him?” Arrow asked.

Olive Pit looked at Marble Falls, pleading with his eyes for her to give a better answer.

Marble Falls gave in with a sigh. “Major Winters Breath was removed and a Lieutenant was placed in his spot. A few months later, He is now MIA with the team, with at least one KIA.

“I am sure at least one of those was preventable if procedure had actually been followed. Its a big scandal right now in the Wonderbolts. They were stationed were officially are.”

Arrow had no energy left in her body and her head hung low. “Bastards. But it’s him. He beat being iced out, he can make it being MIA. I am sure they will pop up somewhere, knocking to get in.”

“I doubt it,” Cardinal Spitfire said walking up.

“You are supposed to be.”

“Stuff it,” Cardinal Spitfire said cutting Marble Falls off. “Yeah, the IV drip helped. But its almost lunch and I can’t afford to waste away over something that I have no control over. He is my other half. He isn’t dead yet and he will come back. I will know it if he dies.

“The problem with the Recon team is complex. I thought this out a lot on the flight. If they pop up at the gate where they launched from, they won’t be let in. If, by chance, they buy it and let them in, the questions they will ask will back the team into a corner.

“When their officer switched, they were pinned below. They got set up somehow. They have to figure out what moves were made to put them in check before they can counter it and make it back. They are playing chess, blind.

“And their tech specialist must have gone down or else they would have gotten a message to somepony, even the general public, after my warning. That would have been their check mate, but they lost their queen.”

Fountain came jogging up.

“Falls, we killed half of them. They already gave up. Before lunch. They are in serious trouble.”

“I hate to play this card so early,” Marble Falls groaned.

“I don’t mind,” Olive Pit spat. “If they don’t get up and pass, they are going to be retired. No if and or buts, retired.”

“Not yet,” Marble Falls cautioned. “We have two more cards before that. The new team Razzleberry is training is one. Just stand there and look confident.”

Fountain led them back to the group. Arrow hopped along with them, some of her energy had returned. Fourteen were on their feet in parade rest when they saw them approach.

“Fourteen? Is that it?” Marble Falls said. “I have ten of you who are so lazy you can’t go on?”

“Jeez,” Arrow said rolling her eyes and head. “And I thought Unit 34 was bad in our ACS.”

“Yes, thank you Lieutenant,” Marble Falls said holding off a laugh. “If you are done for today, you are done. Fine. Go back to your rooms and sort yourself out. After all, ACS doesn’t officially start until the day after tomorrow. If you can stay, then lets get back to it.”

Willow moaned in pain on the ground. “Lieutenant. I am too old for this.”

“It just all in your noggin!” Arrow said bouncing again. “I mean duh. You would not be expected to do this if you couldn’t.”

The corner of Olive Pit’s mouth curled up into a half smile. Arrow was good. It was hard to take her seriously with the bouncing and her voice, but she spoke the truth and you couldn’t deny that.

“Alright Awry,” Willow said getting up. “If you can bounce around like that all day, every day, then I can keep going. Even at my age, I will go.”

Willow crumbled. They couldn’t catch her.

“Well, she gave it her best go,” Arrow shrugged.

Those still standing stayed where they were. They would move when called. Olive Pit was by Willow’s side. She was out cold.

“Pulse is present,” Olive Pit said. “Heart rate elevated. Breathing is shallow, but not blocked. She is running a fever. We need to get her to the clinic and an IV in her immediately. Has she vomited?”

“No Sir?” Raspberry Lemonade replied.

“What did she eat for breakfast?”

Nopony answered.

“Did any of you see her eating? Or in the mess hall?”

‘No Sir’ was all Olive Pit got.

“Winter, Bright, get her to the Clinic and personally treat her for Heat Stroke.”

They rushed to her side and began to move Willow.

“Heat Stroke? In this cold?” Arrow asked.

“It can strike anywhere,” Olive Pit stated. “It is about body temperature, not the atmosphere. Although the warmer it is, the more likely you are to fall prey to it."

Olive Pit looked at Marble Falls and shrugged. “New plan. On your hooves. We are going to do a quick trot back to the Squad Barracks. You on the ground, will be heading to the clinic to get IVs. You can eat some light food there. Your day is done.”

“The rest of you will get lunch and make sure to drink water. Don’t eat too fast. You will be getting 15 minutes of IV fluid before heading back out.”

“Sir,” Flawless Topaz gasped. “If this is about the wager.”

“This is not about some stupid wager. No. This is about getting you into shape. For your basic health. I will lose that fucking wager if it means I can get all of you to a healthy, functional level that passes the Enclave’s basic PT requirements.

“Master Sergeant, take charge of your Unit!” Olive Pit ordered.

Sunset Fury got them all up and moving. Slower than what Olive Pit wanted, but that was not Sunset Fury’s fault. Sunset Fury set a good pace back to the Squad Barracks. He followed through with them, making sure the others got to the clinic and personally worked on starting IVs before he got his own food.

Olive Pit entered the Clinic and spoke to the First Sergeant in charge.

“By 2000 I need them through one 0.45 Hypotonic and three Isotonic bags.”

“That is a fast push,” The First Sergeant warned.

“Yes, it is. On top of that, I want them to spend the night. Light sleep medication so they can be up and moving in the morning. They have a lot to do.”

“PT isn’t a good idea,” The First Sergeant warned again.

“I know,” Olive Pit nodded. “But they are not even at the PT level yet. I have to reverse this or we will have more problems.”

“Understood,” The First Sergeant saluted. “But if you could please write out detailed orders.”

“Of course,” Olive Pit smiled. “This is on my head, not yours. Plus I can’t expect you to remember all of that and the next shift needs to know. Do not be afraid to call me. The red phone there is hooked up to my office and bedroom. I can take a call at any time.”

“Oh, and 14 will be coming in for a 15 minute boost off of regular Iso fluids. But I will set that up.”

Pony Patrol should have left the clinic to make sure it didn’t get crowded, but Olive Pit needed them to see this side of Unit 0. To get a better feel for it. To get a better feel for him. He personally placed all 14 IV lines. Each one was placed in one painless go.

“Damn, I taught you well,” Sunset Fury laughed.

Olive Pit just chuckled in response.

After the time was up, Raspberry Lemonade had them moving again. She was relentless, pushing them as hard as before. The 14 of them had been ready to continue before the booster.

“That is a side I never saw,” Cardinal Spitfire said to Olive Pit. “You blasted your way through Basic Training, but this. Hard ass with a heart.”

“I am not totally evil,” Olive Pit smiled.

“I never saw it coming either,” Marble Falls chuckled. “You were strong, but soft minded.”

“Well, lets get back to the hard ass Lieutenant,” Olive Pit said. “I need to watch them, medically. We probably will be doing boosters like this for several days. Help keep their body where their heart really is.”

Arrow left to rifle through personnel files to better watch for the officer Unit 17 wanted.

Raspberry Lemonade worked them up until dinner. She happily let them go. They had impressed her, enough.

“Tomorrow, your turn,” Raspberry Lemonade said to Lemon Lime. “I am worn out. It isn’t as easy as it looks.”

“Fine,” Lemon Lime grinned. “I will take that challenge.”

Unit 17 tracked down Olive Pit in his office after dinner.

“I just brought the rest of the others around to meet our temp officer.”

“A pleasure,” Olive Pit greeted them. “I am grateful that this has been arranged. I am sure you heard I have a lot to do logistically with my Unit, but I will be with you every spare moment I can. Which should open up the further in we get.”

Olive Pit didn’t find sleep easily. There was too much going on inside his head. He had no idea how he we going to actually get them to meet the physical standards required for Aerial Combat in the two weeks that they had. And they all needed that win. If they could pass it, then they could pass the rest of the school.

0800 had Olive Pit standing alone in front of his assembling Unit at the flight deck.

“I hope last night your accommodations we good. For those who spent the night in the clinic, all Unit 0 members are set up in Units. The number and approved items is listed on your door.”

Olive Pit took a deep breath. “Yesterday did not go smoothly. It certainly did not go as planned. You put the effort in and we will get you to pass the physical requirements. I am sure we can do at least that. We will be using IV boosters. I am going to allow you to cheat a tad bit in that way and in that way alone.”

They all chuckled nervously.

“Cheat or no cheat, you are going to work hard. You are going to get yourselves back up to military standards for physical fitness. And there is no better team to do it than Wonderbolt Unit 12. I would know, being friends with their leaders.

“Last thing. I still have to pass. I will be around, but we have to keep me physically in shape and then able to compete and pass on my own. I will be training and doing the exercises with Unit 17, who not only needs a sixth member, but also needs a second officer. They will get a permanent member after the school is done, but for now, they have to put up with me.

“Now, go show them what Unit 0 means. That at all times you can be ready to fly, ready to fight, ready to care for them, on and off the field, and that you respect authority better than they do. Set that bar high for the rest of the ACS trainees to have to strive for.”

Olive Pit walked away without looking back. Lemon Lime took over. Olive Pit was going to work with Fountain for a bit.

She was not easy, but his four hours of PT a day that he had set up for his Unit was paying off.

“Damn it!” Fountain swore through pants. “You are running me ragged. Which, I guess is good because it means you are ready.”

“Ready and best are not the same,” Olive Pit gasped.

“Yeah, but you are giving a Wonderbolt a good whipping.”

A trainee dashed up to them.

“Are you Lieutenant Olive Pit, the medic?”

“Yes?” Olive Pit said perking up.

“We had an accident.”

“Sprint!” Olive Pit ordered.

He dashed after him. Should they go to the medics in the clinic, yes. But it was also his duty to render aid and they knew he could. They trusted him first.

Olive Pit slowed down, gasping for air as he got to them.

“Training,” Astral Sunrise said. “The wing weight exercise. He went down, the weight hit his head, she tried to help him recover and took the blow to the wing.”

“Go to the clinic and get them,” Olive Pit ordered as he knelt beside her.

Her groans turned to screams as Olive Pit touched her wing. It was definitively fractured in three places.

“Fracture,” Olive Pit said. “And this is going to hurt, Get a towel in her mouth so she doesn’t break a tooth or bite her tongue.”

As soon as it was done, Olive Pit pulled the wing back into alignment. He had to keep pulling on it until the medics got there with a split. They arrived, but without any sufficient equipment to brace the wings. The had to go and get a wing splint.

Olive Pit swore under his breath. They were nurses, not combat medics. Trained to work in the emergency rooms, but it was different than the field. Olive Pit kept the wing in alignment as they frantically tried to set the splint. They failed.

“Its okay, take a deep breath,” Olive Pit coached them. “Just relax and place it on there. You can do this. Just breath and ignore her screams. Focus on the injury.”

They failed two more times. Their eyes wanted him to do it, but he shook his head.

“You have this. You can do this. Just take it slowly, step by step.”

As they pulled the splint tight she screamed in pain louder than before. When it was on, Olive Pit slowly removed pressure, letting the splint keep everything aligned.

“Good job,” Olive Pit smiled to them.

Olive Pit scooted over to her head and firmly grabbed it so she could look him in the eye. Watery eyes.

“Good job!” He praised. “You made it. You fucking made it. The worst pain is over. You will make it through this.”

They pulled out the cloth.

“I don’t like that send off,” She sobbed.

“Eh,” Olive Pit shrugged. “Its something I learned to do in CMS. Assure the patient that it will be fine. Because it will be. Because you are going to a place with better care. Yeah, recovery is going to suck. But you are a Wonderbolt.”

“Come on,” Olive Pit smiled as they put her on the stretcher. “Tell me who you are?”

“A Wonderbolt,” She cried.

“A what?”

“A Wonderbolt Sir.”

“That doesn’t sound like a Wonderbolt to me. You have no confidence.”

She chocked back the tears and gathered her strength. “I AM A WONDERBOLT!” She declared.

“Yes you are!” Olive Pit fired back. “And Wonderbolts never quit! They do not know that word!”

“Yes Sir!”

Olive Pit grabbed one of the nurses. “Don’t give her meds. The Doctor needs to see it without meds. He has more options available. And again, great job.”

Olive Pit let out a huge sigh of relief as they left.

“Shit, head wound!” He groaned.

“I just took a good knock.”

Olive Pit ignored him and bent down to examine him.

“Yeah, you did. Concussion only, it seems. You are not in combat, head in to the clinic and let them treat you overnight. Better safe than sorry. We need you back on your hooves for training these new recruits. Take care of yourself so you can take care of them.”

“Yes Sir,” He nodded.

Both of them were First Lieutenants. It was odd to hear them call him Sir and talk to him as if he was their superior. Medically, he was, but it was the first time treating real patients, in real pain, real injuries and in the field.

Yesterday was routine. They learned how to do that in CMS because they had to do it to themselves all the time. Somepegasus was always falling out and getting an IV. And stitches were a common thing to have to do in CMS. The medics worked with a lot of sharp tools and accidents happened as they learned to calm down and stay in control during the chaos.

“Thank you,” Astral Sunrise said shaking his hoof. “I know you are in training-”

“In training, but always on duty,” Olive Pit said cutting her off. “That is part of what being a Combat Medic means. We are supposed to be by your side, fighting with you. Until one of you gets shot and then we have to ignore our pain, our heavy breathing and get you to calm down and patched up. That is what I am working on getting my Unit to be able to do again. Silver Wings or not, you guys will have a Unit to support all of your actions.”

“We trust you,” A Wonderbolt said. “All of you. We believe you can.”

“Maybe you could write that on the wager board for them to see,” Olive Pit smiled. “They really could use the moral booster.”

“Consider it done,” He smiled back.

“I better go make sure my Unit hasn’t fallen out,” Olive Pit chuckled as he bid them farewell.

“Wait!” Astral Sunrise called. “Can you give us a diagnosis on our teammate?”

Olive Pit sighed. He had tried to avoid that. He didn’t turn around.

“I don’t like doing it because I have like 20 seconds to make my deduction and act. But what I saw, a fractured wing in at least three places. Action, I had to put the bones back into alignment before the splint was put on and keep them there until it could hold them in place. Good chance it is going to require rods and screw. She will be out for a while.”

“Wings are delicate, but they can spring back. She is at the top of her physical fitness game. That is a very big advantage for her. I do believe that she will be able to recover and confidently join you in the sky again. But it isn’t going to be easy and she is going to need a lot of support. Together, you can make it happen.”

“Thank you Lieutenant,” Astral Sunrise said chocking back tears.

“Please, all of you, just call me Olive Pit.”

Olive Pit walked away to find where Unit 0 had gotten to.

“News travels fast,” Marble Falls greeted him. “And a medical chariot flying overhead helps.”

“Captain Astral Sunrise has two members down. The dangerous wing weight thing. Concussion and the one who tried to pull him out of his fall has a multiple fractured wing.

“Not an easy thing to recover from. Good thing I was right there to be available. The ones at the clinics are nurses and she needed combat medicine. I believe She will heal and make it back into the sky.”

“You had better get used to the wing weights,” Marble Falls warned. “It is a tried and true method to strengthen wings. You will spend your fair share with them. They never give us a problem. I have never heard more than a sprained wing or two from that exercise.”

“Well,” Olive Pit shrugged. “All I know is I need to tell them what I just did. That way they can get a better mindset as to what they are dealing with.”

Olive Pit spared no detail. He reminded them of the pain she experience, sending shivers down their spines, especially Pony Patrol. He reminded them the fast changes they would have to deal with, putting others first in combat, even when taxed to their own limits. He let them know that the Wonderbolts knew they could do it. That they could prove that they could handle being Combat Medics for the ACUs.

Olive Pit was done training for the morning. Lunch time brought a bigger surprise. The wager board didn’t have a message on it. They had made a banner and spanned it above the food line.

The next morning he met with Unit 17.

“Yeah, so,” Arrow lingered. “You don’t really need much conditioning. We need to get you in the sky, building up wings and aerial skills. That will tax you enough and shape your conditioning.”

Arrow smirked. “You are going to hate us, but we are going to start with the best wing training exercise.”

“Those weights?” Olive Pit hesitated.

“Not anywhere near close of the actual weight they were using. You can’t handle that. You have to train up to that, and you probably will never need to go that high. They are Wonderbolts.”

Arrow pointed at the weights they had lined up. His set was obvious. 10 pounds on each wing. The others were at least three times his weight.

Olive Pit took a deep breath in. “Show me.”

Olive Pit never got to the halfway point. He knew Arrow was holding something back, hoping he would figure it out on his own. After two hours, Arrow halted the exercise and they circled up.

“Northern Lights,” Arrow said. “I want you to team up with Olive Pit. Chaser, you will team up with me. I want Square and Royal to stay together. With a new officer, it will force us to change up anyway. We will play through team formation flying until lunch. For now, Olive Pit, you are wing, not lead.”

“Of course,” Olive Pit nodded. “Units break down into these teams at times, when tactics call for it. First you master this, then you can master working together as a Unit. That becomes more complex in an ACU.”

Astral Sunrise walked up to them. “Olive Pit, how is your patient?”

“No idea,” Olive Pit shrugged. “She is no longer my patient. Combat Medics don’t have the luxury of keeping up with injured. Patch them up long enough ship them back to a hospital and then to the next injured. That is our job. Make sure they live long enough to get to a hospital. We can’t be laden down with what happens to each and every single Pegasus after. It is in the hooves of the doctors.”

Astral Sunrise nodded. “Makes sense. Since I have heard nothing, I will track it down. And by the way, you were looking good with those weights for a first timer.”

“Thank you,” Olive Pit smiled. “I hate them, and not for the reasons you all do. They work, but I do not trust them after yesterday. I will continue to use them because they are effective. My minor idiosyncrasy won’t stop me from using a highly effective training system.”

“Good,” Astral Sunrise said. The conversation was just over.

Northern Lights took Olive Pit out into the sky, working him through quite a few new moves. It was more fluid than what they learned in Basic Training. It was nearing lunch when the Yellow Flag was up. They could have gotten in another solid two more runs, but Nova beckoned for Olive Pit to join him.

“Lieutenant Olive Pit, I would like you to meet Sunny Rose, Master Sergeant Sunset Fury’s wife.”

“A pleasure,” Olive Pit smiled as he shook her hoof. “Your husband trained me and did an amazing job. I am honored that he took the invitation to join Unit 0. I hope the change is not a big strain.”

“We may never have gotten the chance to talk it over, but I trust he knew what he was doing and still does. A move isn’t bad for the foals either.”

Sunny Rose looked around. They were not beside her.

“Where did they go!” She said beginning to panic. “They know they are supposed to stay right by my side!”

“I am guess that is them watching the aerial teams,” Olive Pit pointed.

Two colts and a Filly were lined up along the runway, jaws open as they watched whichever team was overhead.

“Get back here!” Sunny Rose ordered. “You know the rule!”

They lingered a bit before coming back to her side.

“You have three,” Olive Pit smiled.

“Yes. We won that battle. Science was on our side. After the second, we had him snipped so we wouldn’t have to worry about that. 100% effective, or so we were told. It wasn’t out of responsibility, we didn’t want to go through the pain that so many others quietly have to go through.”

“But, two years later, we found out I was pregnant again. Sunset Fury stood in front of a judge, with medical records in his hoof and declared that if whatever higher power wanted us to have a third, we were going to have a third. Science or not. The judge ruled fully in our favor because we had gone the extra step most do not.”

“Hi!” The filly piped up. “I am Celestial Moon! Named for the two princesses who governed Equestria long ago. I only exist because somepegasus princess must be watching over us and wanted me born.”

Olive Pit smiled. “That is a pretty name. It is fitting for your story. I do believe you will go places.”

“Moon, you know you are not supposed to give that detailed of a history lesson,” Sunny Rose chastised.

“Things are changing,” Olive Pit smiled. “But it is dangerous. Hopefully soon that part of history will be viewed as history, and not a problem.”

Olive Pit turned to the colts. “And you two are?”

“I’m Black Sun and he is Winter Solstice. My twin is shy.”

Winter Solstice smiled a bit while looking down, but still able to see Olive Pit’s face.

Nova cleared his throat. “Yes, well I came to you because I am hoping you will have a better solution. Even Unit 0’s Unit is too small for a family. Ignoring your room. The Squad Barracks are not set up for it. Even if they were, we lack a school.”

“No Pegasus stationed here full time has a foal to care for. Those soldiers are deployed in a family friendly environment. We have a few commuters from headquarters where they do have a small school, but it is a lot of distance to travel each day and they often can’t go home.”

“You have a lot of married ponies coming in for ACS with families, don’t you?” Olive Pit replied shaking his head. “Or others still here, not released to go back to where their last station was.”

Nova’s just closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.

Olive Pit ran what was immediately in his head. “The way I see it off the top of my head, you can do three things. First off, we can do the commute. But I also just realized that headquarters must not be capable of handling the intake of so many ACU families. This whole fort has limited support.”

“Second, the foals could go off to boarding school. And that still leave the spouse no where to go and requires some changes. If that is the case, ACUs should be open for family leave more often; while not effecting their standard leave rotation.”

“Third is to build up here, but have the foals boarded at Headquarters so they can come home on the weekends. As far as I can tell, that is the options. Somepegasus will have to commute.”

“Fourth idea!” Olive Pit interjecting himself. “Commute or board in New Heaven. Again, the ACUs would need more time to visit, but we could run a rotation of on and off. We do not get weekends off, so it would have to be three or four days every few weeks.”

“You are going to have a lot of ponies stationed here, contrary to the previous system of sending most out to secondary posts. I think the time could be afforded.”

“Ma’am?” Nova asked, deflecting a response.

Black Sun interject, bouncing up and down. “Could we have Flight School here?”

“Black Sun! Do not interrupt grown ups in a conversation,” Sunny Rose scolded.

“Actually, they are apart of this,” Nova stated. “This does reflect them and their voices should be heard. When asked and only when. Flight School here would be a new experience for us all. I will consider it. It would mean we would not be able to fully do our jobs during that time, but it does sound fun.”

“Yes!” Black Sun exclaimed in victory.

“That is an incredibly difficult choice,” Sunny Rose stated, a bit down. “It isn’t just about us either, but every other family.”

“Colonel,” Olive Pit said. “Is this the first time the ACU program or it’s predecessor has been this size?”

“The philosophy has been around a while,” Nova replied. “But it was a century or so ago when the Enclave made fully designated battalion to that philosophy. A few more decades and Unit 0 was created. Not only is this the first time its been this large, but it is the first time we are keeping their primary station their actual post. That is because the Scouts and ACUs had been separate-ish until now.”

“How many are leaving?”

“Three to Nellie and six to Mareland. That is all.”

“That is going to number us close to four hundred Units here.”

“Yes,” Nova grinned.

“Then we need to expand here. As in here here. District off Fort Wind. Headquarters and Squad Barracks. That way they can not easily cross to the other side and interrupt their job training the new recruits.”

“You are talking a full sized town,” Nova replied. “In which jobs are needed. And then civilian contractors for the town.”

“No need for that,” Olive Pit stated. “All you need is enough to keep ponies active and happy. That is all. It would be more of a small village rather than a town. We have New Heaven close by. Any families at Headquarters would move there and the school would be relocated as well.”

“Thank you Lieutenant,” Nova nodded distracted. “Thank you all of you. I shall go draw up plans and inform General Red River. For now, Sunny Rose and the three will be in Unit 178.”

“178 has my B Squad in it,” Olive Pit reminded him.

“154?”

“A.”

“113?”

“C.”

“D?”

“172. 155 and 122 should be open. Those were the other two options we had. Worse case scenario, they could stay in the open wings in Unit 0.”

“I would rather not disturb that right now,” Nova replied. “We also could put them in the Squad Barracks since your old rooms are still vacant. But that would be a disruption. I am leaning towards 155.”

“Do you want me to make up a chart? To hang on your wall?”

“Please. I will get you the files as soon as I can.”

“DAD!” The Foals exclaimed.

Unit 0 was jogging in from a hard morning of conditioning. Sunset Fury dropped out of formation and swept up his kids.

“What are you doing here?” He asked beaming.

“We are moving here,” Black Sun announced.

“How? This is no place for foals? Especially now.”

“Mom brought us,” Celestial Moon said from Sunset Fury’s back.

Sunset Fury totted over to them. Olive Pit pointed to Nova with his head.

“Colonel?”

“I wasn’t thinking that far ahead,” Nova admitted. “I figured that since you were Unit 0, your wife joining you would be fine. I forgot you had foals.”

Sunset Fury wearily nodded his head.

Olive Pit caught Sunset Fury up. “We were trying to figure out how to balance a lot of new families coming in with foals.”

“I will leave you to it,” Sunset Fury said. “I need food and water. Lemon Lime is worse than Raspberry Lemonade. Much worse.”

Sunset Fury put Celestial Moon on the ground next to her brothers. “Dad has to go back to work now. It is great seeing you, but I need you to let me do my job. I will come to you when I can. Understood?”

“Yes,” The all sadly said.

Sunset Fury stole and unexpected kiss on the cheek from Sunny Rose and was off.

It was Winter Solstice who spoke up. “Sir, can we watch our Dad train?”

“No,” Olive Pit shook his head. “Sorry, but you would not only be bored, but you would not understand all of what is going on. Training like this is not for young Fillies and Colts like you to experience or watch. It isn’t nice.”

“Why do you do it then?”

“When you are older, maybe you will understand it better,” Olive Pit smiled. “We do it because it works. It makes us soldiers and then better soldiers. It is stressful and it can bring out the worst in some pegasi. But it does it’s job so we can do ours, protecting the Pegasus Race.”

“But,” Olive Pit said focusing on all of them. “I need to eat. I bid you farewell.”

Chapter 73 - Consequences

The yellow flag was up and Arrow led Unit 17 into a cruise and easy landing.

“Lieutenant Arrow,” Nova greeted them.

“Mom! Dad! What are you doing here?” Arrow asked as she hugged them.

“Lighting told us you were busy getting things set up and said you asked her to contact us. She told us to arrive here, today,” Azure Charm explained.

“I am in the middle of training!” Arrow growled before letting out a frustrated scream.

“I am going to punch her,” Arrow declared. “She can’t push me around any longer. She probably has gotten soft with her head in that Cloudship.”

“I can’t just step out from this training,” Arrow said, mostly to Nova. “I have to lead my Unit so that our trainee can pass ACS. I have to keep an eye on the officers training so that we can make the best decision to round out Unit 17.”

“Why does she have to ruin everything?” Arrow whined.

“It’s okay,” Gusty Star said hugging his daughter. “Its going to work. Somehow. We only just got here and put our stuff in our room. We will figure it out.”

Arrow nodded with a smile before fear struck. If her parents were here, Lighting must not be far behind.

Little got up from her spot on the bridge. “Lieutenant, bring us in. The Captain and I will head above to be able to depart when we arrive.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Deke smiled.

The Squad Barracks were in sight. Deke waited until he got confirmation that they were at the nose of the Buttercup and ready to depart. It was time for some payback.

“Engines, I need full power,” Deke said over the intercom.

“Coming Sir.”

Deke pushed the Buttercup to it’s limits. He adjusted the heading so they would be off to the side of the Squad Barracks.

“Everything looks clear,” Bronze Valve informed Deke.

He knew the plan and approved of it. He was the only other one who knew the plan. Right now, Ruby Snow and Little had to be pressed against the wall as they sped forward, unable to move. Even better, they were wearing their dress uniforms. They were not in any real danger.

When they began to pass the Squad Barracks, Deke reversed the left engine and applied the left break flaps. The ship swung around at an impressive speed. It hooked to the left and Deke ran a full stop right in front of the main doors to the Squad Barracks. A perfect 180 at high speeds.

“Congratulations,” Bronze Valve smiled at Deke. “A perfect bootleg turn. I am going to get so much heat from Ruby for letting you pull this stunt. Especially where he is.”

Deke chuckled and prepared the Buttercup to descend into a landing. On the flight deck. Cutting it in half.

Little recovered as the Buttercup touched down. She hopped off the nose to get to safety. Her uniform was a mess.

“Mother fucking idiotic Lieutenant with shit for brains and no sense of safety, regard for others, and class. All he thinks about is himself and being in charge, ignoring doing his fucking duty. Damn Bastard.”

“Sorry,” Little blushed when she saw her parents were right there. “He was supposed to take it in nice and easy. Safely since there are teams in the sky. But no, he had to make an entrance for himself. Whatever that was.”

“That was,” Ruby Snow said as he came over straightening his uniform. “A bootleg turn. Now the crew is going to have to recalibrate the engines. But something tells me he had that planned. Not even you have tried that. You have not even asked permission. Plus, you wanted to make an entrance.”

Little growled.

Deke dropped out of the sky next to them. “I gave you your entrance.”

Nova chuckled. “My flight deck officer is not going to be happy. That was beyond dangerous and we are in the middle of Aerial Combat School. Thank goodness they are still in the conditioning and team building stages.”

“But,” Nova shrugged. “She will be here in 3… 2… 1…”

“WHO IS THE MOTHER FUCKER THAT PULLED THAT IDIOT STUNT. I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU MY BITCH UNTIL I FUCK WHAT LITTLE BRAINS YOUR HAVE LEFT AND THEY ARE TURNED TO LIQUID AND POUR OUT YOUR EARS AND DRIP OUT YOUR NOSE!”

Marble Falls barged her way in, pushing aside Azure Charm into Gusty Star, almost toppling him as well.

“You idiots!” She screamed. She pointed at Deke. “I knew you were not the brightest, but!”

Marble Falls was out of words. Cardinal Spitfire was behind her. She just shook her head.

Marble Falls finally figured out what to say. “I am going to burn you alive! I am a Wonderbolt and am in charge of the safety here! And we are in training!”

“It was Deke,” Little pointed.

“You wanted an entrance,” Deke shot back. “For seeing your sister and parents. I delivered what you asked for. Sorry you can’t take the heat.”

“I can’t take the heat!”

“You mind must still be ice from up north!”

The two of them were face to face and moving further and further away from the relevant conversation.

“When did she become that, hot headed?” Arrow asked. “I mean, she always could push me around. A standard big sister, but I have never heard her that, argumentative.”

“Oh, its just a little bit of, training,” Ruby Snow chuckled. “It is making them both better officers. They are taking bigger risks and pushing themselves to stay sharp. Deke executed that perfectly. Sorry about that.”

“So I get to flay him alive,” Marble Falls smirked. “He was good when I trained him, but this is a new side of him.”

“Yeah,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “He was confident, and a bit arrogant, but he played nice.”

Ruby Snow chuckled. “Iron sharpens iron.”

Marble Falls rolled her eyes, still pissed off.

She growled. “That thing needs to get off of my flight deck and parked safely where it belongs!”

Ruby Snow turned to the Buttercup and waved his hoof to signal the bridge to move. Bronze Valve carefully moved the Buttercup up and away. Gently, exhibiting great skill and fines.

“That is how you move a Cloudship,” Ruby Snow declared.

“I don’t give a shit,” Marble Falls spat. “It is a miracle nopony was hurt.”

“I HAVE SKILL!” Deke yelled at Marble Falls. “That was not a miracle! I was in full control of the entire area!”

“YOU DO NOT HAVE SKILL!” Little screamed. “I can’t believe we let you fly that, let alone man the guns!”

“You let him man the guns!” Marble Falls yelled at Ruby Snow.

“YEAH!” Deke declared. “I can do it all and do do it all! If I had some blanks I would have given you a real grand entrance. I couldn’t convert any of them. Bronze Valve checked.”

Little let out a huge right of relief and then regretted it.

“Damn it!” Deke exclaimed. “I did have blanks on standby! Bronze Valve...”

“Was making sure your minimized your stupidity!” Little growled.

“He helped me orchestrate your perfect entrance,” Deke huffed.

“You are getting dangerously close to seeing why they call me Lightning!”

They were back at it and, again, off to irrelevant arguments.

“Uh, what does she mean?” Arrow asked Ruby Snow. “That is her name.”

Ruby Snow raised an eyebrow and then smiled.

“That sly little…” Ruby Snow said shaking his head. “Its got to be her gimmick. I have always heard her say that. She is confident and strong, and has no trouble commanding, but she uses it for her final leverage. She has never shown any ‘lightning.’ I bet she has no lightning. Deke has pushed her enough she should have let it go.”

Gusty Star laughed. “That would be our daughter.”

“We are getting nowhere,” Arrow stated. “I still need to punch her for scheduling this. I didn’t plan it. I am a trainer at this school.”

“And I need you,” Olive Pit sighed. “Badly. I need something right.”

“STOP!” Deke said putting his hoof on Little’s mouth to shut her up.

“Need something right?” Deke asked Olive Pit.

“A long story,” Olive Pit stated. “After she deals with you. If you are alive to find out out.”

“Yeah,” Marble Falls growled.

Deke chuckled nervously. “Lieutenant.”

Cardinal Spitfire rolled her eyes. “It’s Captain.”

“Captain?” Deke gulped.

“Cardinal Spitfire?” Marble Falls growled. “Suggestions?”

“All out,” Cardinal Spitfire sighed. “Fucking Unit 0.”

“Unit 0?” Deke asked, pushing his luck.

“No heckling them,” Olive Pit ordered. “Either of you. I am having a little bit of unexpected trouble with those under my command and I don’t need to add either of you on top of it!”

“Yeah,” Deke stammered. “Right. I won’t. Maybe I can-”

“No!” Olive Pit cut him off. “Stay out of it. It is my Unit and my problem.”

“Lieutenant Olive Pit!” Fountain called out.

They parted open to let her in. Unit 0 was begin paraded up and stopped a ways off, but in sight. The group had grown to include Tuff, Astral Sunrise, Flags and several other top officers there to confirm the current operations and the interruption.

“Sorry to break whatever this up,” Fountain said, tossing a bottle to Olive Pit.

Olive Pit caught the bottle as it rebounded off his chest. It was unmarked but he knew it wasn’t good. His heart stopped as he opened it. The smell was undeniable. He popped the top on and launched it at Deke, who expected it and caught it.

“I don’t get it?” Deke said looking inside. “What is it?”

“Buck,” Olive Pit spat. “Cut so its less potent. The smell is the give away. And after the breaks I have given them. And the perks to help them get back on their game. They spit in my face me with this shit.”

Olive Pit stormed over to Unit 0. For once they were organized, at attention and looking proper.

“We’re done,” Olive Pit snorted. “You can go back to your rooms. Enjoy the time you have left. Dismissed.”

They fell out and Olive Pit dropped his head, defeated.

“I said I was having problems,” Olive Pit said stumbling over. “But I still have to pass ACS.”

“Lieutenant?” Sunset Fury called.

“There is no excuse,” Olive Pit replied.

“I was not trying to make one,” Sunset Fury said. “Permission to speak freely?”

Olive Pit couldn’t look at him. “Granted.”

“I am sorry. I trained you in CMS. I know how great you are as an officer. I know how skilled you are as a Combat Medic. You gave us everything you could. You fixed the schedule. You reminded the whole Squad Barracks what Unit 0 was supposed to be and that it even existed.”

“I am sorry I failed you. I let them get to me. I wasn’t a strong enough Master Sergeant for you. I wasn’t a Master Sergeant to you. But I am still a Master Sergeant. Your Master Sergeant for Unit 0. What are you going to do?”

Olive Pit turned around to face him. “Unit 0 has not see the twelve Lieutenant Razzleberry is training. I haven’t let you see them for a reason. They will pass ACS. If I need to, I will promote from within. However, I won’t need to. All Unit 0 technically needs is one officer. Just me.”

“I understand. Thank you,” Sunset Fury said walking away.

“FUCK” Olive Pit scream as he dropped to the ground. “So fucking simple.”

“Nova,” Marble Falls asked in a panic. “Permission to tear this place apart.”

“Granted!” Nova shot back.

“On it!” Astral Sunrise said. “I’ll have them organized in pairs in two minutes. Cardinal Spitfire, with me.”

“Yes Ma’am!” Cardinal Spitfire saluted before dashing after her.

“Lieutenant Arrow,” Nova said. “Sorry, but I need Unit 17. Take 32, 39 and 65. Split them into pairs and make them stand guard. No Unit is to head to their Unit.”

“Yes Sir!” Arrow said rushing off.

Nova shook his head. “I am sorry you had to see this,” He said to Arrow’s parents. “We have never had a drug problem. I am not even sure how they got it there.”

“Colonel,” Ruby Snow said. “That unit is not at their normal rooms?”

“No, we moved them to a regular Unit that was free to try and help them make it. They all have a larger unit for the Combat Medics with individual rooms.”

“Then we need to tear it apart,” Little said, on the same track with Ruby Snow. “Before they get there. I don’t think they will rush.”

“I’ll block the door!” Marble Falls said zipping off at Wonderbolt speeds.

Little hugged her parents and then was right behind Ruby Snow. Deke helped pick Olive Pit up.

“Lieutenant,” Nova said. “Take him to my office. I will be up there shortly.”

It didn’t take Nova long to finish up and meet them in his office. Olive Pit was in his chair, slumped against the wall.

“Alright Lieutenant,” Nova said sitting down. “What is your plan.”

“Retire most of the senior NCOs, transfer those sergeant level or below. Start fresh with Razzleberry’s group. They are good picks and will make strong medics.”

“With no guides,” Nova replied.

“I have the next ACS to deal with that.”

“They deserve another go,” Deke said. “You don’t give up. I know you can find a way to motivate them.”

“He has tried,” Nova stated. “For weeks. They have the best trainers, but they are not responding to any forms of positive or negative reinforcement techniques. They failed themselves.”

Deke slammed his hoof on the desk. “Not good enough! I will not let Olive Pit fail.”

“He hasn’t,” Nova smiled. “They say there are no bad students, only bad teachers. But this is a real situation where there are bad students, and many good teachers. But you are a good friend for not letting him fail.”

“Then I will take charge,” Deke declared.

“It’s over,” Olive Pit reiterated.

“Tomorrow I go to them and try again,” Deke said, not backing down. “For you and you alone!”

“No,” Olive Pit said shaking his head. “But if you want, you can try the day after. Let them think and recuperate.”

“I will allow this,” Nova nodded.

The phone rang.

“Yes?” Nova answered it. “Wonderful. Well, not. But good to hear.”

Nova hung up and leaned forward onto his desk. “That was General Red River. They have launched a full investigation and are ripping headquarters apart for any illicit materials. They will finish with the recruits. We do not believe there is any problem there. They are tightly controlled.”

“The Wonderbolts are aggressively ripping everything to pieces. Tomorrow will be a clean up day. I do not know how they got that Buck, but it will be taken care of.”

“It’s not that hard,” Olive Pit replied shaking his head. “Not in the medical field. The clinic has several bottles. It is a steroid and has it’s medical uses. But they cut that into small doses as a booster. Otherwise, it would have been a noticeable difference.”

Olive Pit stood up. “I am one of three who have the key to that cabinet. The other two are Master Sergeant Sunset Fury and Sergeant Major Willow. One of them is on duty at all times. Although, currently their keys are with the senior NCOs watching the clinic.”

“I will let you get to work,” Nova said. “I think I will catch Lieutenant Deke up on some things.”

Olive Pit headed down stairs with renewed purpose and to the clinic. He scared them as he barged in.

“Lieutenant!” They scrambled to attention and to salute.

“At ease,” Olive Pit ordered. “I am not here for you. Has anypegasus accessed the restricted medications?”

“Yes,” The First Sergeant said. “I did. Two days ago. A routine inventory check, on my schedule. I check the stock I watch over on a schedule I use, outside of the required routine ones. Even here I stuck to my schedule and my personal notes for my records. I have all of that paperwork properly filed with the rest. I know its been a few days since you came in to collect them. I know I can find it.”

“Please do,” Olive Pit said pulling out his key. “Did you check every bottle?”

“Yes,” The First Sergeant. “And I counted every pill if it was open.”

Olive Pit ripped everything out in an organized fashion. There were three bottles of Buck. None were open. Olive Pit did his own inventory check of the entire cabinet. As he expected, it matched the First Sergeants and the previous check.

Olive Pit took it to his office. Marble Falls was keeping them all out of Unit 0 to their quiet disdain.

“Lieutenant,” Marble Falls nodded as he approached.

They were smart enough to leave him a wide berth to pass through. Olive Pit unlocked his office door and then locked it behind him. One of the file cabinets held every single inventory they had done. Since it was a locked and secured cabinet, they had to only do quarterly inventory. Each report for the restricted cabinet was pulled out and matched up fine. The drugs did not come from their cabinet.

Olive Pit picked up his phone and called over to the Headquarter's hospital.

“Hello?”

“This is Lieutenant Olive Pit.”

“Checking in on the drugs?”

“Yes Sir.”

“We are cross referencing the past few years of medication use. But there are not any immediate discrepancy.”

“Good,” Olive Pit sighed. “Just as it should be. My cabinets are squared away. I don’t want these from our medicine cabinets.”

“I am sorry to hear of this issue, and of your other problem. We over here are routing for you.”

“Thank you.”

Olive Pit hung up and looked at all the papers on his desk. He didn’t feel like cleaning up, but if he didn’t, it would only make things worse. Right now, he remembered where they belonged.

He was almost done when somepony tried to open the door. They were not expecting it to be locked and slammed their head into the door.

“One moment,” Olive Pit called. “Just putting a few things back.”

Olive Pit unlocked it to find Ruby Snow and Little there. Little was still rubbing her head where it had hit the door.

“Come on in. I keep it locked most of the time. Medical records after all.”

They sat down down at the sitting area.

“It is good to see you coherent,” Ruby Snow said. “But we do have a problem.”

Little dropped a bag onto the table and Olive Pit sighed.

“Buck wasn’t the only thing we found,” Little stated. “Or the only thing we found that we decided should not be around.”

“Any real problems I should be aware of?”

“Yeah,” Ruby Snow said passing Olive Pit a list.

“Damn,” Olive Pit said taking it.

Staff Sergeant Summer Bolt was caught with several bottles of unopened Buck and several more that had been cut. Sergeant Gemmed Fortune had a stash of Med-X, some Dash and Rage.

“The Staff Sergeant appeared to be passing it off to others. She had the equipment to do it hidden away. We found more bottles in the possession of others.”

“Great,” Olive Pit said shaking his head. “Suggestions?”

“Yeah,” Little said sliding a piece of paper across the table. “Send these to rehab and can those two.”

Olive Pit flipped over the paper. The list was: First Sergeant Moonlit Charge; Staff Sergeant Spring Moon; Sergeant Black Burn; Sergeant Flawed Topaz; Sergeant Star Hooves.

“Damn,” Olive Pit swore. “I am calling in the Colonel and Pony Patrol.”

“Pony Patrol?” Little asked.

“The Wonderbolt team that has been training 0. Oh, and Lieutenant Razzleberry since he is training wave three of Unit 0 troops.”

It took a bit for them all to assemble. Tuff and Astral Sunrise had to switch out with Marble Falls. Olive Pit had the time to chart things out. He moved things to one of their conference rooms.

Olive Pit hated to have to open this meeting.

“First off,” Olive Pit stiffened up. “Did we have any problems outside of Unit 0?”

“Four,” Nova replied. “One has a problem with Mint-als. But that Sergeant has been working in the mess hall for years and unrelated. The other three are Buck. Cut and the same as the original found. From what we could immediately tell.”

“Well,” Olive Pit shook his head. “I know the Buck dealer.”

Olive Pit pulled the cover off first chart.

“This is what was uncovered in Staff Sergeant Summer Bolt’s possession. I do not know when she started dealing, but this is beyond simple use. Sergeant Gemmed Fortune’s habit has nothing to do with the Buck issue, but it is bad.”

Olive Pit took a deep breath in. “I want to can both of them. Throw them before the board. Neither have been performing well and still do not meet current physical standards.”

“Done,” Nova nodded. “We will clean that matter up for submission after this.”

Olive Pit continued as he moved to the next chart. “I have several others I want sent to a rehab facility.”

“That is a quarter of your Unit!” Raspberry Lemonade gasped.

“Yeah,” Olive Pit snorted. “Yeah. But, it may actually take care of the problem.”

“It might,” Lemon Lime thought. “But you threw them out.”

“There is always next ACS,” Olive Pit pointed out. “And my friend, Lieutenant Deke, wants one go. The day after tomorrow, they get their last chance. He is doing it for me, not them. But they do not know that and he may recant after seeing these stats.”

“All seven of them are off duty effective twenty minutes ago,” Nova decreed. “And these five get the option of canning their career or trying rehab. With no guarantee this post will be offered back to them. Or any other for that matter.”

Olive Pit snorted. “I won’t let them come back here.”

“Now sit down Lieutenant,” Nova softly ordered. “We need to all have the Unit 0 talk. Its probably on the late side. But the opportunity has never presented itself so clearly.”

“I have my thoughts charted out,” Olive Pit said moving to the next one. “Half are question marks.”

“But your hoof picks are solid keepers,” Marble Falls said. “Biased?”

“Yes,” Olive Pit nodded. “At least for Specialist Winter Fire and Specialist Ebony Bolt. Every thing I have seen indicates that they can make the cut. Yeah, they are friends and I trained with them, but I know them, so I don’t feel it’s a bad call.”

“And Master Sergeant Sunset Fury, he trained me. I really do believe he can make it. The other four too. I hoof picked them for a reason.”

“I agree,” Fountain said. “Your seven can make it. And Nova’s six can make it.”

“Wait,” Fountain froze. “Am I able to call them Nova’s?”

Nova chuckled. “Yes, you can. All at this table can call me Nova. And they really are his seven, my six and the original eleven.”

“And the Razzleberries,” Razzleberry added.

They all chuckled.

“Fun names,” Olive Pit smiled. “We need that laugh with this shit. As much as we have tried to keep them one unit.”

“You did,” Marble Falls stated. “You spread them out in a great balance between the four squads. Every day I examined them, wanting to fix the balancing, but they were perfectly balanced for the unit.”

“But now they are not 24,” Cinnamon Swirl pointed out. “That number is 17 and each squad lost at least one member.”

“Olive Pit,” Nova said. “We are going to turn these numbers to our advantage. We can’t afford to play nice anymore. Too much is on the line. I need Unit 0 operating immediately. Even down seven.”

“Plus 12,” Razzleberry pointed out.

“Still, 29,” Cardinal Spitfire said annoyed. “Its not even 30. We are about to have 400 Units. We have 150 finished or waiting on a member or two. You better get the Razzleberries their wings.”

“You doubt me?” Razzleberry asked, playfully hurt.

“Well,” Cardinal Spitfire shrugged. “I was trained by the better half.”

Cardinal Spitfire was smacked in the head by Marble Falls who was sitting behind her.

“Although it is true,” Marble Falls chuckled. “But I know you will make sure they pass. I haven’t seen them, but you will.”

“Risk of them being brought together?” Raspberry Lemonade asked. “Rebalance the squads?”

“Too risky,” Olive Pit immediately replied. “I thought of it, but it is the same reason why they have been kept separate from every other Unit, including eating. They were pulled out of Combat Medic School right before the application period began.”

“They were the top in CMS. They know their medical training. All they needed to show was that they could apply them correctly in combat situations. All types of combat situations. ACS is their CMS practicum.”

“It is a big enough gamble removing them from CMS. If we fail them, we have to recycle them to the next CMS. That isn’t their fault, but they get to deal with the consequences.”

“The first question,” Ruby Snow said speaking up. “Should we put them in their named groups?”

“Doing that hinders team building,” Olive Pit said.

“Why? Did they all come from the same unit?”

“No, they were hoof picked from all over.”

“They are only a team in the groups you picked them to join you, nothing else. Your logic is flawed.”

“Originally, I needed to merge the groups,” Olive Pit replied with a smile. “I needed to make the old eleven work and be comfortable with the new thirteen. The old eleven was inexcusably top heavy in the ranks and I not only needed to spread that out, but pull them into the leadership roles expected for their ranks.”

“A solid plan that has failed,” Ruby Snow replied. “And everything points to the failure coming from your soldiers, not you. In the Third Fleet, I am known to take on a lot of riskier soldiers. My ship is understaffed and an experimental design that never left that stage. You friend Deke, was one of those risky endeavors. But it has paid off.”

“My point is, how long has Sergeant Major Willow served here at Unit 0?”

“That would be 12 total years served, 9 here,” Olive Pit replied. “In that time here, she has never served under a direct officer.”

“Damn,” Ruby Snow said “You really are rebuilding this from the ground up.”

Olive Pit nodded. “But its a broken and unsteady foundation. Captain Nova told me that the definition of what leadership is: The art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations. To get those you are leading to want to struggle. Not because of the leader, but because they see the value.”

“We have given them everything to succeed. Every way we can think of to get them want to do this, but they are not holding on. Individual performances on some do, but the others. Not even the wager held long for them to pull it together. And that board is still up in the mess hall.”

“Which,” Olive Pit said directing things to Razzleberry. “I know you have everything needed. I lose.”

“I am not going to hold you to that since drug use came into play,” Razzleberry replied.

“For seven,” Olive Pit shrugged. “Maybe the end of the wager will be a good incentive.”

“Okay!” Razzleberry said with a smile. “This will be fun. But only for you, not the others backing you.”

“That is a good finish,” Nova agreed. “But how are we going to restart them?”

“Colonel?” Little said. “Could you train them?”

“I am too old,” Nova chuckled. “And I mean that as I really am too old. Sergeant Major Willow might say she is too old, but she is just hitting her stride. By her service years, I already had captained my own Unit for seven years and then put in over a dozen missions below.”

“And now I suffer from a mass from the time below. I can’t fly. It is either pain meds and keep the wing, or remove the wing. I am staying on the pain meds. I legally have a stash to administer to myself and a doctor routinely checks up on me. I know the balance required.”

“And I got off point. Without flying, I can not train them.”

“Would they respond better to Olive Pit joining them?” Little asked. “Round out their numbers to three squads of six?”

“No,” Marble Falls immediate said. “Not good. Olive Pit joining them would lose his credibility as their officer. And 17 needs him. Arrow needs that second officer for more than forced structure.”

“17 needs some stability,” Olive Pit chuckled. “Great soldiers, really talented, but some things need to reinforced before they can can really compete. The are all young troops and almost as off the wall as Arrow is. I have been calming things down.”

“And that is why I know he is a great officer,” Nova announced. “His performance training with them has been exemplary. He has been calming them down and sliding them into line. A good focus and perfect support for Arrow. Arrow’s performance has increased from his support.”

“17 will be a Unit to fear. They have the energy to do anything and the heart to get it done right. Once they straighten out.”

“Too bad I have to leave,” Olive Pit chuckled. “But squads. I am hesitant to just toss them into the names we gave them. The four originals left are stacked pretty high on the ranks. A Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, First Sergeant and Sergeant Major.”

“We are keeping them together,” Nova decreed. “We will move over Corporal Lightning Measure. He is Olive Pit’s seventh and he can handle the switch.”

“So,” Olive Pit said standing to write on the board. “Squad A will be: Sergeant Major Willow, First Sergeant Morning Spark, Staff Sergeant Morning Thunder, Sergeant Bright Starr and Corporal Lighting Measure.”

“Squad B will consist of: Master Sergeant Sunset Fury, Staff Sergeant Star Chaser, Corporal Scarlet Heart, Specialist Ebony Bolt, Specialist Lavender Star and Specialist Winter Fire. Squad C will finish out with: Corporal Rare Bloom, Corporal Dark Pyre, Specialist Bright Storm, Specialist Orchid Twilight and Specialist Diamond Clash.”

Olive Pit surveyed the room. It looked good to them all.

“Lets get these guys training,” Olive Pit smiled, once again believing it was possible. “After Deke evaluates them.”

“Now the tough stuff,” Nova grimaced. “Although I know how to make things a bit smoother. I can assign all of them to rehab. We can move them and follow up the big proceedings for Summer Bolt and Gemmed Fortune. It will get them out of here quickly so we can calm this place down.”

“And we shall make formal arrests,” Marble Falls said standing up. “On all seven. The other drug users are already being held by Tuff's team. For now, we shall place them in their old wing under room arrest. After all, Pony Patrol is free for the rest of the day and tomorrow.”

“Let the others in,” Nova said. “But none of this leaves this room.”

Chapter 74 - Promotions

Deke had pinned a notice on Unit 0’s doors so that when they exited the building to get breakfast, they could see that there was a voluntary meet up at 0800. They found him casually leaning against the building in his service uniform. His was different than theirs because of his Cloudship officer post. It was more like a simplified dress uniform.

“So,” Deke said as the lined up. “You were shutdown. By your Lieutenant. Who is my friend. He gave up on you the other day, but I am not giving up on him. So I decided to see for myself, if you had any semblance of skill. If you are soldiers or not. Because that sounded like a flat no.”

Deke pushed himself off the wall. “The thing is, I know him well. And he has a knack for turning a bad situation into a good one. He fixes things well. Overcomes challenges. Even when that means leading. So I don’t believe the rumors that he failed.”

“So this is one hundred percent voluntary?” Sunset Fury asked.

“I have little authority here,” Deke shrugged. “And am supposed to stay out of things. But I am a Lieutenant and he does listen to me. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all,” Sunset Fury smiled. “I am in. I am the Master Sergeant for this Unit.”

“Rank means shit in your Unit,” Deke spat.

“Still,” Sunset Fury replied. “I want my Silver Wings. I will get my Silver Wings. There is another ACS coming and I don’t care if I have to do it outside of Unit 0, I will get my wings.”

“Lofty goal but it looks doubtful. You can’t even pass the Enclave’s basic physical requirements, let alone keep up with the ACS program.”

“You’re a Medic, not a soldier,” Willow said to Sunset Fury. “We all are.”

“And if I want to be more?” Sunset Fury asked.

“He isn’t supposed to be doing this,” Willow replied. “He is a Second Lieutenant on that Cloudship that almost took our heads off.”

Deke couldn't help but laughed.

“Yeah,” He said gaining control. “That was fun doing that the other day. First time I have ever tried that and it worked.”

“You almost took our heads off?” Star Chaser asked annoyed.

“Well, I was in control of everything and knew where you all were. So it wasn’t like I actually got close to your heads.”

“Other their reckless flying, do you know how to train medics?”

“No,” Deke grinned. “But I am an officer for a reason. I have to keep my troops in shape and in order. I know how to do that. Do you know how to perform under an officer?”

It was a low blow, but true. Nopony had a response. Deke rolled his eyes. He was going to have to roll in absolutes.

“None of you have passed the standard requirements to continue your service. I can test you on that. You lost seven the other day from their own stupidity. Are you ready to lose your careers over a physical fitness test? I don’t have to know how to train medics to give you guys this shot. This isn’t medical.”

Deke missed what Willow said.

“Are you really going to just give up?” Morning Spark asked. “They may be lining up to remove more of us. This could at least keep your job, somewhere. 12 years is a long time to throw away.”

Willow shook her head. “Fine. I have no faith in this, but fine.”

“I have faith in us all,” Sunset Fury stated.

“Then lets get over to Black Barrack Flight Deck,” Deke said taking off.

They were slow, but they also were not expecting this opportunity. When they landed they were quickly in their A-D Squads. Deke wasted no time in moving them into warm ups.

As soon as they looked ready he had his clipboard out and began to run them through the PT test. Sit Ups, Push Ups, Wing Ups, 100 yard sprint, 100 yard wing sprint, and then the 2x2 ruck.

They had a good break before Deke pushed them into the 2x2. Two miles on hoof and then two miles in the air. Each soldier had to pass both sections by a certain time and total time. Since Deke was leading this alone, he had to keep up with them on the 2x2 for timing.

Halfway through the hoof portion he was feeling it, as expected.

Ebony Bolt decided to prod him a bit. “Hey! You okay? Or does the Cloudship officer not have what it takes?”

“If you can talk then you be in a walk!” Deke fired back. “Plus, I have to stay with you, not kill this course! Last time my 2x2 was 23.42!”

Ebony Bolt nodded to Winter Fire and they picked up the speed. Deke picked his up. He had to be at the head to record the times. The two of them were in no position to sub 25 minutes. Maybe sub 28.

Deke sprinted ahead the last three hundred yards to the timing post and slid into a stop. He recorded each one’s time and then had to catch up to them in the air. All of the specialists and corporals had quit staying with the pack and were finally out for themselves.

Deke still cruised in well ahead of them and recorded the final times for each individual. While they got to lay down and let their bodies catch up, He had to crunch the numbers to see how each one ranked.

Right as he finished, Little cruised in. “Lieutenant. It is lunch time, and I need to speak with you, privately.”

“Right,” Deke said keeping himself from panting. “All of you can go. The fitness test is done. I will make sure that, by 0900 tomorrow, the results will be on the notifications board as you walk into your Unit.”

Little waited for them to leave before speaking.

“First off, you are welcome for the well timed rescue.”

“Thanks,” Deke smiled. “You saved my face with them. They were starting to fear me. Once they knew I can sub 25, they pushed but they can’t push that hard.”

“You can sub 25? Never mind, that isn’t important. How did they do?”

“All passed,” Deke said taking in a deep breath. “Even the Sergeant Major. Barely for her, but they all passed. I know they missed a day, but maybe this will convince Olive Pit to let them have another go.”

“Right,” Little chuckled. “You missed that meeting because you were not tearing things apart. This is really good news and needed because the Colonel is going to be putting them back in. They have to continue with ACS.”

“Good,” Deke smiled. “The other thing?”

“Yeah, so my sister is being a pain. It was bad enough on our intermittent talks, but now that I am here, she had been prodding me for a date to the wedding.”

Deke had a good laugh. Little was prepared for it and let it ride.

“I am the only available bachelor that doesn’t make you look desperate.”

“Being First Mate on the Third Fleet’s Flagship does cut the number of suitors down, drastically.”

“Third Fleet?” Deke asked cocking his head. “Why is the Red Dawn approaching?”

Little looked to where he was pointing.

“That is the Red Dawn all right. But why indeed. We are not scheduled for a meet up for another two months at the Third Fleet Rally.”

“She is moving in at near her top speed,” Deke added. “Very odd.”

The warning siren went off, calling all teams to be grounded and reassemble at the Squad Barracks.

“She is coming in fast,” Little said. “Lets get back on our wings while we have the chance.”

The Red Dawn cruised in, make good use of the breaks. She came in to rest at the back end of the Squad Barracks. She had lowered her ramp well in advanced, a move that was not supposed to be attempted outside special training.

Admiral Purple Breeze had been at the bottom of the ramp since it had first lowered. She took one step off and onto the Squad Barracks. It was all she needed.

“Admiral!” Deke and Little saluted.

“At ease. And where is Ruby?”

“No idea Ma’am,” Little stated. “It’s been a very hectic, weird few days Ma’am.”

“Admiral!” Ruby Snow called out as he came out of the Squad Barracks. “Sorry, a lot has happened. Captain of a Cloudship means nothing. All that matters is my rank. I had unexpected duties to attend to.”

“And where is Colonel Nova?” Admiral Purple Breeze asked.

“No idea,” Ruby Snow shrugged. “I have not seen him all day.”

“At day two of the trials,” Olive Pit said coming down the stairs to join them. “I was supposed to be on look out for you to let you know he is on his was as soon as possible.

“What are you… wearing?” Admiral Purple Breeze asked.

Olive Pit laughed. He had forgotten he was pink with a blond mane, out of uniform and in a dress to look like Scarlet Garland.

“I lost a wager,” Olive Pit explained. “Which is part of why things are so crazy and why Colonel Nova is not here. He should be back shortly. We are in the middle of Aerial Combat School. My Unit got caught with drugs. And that meant taking everything here apart. We found a few more. He is finishing up his hearings today.”

“And that excuses your look?” Admiral Purple Breeze asked.

Olive Pit blushed. “My Unit failed to meet the standards and this is my side of the wager. I couldn’t pay multiple individuals.”

“All of this for a… petty idea of what?”

Olive Pit shifted back into a command stance. “I am the officer restarting Unit 0. The first officer they have had in over ten years. Its my job to make sure that the Aerial Combat Units have medics by their side once again. We all have to get our wings.”

“That is why the wager was formed among the officers. They were in poor shape and the goal was to get them to want to pass on their own, by not wanting to let their officer down and letting the entire Squad Barracks know it. Because you can’t help but see that I am wearing their shame. Even though I am pulling it off.”

The Admiral laughed with the others. Olive Pit was making a very good show of things.

“I didn’t know the ACUs had Combat Medics,” The Admiral stated.

“It was the best kept secret inside the ACUs, even to the ACUs. With the reboot, we are getting back to the original design and that also mean the same standards and higher standards than the ACUs. And that also means Silver Wings.”

“Combat Medics with Silver Wings,” Admiral Purple Breeze marveled. “That would top 731’s medics. You have some skill.”

“I have my skill,” Olive Pit blushed. “But, I can’t stitch up shitty soldiers. In my unit, seven are out for drug use. Two have been dishonorably discharged and the other five have been sent to rehab. Their careers are undecided and out of our wings now.”

“I thought ACUs had six?”

“Unit 0 does not fall to that model. I have individual squads structured that way, but the Unit as a whole can be in the 90s. Or that is the goal. We were supposed to be at 36 wings in eight weeks, now its going to be 29, at most. If they can even pass their fitness tests.”

“Oh!” Deke exclaimed. “I did that this morning, and here it is. They all passed.”

“That is good news,” Olive Pit marveled. “Very good news.”

“Projection?”

Deke passed Olive Pit the clip board with the scores.

“I don’t think the Sergeant Major can pass overall. She is, just too long out of the game. At least not for this cycle.”

“Thanks,” Olive Pit smiled. “A good thing to hear. A real outside voice.”

“But!” Olive Pit said looking at the Admiral. “You didn’t come here to see me pulling off looking like Scarlet Garland.”

“I am here to discuss the Third Fleet’s new ranking system with Colonel Nova. It should prove useful to the ACUs, even your Unit. We are expanding the area between the Lieutenant ranks and the Captain, to allow for more movement and growth, particularly in the bridge officers. That also comes with a new rank below Second Lieutenant, Ensign. It will help balance things out.”

“Ooo, I like that,” Little squealed. “I hated that my next rank meant I was a Captain over a Cloudship. That is a hard appointment to get and could take years being stuck as a Lieutenant. I look forward to promotion opportunities!”

“You still don’t have any, Commander,” Admiral Purple Breeze smiled. “Congratulations.”

“HA! I’m a Commander, and you still are Lieutenant!”

“No, he isn’t,” Ruby Snow chuckled. “He is Lieutenant Commander Deke.”

“Awwwww,” Little whined. “Why does he get to be the rank directly below me. He has barely been off probation since he failed the practicum!”

“He can handle the entire bridge,” Admiral Purple Breeze clarified. “Weapons and all.”

“I pulled off a bootleg turn to slid in front of the Squad Barracks. Commander Little wanted a grand entrance, so I gave her one.”

“That is why he deserves it,” Admiral Purple Breeze grinned. “I can’t believe you, Commander, never have tried something like that. We need this stuff being done in the Third. You two are significantly better than the others. And you have the age advantage.”

Deke chuckled. “I almost got my coat flayed off me while I was alive for it, but the drug issue saved me from that. I had control of the area. It was safe. But, now I do need to work to recalibrate the engines. I fully accepted that responsibility before pulling it off.”

“You won’t have to,” Admiral Purple Breeze said. “Captain, I am also here because I will be relieving you of duty for the next four weeks so you and your crew can take that much needed and well deserved break. The Ships will be moving to Nellie. Your crew can chose to stay here at New Heaven, or go with to Nellie with the ships.”

“Yes!” Ruby Snow exclaimed pumping his hoof. “We certainly could use that. And new chairs on the bridge.”

“Yes, those are going to be fixed. Along with some other areas. That is why the promotions are imperative. We are going to be bringing the Buttercup and all Third Fleet Cloudships back up to their full complements. We need our competent officers to take primary roles in their younger counterpart’s development.”

“Please deny Lieutenant Green,” Deke said, almost pleading.

“We have denied him multiple times,” Admiral Purple Breeze stated. “Which is how we found out about you. Lieutenant Green is connected to a troublesome cohort of aggressive, confident young officers who are willing to take risks and have the social backing to get what they want.”

“You take risks, but you don’t throw around your backing as a threat. And yours is calculation, not so much aggression. You see the bigger picture, they see power."

“You should be familiar with a Lieutenant Autumn Leaf, who is now a Captain and in a strong command position. We do not need that kind of officer in the Third. We are not that kind of fleet. Although Lieutenant Honey Bee circumvented our job a month back when he sent scouts to look for the Recon Team, not the Buttercup as planned.”

Deke’s heart stopped beating. “I was supposed to go below on the rescue run?”

“Along with several Wonderbolt teams,” Admiral Purple Breeze stated. “That is their cohort’s strength. Serving themselves, not the Enclave; but in the name of the Enclave.”

“The Command Sergeant Major would have been able to bring down a heap of trouble on his Lieutenant if he had made it back. His rank would have meant he could have burned him alive and his Lieutenant was not in a place where he could have gotten assistance. Justice would have been served where he could not have been saved.”

“That balance has been restored. The Wonderbolt’s Colonel should have arrived and be speaking with the teams here. We won’t be skipped again. We just need information on where to search, but that has no clearance either.I am afraid they have been MIA too long for much hope to be left. Any alive probably believe they have been officially abandoned.”

“They are a crafty group who would have made some attempt at giving us notification. Each day makes it less likely.”

Deke growled. “I see that Lieutenant, I will kill him. Shadow Flare would have left some message. Some way for us to find him.”

“You don’t want to do that,” Ruby Snow stated. “It will end your career and gain nothing but banishment. And I understand that attempt was already made by his wife.”

“Wife?” Deke asked.

“Didn’t Nova catch you up?” Olive Pit asked, shocked.

“Yeah, but he never said anything about a wife.”

“Of course he missed that,” Olive Pit said rolling his eyes. “During ACS, he married Cardinal Spitfire. Secretly so he didn’t get pulled. Its no secret now, but it was then.”

Deke spoke without thinking. “Golden Dawn won’t like hearing that.”

“Idiot,” Olive Pit said shaking his head. “Its a raw subject to Cardinal Spitfire. She was as close to the situation as possible. Wonderbolt training and where the Recon Team was based out of was the same base. Be sensitive.”

“I can be sensitive,” Deke shot back.

“Admiral!” Nova called out, ending all other conversations. “Forgive me. I am so sorry I am late. I am sure you were caught up on the issue of the past few days?”

“And I am very sorry to hear it,” Admiral Purple Breeze replied.

“These idiots should have gotten you inside.”

“The fresh air is nice,” Admiral Purple Breeze smiled. “Besides, it is the better light to appreciate Scarlet Garland.”

“It is,” Nova chuckled. “Although that dress should have been worn yesterday for the hearings. It is much nicer than the one yesterday. Most of his were done yesterday.”

“It fits so much better,” Olive Pit smiled. “And it really does go with my eyes.”

Admiral Purple Breeze shook her head. “I can not believe you wore that to a formal hearing.”

“It played well into our hooves,” Nova chuckled. “It showed just how much he has tried and has done for them. And how very much they have failed. Especially the five drug users who started after ACS began. Plus, he was the prettiest Pegasus in the hearings.”

“Now admiral,” Nova said getting on track. “I have us set up in Unit 0’s auditorium. It is designed for this stuff. Well, more like medical conference and information stuff, but it is the best place for all of us. The Squad Barracks has nothing for that. Still expanding stuff here.”

“The rest of the senior officers should be there already. Including the Wonderbolts. They are, or were, in the conference rooms in Unit 0 hashing our some things.”

Marble Falls was with Cardinal Spitfire, the last in Room C. The Colonel had caught them up on the investigation, which ended with nothing. The tracks were obviously hidden, but they didn’t have the power to uncover in them. He was saved by time and his cohort mentor.

Cardinal Spitfire was splayed out on the table, quietly sobbing. Marble Falls picked up the pen and got to writing.

Family of Shadow Flare,

I won’t drag it out, Shadow Flare has been declared Missing in Action, MIA, for several weeks. MIA does not mean killed in action. His mission below is shrouded in mystery and we can’t get much information out of the whole thing.

I am writing to tell you for two reasons. The first just occurred to me that the Military may never even notify you of this, issue, because of it’s clandestine nature.

The second and real reason I am writing is that you would not get notified that he is MIA because, according to the Enclave records, family has already been notified.

My name is Captain Marble Falls. I had the honor of training your son multiple times and making him into the amazing Reconnaissance Soldier he is. I am writing this because this is attempt five to write this letter and she still can’t.

Your son married Cardinal Spitfire. A dynamite mare with as big of dreams as he has and more fire in her heart. The two of them were side by side in Basic and then Aerial Combat School. They married shortly before the school ended.

It was a secret wedding that even I, their friend, didn’t know about. They wanted to keep it secret so that neither of their dreams were stopped by marriage. Shadow Flare may have been pulled from the mission, and none of us wanted that to happen. She didn’t want her Wonderbolt dreams to get put on hold because she was married.

I trained her alongside him and I am now her captain in our Wonderbolt Unit. There is so much I wish I could write. Both of them are good friends. None of us believe that Shadow Flare is dead. There are inconsistencies that we can’t get a clear answer on, but we know him.

That is of course, no guarantee. But if there is a Pegasus from the Enclave that can survive against the odds, it is Shadow Flare.

I am sorry that you have to find this out from a letter. I wish I could deliver this personally, but I am kind of banned from visiting you right now. I have responsibilities I can not put aside, even for a short trip.

Captain Marble Falls

Marble Falls picked up Cardinal Spitfire to get them to the meeting. They ran into the others coming in to the meeting. Deke slammed into Cardinal Spitfire and brought her into a tight, choking hug.

“Somepony told me about Shadow, but not about you two. I am so sorry.”

“DAMN IT!” Marble Falls groaned as Cardinal Spitfire began to cry in his arm. “Deke, I just got her calmed down! We have a meeting. She was holding together so well the past week. Not a tear shed!”

“I am not sorry,” Deke shot back. “I want to hold one of my best friend after finding out such news. Not my fault they didn’t let me know earlier! They said MIA, not MTCS!”

“MTCS?” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled away tears.

“Married To Cardinal Spitfire. You both scored amazing spouses. My friends married each other.”

“Okay,” Cardinal Spitfire coughed. “You could loosen up on the hug.”

“Sorry,” Deke blushed, letting her go.

“Thanks,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled. “Nopony has hugged me to death for this.”

“Eh, they are too scared. I am not.”

They both chuckled.

“Woah!” Sunset Fury jumped in surprise. “Officers!”

He saluted. Sunset Fury was unaware they were here and he wasn’t expecting to run into all of them in their Unit housing.

“At ease,” Olive Pit ordered. “We are headed to a meeting of Squad Barracks officers. Unit 0 has the only room large enough for this.”

“While I have you all,” Sunset Fury said. “Permission to speak freely?”

“Yes,” Olive Pit nodded.

“I wanted to say again that I am sorry I failed you as a Master Sergeant. I want my Silver Wings. If there is an opening, I want it. I will fight for it. And I am not alone. Maybe what we really needed was to be split up and not be as Unit 0, the Combat Medics.”

“Not possible,” Nova immediately said. “No room and not a good idea. We need you to train as support, with combat as the second roll. While still training you as combatants first. Pony Patrol gets how to train you.”

Olive Pit interjected. “You all passed your PT test. It starts off again at 0600 tomorrow morning. So let the Unit know.”

Sunset Fury grinned as he saluted and rushed off.

“Okay! To the meeting!” Olive Pit announced.

It was a forum, not a meeting. The first thing was the new structure idea and the logistics of new ranks. With such a tight group of officer centric units, the addition of ranks to help denote a stronger structure beneath a captain was very important.

Once things were introduced, the Admiral opened up the room to discussion. It got a lot of positive feedback from the ACUs. Even the Wonderbolts were looking at the new structure. That was the primary reason why the Colonel was attending.

Deke and Little were discussed and introduced to their new rank insignia. Admiral Purple Breeze had been using it on the Red Dawn for almost a year and it certainly allowed for the advancement of officers who were stuck without the ability to move up past Lieutenant unless they took charge of a ship.

No Ships were available and Captain was a highly coveted position.They lost a lot of good officers who got tired of waiting or playing the popularity game. The new ranks would hold more of those officers and cut out much of the popularity contest.

Nova decided that the ACUs would shift to the Air Command Structure the Admiral presented. It would eliminate the Rank of Major, moving it to Colonel and then General. The Air Command Structure moved to Admirals, but they would stay with General since they were direct combat troops.

O1: Ensign

O2: Second Lieutenant

O3: First Lieutenant

O4: Lieutenant Commander

O5: Commander

O6: Captain

O7: Colonel

O8: Lieutenant General

O9: Major General

O10: Field General

“Great system,” Cardinal Spitfire stated. “But who is our General and shouldn’t they be implementing this?”

Nova and the Wonderbolt Colonel exchanged glanced. The Wonderbolt Colonel decided to speak.

“The Aerial Units share the same general, as we all are in the Aerial Combat Battalion. That includes Scout Command and the MIA Reconnaissance Team. The Squad Barracks has a half general, General Red River, since it is his fort, the aerial combat portion of Basic Training is conducted here and ACS happens here. General Shielded Vengeance is… around. You Wonderbolts have met him, usually without knowing it.”

“He often goes by other names and if he wears a rank insignia, it is often that of a Colonel. He is involved in other things throughout the Enclave Military as well. With the change he might make an appearance.”

“Most likely he will,” Nova stated. “I need at least six plus Olive Pit to pass ACS so we can better debut the Silver Medic Wings.”

“Why do we need a new design?” Olive Pit asked. “Can’t we wear both devices or have a medic collar pin or something?”

“That wing you fixed the other day, we need you guys trained in more trauma and wing injuries. Longer term care because you can’t just pass things off. Master Sergeant Sunset Fury is supposed to head that training up.”

“Is he aware?” Olive Pit asked.

“Sort of,” Nova replied. “He knows there were some techniques, like the wing, that I wanted him to teach. But not the full scale. That has been a developing change.”

“So earning both wings and additional combat medicine training,” Olive Pit nodded. “You really need them to be on the tip of their hooves and fixing this.”

“Yes, things have been embarrassing. But that should be over now. Just focus on your job and I will deal with your soldiers. The Second ACS is really going to be brutal for Unit 0.”

“I understand,” Olive Pit nodded.

“I get the respect for privacy in the General’s position,” Raspberry Lemonade said. “But is there any tell? Any way that we can know?”

Nova decided to answer. “He often has a Chief Warrant Officer with him. Last I knew, Defiant Impact was a Chief Warrant Officer Grade 4. Again, he often goes by another name or no name tag.”

“I can see some of you know who they are and have been to their specialized training. And I am assuming under at least false devices, no Silver Wings. Probably false ranks as well. The last thing we need is the rest of the military to know is that the ACUs are being prepared that way.”

“That program is designed for mechanics and support units, less on the combat side. It was allowed on the terms that the main focus was for mechanics and reclamation. Combat soldiers learning it becomes, aggressive. They could take up these new arms and for some illogical reason control over them would be lost. I don’t understand it all.”

Olive Pit stood up. “If we are going to be getting specialized wings, I need to go prepare a curriculum for this style of combat to train on. I was already playing with some ideas in my head. I also recommend that Aerial Combat Medical School be started two weeks prior to allow for the training of the new material and longer conditioning time.”

“Very proactive,” Admiral Purple Breeze stated. “731 could use some of that. I might send our medics to you to train them up.”

“Get me a head count,” Nova nodded. “We still have 8 weeks until we are done, but the next ACS won’t be far behind. Especially with a new curriculum. The Lieutenant is very thorough.”

Olive Pit exited the room. The others might have some things to talk about, but he had real, tangible work to do. ACS had been halted for the day in anticipation of the forum.

Sunset Fury was waiting outside of his office.

“Yes Master Sergeant?” Olive Pit asked as he unlocked his door. “Come in.”

“I just wanted to tell you that the others know and are ready. The are excited to begin.”

“We already began,” Olive Pit said taking a seat at his desk. He gestured for Sunset Fury to sit down. “So it is continuing. We have a new squad structure as well. But that will be done at 0600. That is why it is starting early.”

“However, you know how I fixed the Wonderbolt’s wing the other day?”

“Yes Sir. The talk was that you saved her career it by realigning it immediately. I am glad I had the chance to teach you that.”

“Right,” Olive Pit smiled. “I know there is a lot of pressure for you to pass. I do not want to add any more to that, but we need to step up the medical game for these mobile aerial medical units. That will be implemented after ACS, but the next one may have that information taught and tested upon.”

Sunset Fury nodded. “I will make some quick calls and see what some of my friends have to offer to expand our skill set. One that is worthy of the Silver Wings. The Colonel already informed me of the expanded medical training idea.”

“I will be drawing up an additional curriculum,” Olive Pit stated. “If you could even get me topics or injuries to cover, it would be appreciated. We won’t have the opportunity to just patch up and pull them off the front lines to be picked up by M.A.S.H. units. We will have to take injured out with us.”

“I can do that,” Sunset Fury smiled. “I am very happy to be helping on this. This is important medical stuff that I was beginning to notice we lacked and most definitely applicable to here.”

“Get ready for the game to pick up hard after this ACS. There will be no time to coast in victory.”

“I didn’t take this post to coast. I took this post to stop coasting.”

“Wonderful,” Olive Pit smiled. “I know you guys have had a hell of a time these past two weeks. I am surprised you all passed the fitness test. And with these scores. None of them can compete with the Lieutenant Commander’s scores on the 2x2, but the Specialists and Corporals made a noticeable difference.”

“Well, the Lieutenant peaked their interest when he told them his scores. It got them riled up a bit to try and beat him. It was impossible since we were deep in the 2x2, but they pushed ahead on their own, outside of the group.”

“Wait,” Olive Pit said putting his hoof up. “Are you saying that in training, you have been testing as a Squad?”

“Yes,” Sunset Fury nodded. “That was the general consensus that was arrived at. We all had to pass together.”

Olive Pit had to stop his head from hitting the desk.

“You are training in Squads, but not passing or failing as a Squad. You pass or fail as individuals, but apply the training in Units or our Squads.”

“That is what I said and was encouraging, but outside of Staff Sergeant Star Chaser, Corporal Ebony Bolt and Specialist Winter Fire, the others had the weight of their rank influencing that consensus. Many had seen several ACSs. We four continued as individuals. There may have been others, but I know us four conducted ourselves as individuals working to pass.”

Olive Pit shook his head. “That explains things. Stupid decision. I know your trainers didn’t portray that ideology.”

“The damage was done,” Sunset Fury stated. “Like I said, I failed you as your Master Sergeant.”

“You should have made that issue more aware,” Olive Pit stated.

“Another place I messed up,” Sunset Fury admitted. “After watching their performance, I didn’t think it mattered.”

“Now it does matter,” Olive Pit stated. “It really does matter. You need to push each other to excellence by competing. Friendly competition, ensuring you all have each other’s backs, but pushing so you all succeed, yet never compromising your position. It is training, not combat. Learning some new skills and you have to show you know them backwards and forwards.”

“Now, since you are helping me with some of the curriculum, do you want an office?” Olive Pit asked.

“Aren’t they for officers?” Sunset Fury asked.

Olive Pit shrugged. “That is the official design, but this is my Unit and to give out offices as I see fit. I have plenty. If you are heading up some of the training aspects, you need an office.”

“Then, let’s get me an office,” Sunset Fury smiled.

Olive Pit unlocked a drawer and then a safe in that drawer and removed a set of keys. U0O1 was marked on the head of the key. Unit 0 Office 1. Olive Pit gave Sunset Fury the keys to his new office and led him to it.

“A thought,” Sunset Fury said as Olive Pit began to walk away. “Do I have permission to bring in outside trainers for boosting our medical training?”

“Hmmm,” Olive Pit said thinking. “Get me a list. If you contact any of them about this new training materials, inform them they may be receiving a call, depending on how things play out.”

“Wonderful,” Sunset Fury smiled.

Chapter 75 - Aborted Moratorium

Cardinal Spitfire skipped up the steps of the Squad Barracks. It was quiet inside the Barracks since the ACUs were still being trained for a few more hours until they would be let go for dinner. Cardinal Spitfire had been released from training Unit 0 to prepare for day one of agility training; the after dinner segment where they learned the tricks Shadow had first taught her.

Every member in ACS had to be there. It was now built into the program. ACS students had to pass by earning her personal approval. Cardinal Spitfire also had to make sure the Wonderbolts picked it up so they could train others in her absence. At least Pony Patrol had learned all they needed to from her while at Fort Griffin’s Gate.

After a quick dinner, Cardinal Spitfire headed out the back and began to loosen up. They would start easy with a the simple hoof stands, like Shadow had first taught her and then the ACUs. The trainees needed to learn what it meant to have the blood flowing to their heads and be able to deal with it.

Cardinal Spitfire was getting antsy as they lined up after dinner. It was a relaxed line up so it took time, but they all had a final timed deadline. The Colonels and the Admiral were watching from the top of the Squad Barracks steps, along with a few other higher up officers Cardinal Spitfire didn’t recognize, and didn’t care about.

Cardinal Spitfire didn’t feel like she had a Lieutenant Bar on. She felt like the corporal she was back in their ACS. She was not expecting to feel this way, unprepared to teach because they outranked her.

Cardinal Spitfire took a deep breath in before beginning.

“This is a new segment added to ACS,” She began with a strong command voice. “My husband, Shadow Flare, is an exceptional acrobat. He honed his legendary skills for years. After an unexpected turn of events during the last ACS, when we were training, Shadow led a few nights of these tricks and maneuvers and then it was put into the training regiment for our ACS. It is now an official training to pass ACS, with standards. You have to earn my stamp of approval.”

“This is all work with your hooves, no wings. But it is very beneficial in the air. You have to guess what is coming but be ready to change at a moment’s notice. You have to think agile at all times.”

“Obviously, ground combat will be much easier to apply these tactics. If you are able to out think and out maneuver your opponent, you win. To stay still is to die. It won’t be easy, but I know you can learn.”

“Today we begin with getting you used to blood flowing to your head. We will start with hoofstands. You will be working in pairs to start, but I will demonstrate what it means to go solo.”

Cardinal flipped up into the stand and began to walk down and then back across the line. There were a lot of impressed murmurs and whispers. Some were of doubt that they could do this at all. Cardinal Spitfire dropped back onto her hooves.

Marble Falls came over and they began to work the others through how to properly hold up and support their partner. Most of them caught on quickly. Pony Patrol, Tuff and some others like Arrow and Flags were around to help.

The two of them were some of the few who had learned the acrobatics and decided to help. The others either wanted the break from training, or didn’t care.

By the end, the trainees heads were spinning and many had a headache.

“Wonderful job,” Cardinal Spitfire praised them. “We will continue to master this basic form, but tomorrow night we will begin to add in some other important acrobatics. Dismissed!”

Marble Falls came over laughing. “That went much better than with Filly Fooler. Your ACS didn’t like being instructed by a fellow trainee.”

“I didn’t notice,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “But probably.”

“I am concerned though,” Fountain said. “I don’t think they will have the time to learn it all.”

“They are not learning it to the same degree I taught you,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “You, we, are Wonderbolts. They are not. They will learn a lot, but I won’t push them like you guys. The important thing is them learning to think agile.”

“But, it is shower and bed for me,” Cardinal Spitfire announced. “We have a horrible day ahead of us tomorrow.”

The morning brought the most hated training tactic, the wing weights. Unit 0 had not been introduced to it yet. A lot of ACS units were being put through the exercises on the beautiful morning.

Pony Patrol set up a yellow flag at the quarter mark, along with the standard half mark. Yes, the goal was to make it all the way to the finish, but they were not premier fliers. They were going to start with a more realistic goal.

By the end, Bright Star made to the quarter mark. So did Lavender Star, Diamond Class, Star Chaser, and Sunset Fury. Winter Fire, Orchid Twilight, Bright Storm, Ebony Bolt, Lightning Measure Dark Pyre, Defiant Day, Rare Bloom, and Scarlet Heart made it past the halfway mark.

Since they had shattered the idea of passing as a unit, the Specialists and Corporals were beginning to run circles around the Sergeants and Senior NCOs. They were not catching up on encouraging each other yet, but Pony Patrol was almost harassing them with the idea.

“Cardinal Spitfire,” The Wonderbolt Colonel called out. “At your earliest convenience, can you see me in Unit Zero, Office 2?”

“Of course,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “We are almost done with this segment.”

Unit 0 had open rooms and was being used by the visiting senior officers for all sorts of meetings and business aspects. Many had taken up temporary offices as well. Cardinal Spitfire knew they were there for the new chain of command structure, but that was it. She knew at least two more admirals had arrived from other fleets. Her focus was on training, not who was there or why. So long as they stayed out of their way, she didn’t give a shit.

They were still building the designated Wonderbolt housing Unit. Nova was annoyed that he made the wrong choice in construction order. Things were further slowed down as the began to build Wind Hamlet for all the incoming families. Separate Engineers had been moved in to build the Hamlet, but materials were now in shorter supply.

“This is both a pleasure and a heart ache,” The Colonel greeted her. “Command Sergeant Major Shadow Flare’s effects have been delivered to your quarters. I fought for this… right. But the matter is now officially closed. Never to be reopened.”

“It was going to be anyway, but my, insistence, made sure it closed properly. Every family is being notified that their loved one was either killed in action, or is missing in action. And that all personal effects that did not require a security clearance were returned to them.”

“You had to make a few threats, didn’t you?” Cardinal Spitfire asked, a slight smile perking her lips.

“I used my status as a Wonderbolt and my rank,” The Colonel smirked. “And since you are a Wonderbolt, I have clearance to give you some of the finer details. ”

“For the investigation, I never found anything of relevant value or of a classified nature. I assume you already had procured any items, if they existed, well before and that they had no bearing on the case.”

Cardinal Spitfire blushed. “Just a ‘I’m sorry I am dead but I will be back’ letter.”

The Colonel nodded. “That sounds like what the Command Sergeant Major would write. I read enough of his reports.”

“You fought for more than just that though,” Cardinal Spitfire said.

“Yes, I did,” The Colonel smiled, pulling out a box from a drawer. “I fought for the right to present you with a few awards he earned while below. And the reason he received them. That is something only a Pegasus with high clearance can read. Outside of their sealed records, the medals are recorded for viewing with only vague reasons for their awarding.”

“Pony Patrol can read them as well, but outside of that, well its read so that no ears can listen in. The other families will only get the medals with vague reasons for the reason for it.”

“How many are KIA and how many are MIA?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

“Two are KIA; Lieutenant Silent Wing, who was posthumously promoted to Captain and Sergeant Major Storm Eye. Along with your husband, Sergeant Major Nor’easter, Master Sergeant Thunder Clap and Master Sergeant Apple Slice are unaccounted for. The death of Master Sergeant Storm Eye in Manehatten was the last transmission received.”

“I wish I could let you see the file I have with me for their awards and promotions, but you are not cleared. For now, they stay secure in my desk.”

“Awards,” Cardinal Spitfire said, taking in a deep breath to control her emotions.

The Colonel put a small box on the table and opened it, revealing a burgundy ribbon with a white center and three blue vertical bands in the center. The box had the medal and a separate ribbon for you to slide onto your dress uniform ribbon rack. Full medals were only worn on the most formal of occasions.

“It is a pointless letter stating nothing really, but each member of the reconnaissance team was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Award, some posthumously. I am surprised only one was awarded, but it all happened as an afterthought. I had to submit that award. They all deserve this.

“It is like the Meritorious Service Award you can earn for exceptional service, but it means you earned it in combat. I would be shocked if you did not earn your Meritorious Service Ribbon at least once, its a staple for Wonderbolts because we are the exceptional service. Most of us have multiple stars on our ribbons because we earn it more than once.”

“Makes sense,” Cardinal Spitfire nodded.

“Now the real stuff. First off, a Purple Heart,” The Colonel said opening up the box with the ribbon and its medal. She slid the official paper across the table for Cardinal Spitfire to read.

This letter hereby awards the Purple Heart to Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare for his actions in the line of duty.

While on a reconnaissance mission below the clouds, the Command Sergeant Major received grave wounds while attempting to establish peaceful relations with a group in the Fillydelphia Ruins. The leader of the group decided peace talks were over and ordered that the Command Sergeant Major be killed.

Command Sergeant Major Shadow Flare fought off dozens of enemies on the ground, in the sky and weapons designed to shoot and kill anything in the sky above Fillydelphia. He received multiple bullet wounds, lacerations and other lethal injuries during his escape.

For his bravery and blood spilled, the Grand Pegasus Enclave presents Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare with the Purple Heart.

The space below had the Enclave’s stamp and the Counsel members had hoof signed it.

“Damn,” Was all Cardinal Spitfire could say.

“It is impressive he survived,” The Colonel stated. “He is a hardy, solid stallion. But here is his second Purple Heart.”

“Second!” Cardinal Spitfire exclaimed. “He walked out of that and got a second?”

“Apparently,” The Colonel chuckled as the paper was slid across the desk.

This letter hereby awards the Purple Heart to Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare for his actions in the line of duty.

While on a reconnaissance mission below the clouds, the Command Sergeant Major received grave wounds while doing reconnaissance in Baltimare, a previously unexplored or mapped location.

While exploring the ruins, the reconnaissance team was beset by a pack of mutated ponies. The team was backed against a wall, unable to maneuver for some time. They were forced to fight every one that came at them in a enclosed area.

During this fight, the Command Sergeant Major took two bullets to the head. The second broke his helmet and forced a large fragment from his helmet into his skull above his left eye. The wound was bound off and the Command Sergeant Major continued to fight.

For his bravery and blood spilled, the Grand Pegasus Enclave presents Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare with the Purple Heart.

Again, it had the Enclave’s seal and their hoof written signatures.

The Colonel opened the next box, revealing a red ribbon with a blue stripe down its center. A bit of white flanked the blue stripe. She put it in line with the other three.

“And now for the really fun ones,” The Colonel said pushing forward another piece of paper.

This letter hereby awards the Bronze Star with Valor to Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare for his actions in the line of duty.

While on a reconnaissance mission below the clouds, the Command Sergeant Major received a bullet to the head, leaving a fragment of his helmet in his skull. This incident occurred as they were mapping out the unexplored metropolitan ruins of Baltimare.

The team was backed into a corner, unable to maneuver out of their position, and facing a new enemy never seen before, called Super Ponies. They fought hard as the ponies pressed against their lines.

Without his helmet or a way to protect his head, only able to see out of one eye from the bandages, no medicine taken, and no aiming assistant for his special weapons, the Command Sergeant Major continued to fight with extreme accuracy until the team was able to escape.

For his bravery and steel heart despite his injuries, the Grand Pegasus Enclave presents Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare with the Bronze Star.

“He has more?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

The Colonel just nodded, opened a fifth case containing a Silver Star and light blue Ribbon. She slid the paper across the table.

This letter hereby awards the Silver Star to Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare for his actions in the line of duty.

While on a reconnaissance mission below the clouds, the Command Sergeant Major was forced to scope out and map a tightly controlled territory within the Fillydelphia Ruins. The Command Sergeant Major mapped out a large portion of the territory and gained valuable information about the group operating the territory.

After moving to a better location to continue his work, the Command Sergeant Major was discovered and a large number of their forces surprised him. Their initial attempt was to remove his coat while he was alive. After a short fight, the Command Sergeant Major convinced the rest who were alive to arrange a meeting with the leader of the group.

After some talks, attempting to gain peaceful relations, the Command Sergeant Major was given the opportunity to join the group with a handsome reward for joining. The gesture was declined.

With no options left, the group opened fire, forcing the Command Sergeant Major to fight off dozens of them on the ground, the air and with special weapons to take out enemies from the air. He was gravely wounded but pressed on because he had information that could not be obtained again, even by other means.

For his bravery and unyielding work at gaining more understand about the Fillydelphia Ruins, the Grand Pegasus Enclave presents Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare with the Silver Star.

“That marks five,” Cardinal Spitfire stated. “Is there seriously another one?”

The Colonel opened another box and set it in line with the others. Another Silver Star.

This letter hereby awards the Silver Star to Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare for his actions in the line of duty.

While on a reconnaissance mission below the clouds, the Command Sergeant Major led his team into a wartime Zebra installation, known as Kifopiga, far south of the Equestrian Boarder. When they breached it, they unknowingly awoke a battalion of Feral Zebra Ghouls.

It was not long until the reconnaissance team was out of ammunition and forced to fight the savage beasts with combat knives. The fight lasted two days.

During that time, in an effort to conserve ammunition, the Command Sergeant Major took up a Zebra Sword so he could physically cut them down. Taking up the sword forced him to leave his armor behind and don Zebra armor for some protection.

His ammunition sacrifice only lasted so long. The rest of the team eventually took up Zebra Rifles and turned their own weapons against them. The Command Sergeant Major continued to fight with the sword, drawing their attention and allowing the rest of the team to safely kill the distracted enemy ghouls.

For all of their unyielding actions against great odds and making sure that blight was never unleashed upon the wasteland, all five of the team are awarded the Silver Star.

Grand Pegasus Enclave presents Command Sergeant Major of Reconnaissance Shadow Flare with the Silver Star.

“Please tell me this is it,” Cardinal Spitfire panted. “I know he is good, and that the odds were against them, but this is inducing anxiety over what he has done, not his current situation.”

The Colonel chuckled. “That is the last of his medals. These are the star devices for the double medals, to signify that he has two because you don’t wear two. And the V for valor on the Bronze Star.”

Cardinal Spitfire put the small metal devices into one of the boxes.

“The entire team was busy. But their notifications of field promotions were often vague. If Shadow was the one entering the submissions, the promotions and medals were awarded, no questions asked because of his rank. If the others were placing a request for decorations and awards, then it was up to their superiors. All of their requests were vague in some areas, leading to questions they were not going to answer. At least not over messages.”

“Baltimare has been officially sidelined. It is one of the last places the Enclave will go. The recommendations about the dangers there are solid. It will take all we have and more to clear that city. But they are hiding something. It is so strong in it’s warning, yet its one of their vaguest reports ever.”

They both chuckled.

“This Kifopiga sounds interesting,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “There has to be so much more to it than they reported on.”

“They never filed a medal recommendation for that one,” The Colonel stated. “That was awarded to them during a conversation with Lieutenant Honey Bee where more of their struggle was discovered. They did a lot and putting everything into reports is hard. Most of the time, personal actions were left out because there was so much.”

“And, it is pronounced Kifopiga. Ki-foe-pee-gha. The correct pronunciation was passed on during that conversation. Its got some meaning, but I don’t believe they knew what it was.”

“I really want to see this Kifopiga,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “But that will have to wait. I have to train a bunch of pansies.”

“Not yet,” The Colonel chuckled as Cardinal Spitfire got up. “This isn’t an award, but an acknowledgment of the situation.”

The Colonel slid two more boxes across the table. This time they were squares, not rectangles. One had a gold Enclave symbol in it, the other a silver one. But they were upside down in the box.

Cardinal Spitfire picked up the silver one. It wasn’t correct. It was not upside down. The five pointed star was pointing up, not down. But the wings flanking it were flipped down, not up.

“They are insignia, indicating MIA status,” The Colonel explained. “The Silver one is for Shadow Flare. It can be worn on the right breast of his military uniform, opposite of the training device, at all times. Even if he is found, he was MIA.”

“The gold one is for you. Only direct, nuclear family member can wear it, signifying your plight as one who has had to live a time without knowing the fate of their loved one. It is only given out to family members who served, no matter if they are active duty or retired.”

“You also get to wear it with any uniform. That is one of the few dress awards that can be worn on service uniforms. I have enough patches here for your flight suits, your regular service uniform and even one for your flight jacket.”

Cardinal Spitfire sat there shocked. It was the last thing she had expected. She had never heard of it before.

“How many have these?”

“Currently, six others,” The Colonel stated. “Master Sergeant Thunder Claps’ family is in the military. They have a long military history, typical unimpressive service record, but long. His mother is still serving, his father has retired, and his brother is also currently serving. Master Sergeant Nor'easter has family serving as well.They will receive theirs soon.”

“What about the earlier missions below?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

“We know what happened to them all,” The Colonel stated. “We just couldn’t retrieve their bodies.”

“Wow,” Cardinal Spitfire said shaking her head to take it all in. “How often is this rewarded?”

“Its been almost two centuries,” The Colonel stated. “The Enclave military used it to help ease the pain of their soldier’s who had Equestrian Military family member who were MIA because the clouds were sealed up.”

“It won over a lot of hearts back then. It was a good ploy. It didn’t matter if that family member was a Pegasus or not, just that they were serving when they went MIA. But now I am bringing it back to shine awareness of the sacrifice the reconnaissance team made. More will probably follow soon. They are going to need more teams to go below and touch down.”

“I am going to go put these away,” Cardinal Spitfire said getting up. “And I have some things to think about as I sew on these patches.”

“Good idea,” The Colonel smiled.

Shadow had driven her to wanting to sew on her own patches. She was not the best, but it was more than adequate. She ordered a whole new set of flight suits that were embroidered so she could fly without needing to worry about the patches. She added her flight jacked to the list. She wanted professionals to sew it on. It was special.

Cardinal Spitfire was back out with the others after lunch.

“Uh, I know you are new at sewing,” Raspberry Lemonade said. “But you sewed that Enclave symbol on upside down.”

“No I did not,” Cardinal Spitfire confidently responded. “The star is pointed up, as it should be, but the wings are down. It means I have a direct family member who is, or was, MIA. Shadow gets a silver one for his time being MIA. Assuming he is recovered, he can proudly wear it for his trials.”

“Huh. Interesting,” Marble Falls stated. “Nopony goes MIA, so it makes sense we have never head of it.”

“You have to be active or retired military to receive the family member one. And it is one of the few things for your dress uniform that can be worn on any of your service uniforms, including our flight jackets. But I am leaving that to professionals to stitch on.”

“Outside of me, six others are getting the gold symbol. That is all. Just us a few of us, currently.”

Cardinal Spitfire got playful. “I was given it along with the six medals Shadow earned below. Since I am a Wonderbolt with top security clearance, I was allowed to find out exactly what he did to warrant their award.”

“Can you tell us?” Fountain asked.

“No,” Cardinal Spitfire said coyly. “But Pony Patrol can read the letters.”

“Well then,” Lemon Lime smirked. “We better whip their asses in shape if we want to keep it at four MIA Badges.”

Unit 0 was finally in the air, flying. They had to start small in teams, but they would shape up and be able to handle Squad maneuvers soon enough.

For acrobatics, Cardinal Spitfire had them work with hoofstands for a bit before switch to the all important dive roll. There were a lot of backs smacking into the flight deck. Cardinal Spitfire and the others did what they could, but trial and error was the better teacher.

They all gathered in Cardinal Spitfire’s room to read the awards.

“Damn impressive,” Marble Falls said. “Especially him surviving both Purple Hearts.”

“No spoilers,” Cinnamon Swirl whined. “I haven’t read those yet.”

Marble Falls set down the paper and looked at the medals. Cardinal Spitfire had them on the desk, open for viewing.

“I have never seen most of these,” Marble Falls stated. “I did get the Defense Meritorious Service Award for my mission, and the regular Bronze Star, but the rest I have only heard about. The teams below received some of these, typically posthumously. But I have never see any because these are combat ribbons. And Nova never wears his dress uniform, so any chances of him having some are locked away.”

“They are nice and shiny,” Fountain observed.

“I plan on keeping them that way,” Cardinal Spitfire stated. “Even after he returns. I probably will be the one making sure they shine because he won’t want anything to do with them.”

“I don’t know,” Raspberry Lemonade said. “This Kehfepega sounds like something he would gladly wear it for.”

“I agree,” Marble Falls said. “I know he is not prideful and he doesn’t much care for awards or being singled out for personal achievements, but these sound different. I could see him gladly wearing these with pride.”

“I wonder who died,” Cinnamon Swirl said finishing up.

“That would be Lieutenant Silent Wind,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “And then Sergeant Major Storm Eye. His death was the last transmission they received.”

The whole conversation was burned into her memory. Word for word. Action for action. Feeling for feeling.

“The Lieutenant, he was posthumously promoted to Captain.”

“I wish I could read his file,” Raspberry Lemonade said.

“I know. But it’s in the Colonel’s temporary office in Unit 0. In a drawer.”

“Then let’s go!” Raspberry Lemonade smirked.

“Wait,” Marble Falls said. “Hold on. Are you saying that we sneak into Unit 0, unlock her office in Unit 0 and then break into her desk to read classified information about the awards given to the rest of the team?”

“Yes,” Raspberry Lemonade said with a nod.

“Okay,” Marble Falls shrugged. “Lead the way.”

They headed out of the building and Raspberry Lemonade began to stalk around.

“There is no reason to be stealthy,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “We are not doing anything wrong. Yet.”

“Good point,” Raspberry Lemonade chuckled.

The lights were out in that part of the Unit, but each desk had their own lamp. Raspberry Lemonade had trouble unlocking the door, so she passed off the lock pick set to Fountain, who also had trouble. Marble fall twisted the doorknob and it opened. It wasn’t locked to begin with. Neither was the desk. Both should have been.

The file held more than the awards and decorations of the team. It held the major reports from their actions below. Many of their reports did leave questions they should have been able to answer.

The light flipped on and they jumped, caught red hoofed.

“Yeah,” The Colonel said, leaning against the door frame. “Like I told Cardinal Spitfire, their reports lack some things. They knew how to handle a Lieutenant that wasn’t for them. I am so glad you picked up on what I said, because it is all I can let you see. Logically, that should have never been with me. But you deserved some more closure after the incident.”

“The Lieutenant definitely hid messages, but even with our best Wonderbolts on it, we couldn’t figure out what he did. We ran out of time.”

“You did your absolute best,” Marble Falls replied. “Thanks. Its good to get a little closure on what they were doing.”

“Its late and you have trainees to worry about,” The Colonel said, waving them out.

When they were out of sight, the Colonel picked up the files and dropped them into the steel trashcan. She pulled out a lighter and disposed of such sensitive material in the best way possible. Like she had said, she wasn’t really supposed to have them with her.

In the morning, it was Cardinal Spitfire’s turn to warm Unit 0 up. She decided to lead them through the 2x2, as a group. Time mattered, but they were supposed to be moving in their squads. Their slowest time when Deke ran them through it had improved by over a minute. A very good improvement.

“Cardinal Spitfire,” Marble Falls said coming over. “Arrow is heading off to do some tight exercises with Olive Pit. You know his performance in Basic Training, I want you to oversee this session. I understand that later today, she will be moving into Aerial Combat against another Unit.”

“Right,” Cardinal Spitfire nodded. “I will keep close eye on his skill. A very close eye.”

Marble Falls shook her head. “You can fuck with him all you want, so long as you don’t throw him off his game.”

“YES!” Cardinal Spitfire exclaimed as she dashed off to find Unit 17.

Chapter 76 - From Bars Back To Stripes

Cardinal Spitfire found Unit 17. They were already being harassed by Deke. Most of his jeers were directly at Olive Pit, not the Unit.

“Can you please get him to stop,” Arrow begged. “It is all he does. Poke and poke at Olive Pit and every so often, me.”

Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “Sorry, you are on your own there. I am just here to make sure Olive Pit is being trained right, and can handle this, assignment.”

Arrow groaned in frustration.

“Yes, this is an official report. And Olive Pit better show his skills. I know how he flies.”

“So does Marble Falls,” Olive Pit shot back. He was doing a good job at masking his frustration.

“Yeah, but she has to deal with Unit 0, so you get me.”

“Now,” Cardinal Spitfire said turning her attention back to Arrow. “What is your plan to fail at?”

Arrow rolled her eyes. “This morning I am leading them in tight, high speed exercises designed around flying and only flying. After lunch, we will begin to work on aerial combat against another Unit.”

“And that Unit is?”

“63,” Arrow sighed. “And I picked them.”

“I don’t know who is in 63,” Cardinal Spitfire stated.

“Flags is leading it and he has a bunch of senior NCOs. They are a Scout Unit. And, like 17, they are missing their second officer.”

“Flags in a solid choice,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “The difficult part is that you both know each other and personal tactics. Which is why you chose him. So he could thoroughly beat you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Arrow waved off. “Go harass some other team.”

“I can’t,” Cardinal Spitfire grinned. “You are stuck with me.”

“And me!” Deke added. “And I don’t think Cardinal Spitfire will be impressed.”

“If you were not a Lieutenant Commander,” Arrow growled.

“Problems?” Little said joining them.

“No,” Arrow shot back. “I can handle it.”

“You certainly haven’t handled Deke, who is so bored his only entertainment has been harassing your Unit.”

“I can take care of myself,” Arrow hissed. “I am not a filly anymore.”

“Yeah, and you are on a clock,” Cardinal Spitfire stated. “So you better get to improving yourself.”

Arrow grinned. “I hope you can see from here. We need our space.”

“Fuck that. I am a Wonderbolt. I get to be up close and personal when it comes to watching and judging you.”

“Take us with you!” Deke begged.

Cardinal Spitfire laughed. “I have seen you fly. You are not aware enough to be out there. You are a hazard and a danger to yourself out in this sky. At least Olive Pit is working in a team. Training so he isn’t a problem.”

Unit 17 checked into the Flight Deck and waited for their turn to launch. Arrow had switched up teams a bit and Olive Pit was her wingmate at the moment. Cardinal Spitfire was alongside their formation. Arrow rolled her eyes and put them into a proper take off. They took their time, playing it safe until they were clearer from the Squad Barracks and most of the Units in training.

Arrow put them into a bob and then a climb, rolling as they went up. Cardinal Spitfire was safely off to the side, observing. She matched Arrow’s flight pattern better than some of Unit 17’s members.

Arrow kicked them into a higher gear and dove. She rolled them out of the dive and into a tight turn and then cross bank. She was trying to boot Cardinal Spitfire from mirroring her movements like she was apart of Unit 17.

It didn’t work so she split her Unit in a star formations, giving them a count down to reform the Unit. They were flying well and at a good speed. Their response times were solid as well.

Arrow leveled out and slowed down.

“Not bad,” Cardinal Spitfire stated. “But I was expecting more from you. I know your skill level. It was rather slow in the speed department. Are you going soft?”

“Fine,” Arrow huffed. “We were just warming up.”

“Keep telling yourself that lie and you will get nowhere!”

Unit 17 dove. Most of them were late joining her. Their speed picked up by a good amount, but their reaction times were poor. They tightened up and continued to zip and spin.

Cardinal Spitfire continued to stay with them, but backed off. She could read every move Arrow was going to make, but her team was having trouble. Arrow had switched to nonverbal commands and it was showing.

Arrow never gave the order to fully split since everything was nonverbal. She was able to get them to loosen up. She took that moment to put her and Olive Pit in a very tight barrel roll. Both wings followed suit. After a few seconds and simple roll of the wing the left team did a tight roll, kick starting a wave to the other teams and then back to them.

As they dove, they reformed and continued to work on tight formations until Arrow indicated they were heading back in for lunch. They were a good deal out from the Squad Barracks. They stayed in a tight formations and Cardinal Spitfire took up the rear into a seven pony boat tale configuration. The Unit didn’t show any response to the seventh member. Arrow had done a good job keeping them ready to use the different combat formations.

As they got off the flight deck and to safety, Cardinal Spitfire gave her report.

“That second half was poor and sloppy. But considering that she picked up the speed and dropped verbal commands, not bad. Still a lot of work to do in that department, but the team barrel rolls were impressive. Lieutenant Olive Pit isn’t your weak link when it comes to show formations. I look forward to seeing how you preform in combat after lunch.”

“1300 we need to be in line, ready to go,” Arrow said. “That means this time, put your training vests on before lining up.”

Unit 17 fell out.

“I don’t know what you are worried about,” Cardinal Spitfire immediately said. “17 is a solid Unit.”

“Its been a few more weeks,” Arrow pointed out. “And I got Olive Pit. They still are three Corporals and one Sergeant. Two or Three years in the military and I am close to a year in, going from NCO to officer.”

“You were really good in our officer school.”

“Yeah, but it still isn’t the same as dealing with excited and immature NCOs in an Aerial Combat Unit. They need to settle down. I need an experienced officer. I have submitted my two picks, but both are above my rank.”

“Yeah, leadership of the Units can get interesting,” Cardinal Spitfire admitted. “But rank is the last thing you need to worry about.”

They sat down to eat and Cardinal Spitfire was bumped further down the bench. She almost snapped at the rude interruption except it was Flags and Chocolate.

“You are the talk the Squad Barracks,” Flags stated. It was the first time they had talked since Cardinal Spitfire had gotten back.

“It is good to see you too,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled. “Both of you. I know its been busy.”

“That is an understatement,” Chocolate stated.

“Well, like I was saying you are the talk of the Squad Barracks.”

“She didn’t stop,” Chocolate interjected.

“What is with the symbol on your chest?”

Cardinal Spitfire took a deep breath in and explained the MIA badge.

Chocolate shook his head. “Everypony here knows you are a Wonderbolt and doubt you got it wrong, but I will spread the word about its real meaning. By tomorrow, everypony here will know. And then Arrow and Dipper can move into the spotlight, whenever they do get married.”

Arrow groaned in frustration. “That would be because of my idiot sister. And now the Squad Barracks are serving as a meeting point for some very powerful Admirals, Generals, Colonels, and whoever else needs to be here, for whatever the fuck is going on.”

“It is hard to plan a wedding in the first place. Most of it is falling on my mother’s shoulders, but I still have to approve things. Along with Dipper. And I have no idea what he is doing. I have barely seen him and he suddenly stopped sharing a bed with me.”

“Oh, you didn’t hear,” Flags blinked. “With Lieutenant Razzleberry leading Unit 0’s special new troops, Dipper was tasked with leading Blue Barracks in their aerial combat section of Basic Training. Nova personally assigned him to the task.”

“Doesn’t he have a Unit to be with?” Arrow asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Nope, he is still in 41.”

“Damn,” Arrow swore. “That explains a few things.”

They chatted, catching up. They had let Cardinal Spitfire have some space after hearing about Shadow. She had a job to push through. It was enjoyable for them all to finally catch up.

“Damn it!” Flags said catching the time. “I can’t make it to and back in two minutes!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cardinal Spitfire shrugged. “You two are the officers. If you are a little late, so be it. You were preparing for these exercises. Together. Just don’t make it a habit.”

“She has a point,” Arrow shrugged. “No point in rushing too much.”

Once the two Units were in the air things were more relaxed. Cardinal Spitfire was still joining them for close observation. Olive Pit was Unit 17’s weak point when it came to combat, but he was still performing much better than he did in Basic Training.

Unit 17 was much more aggressive, often splitting up to dive and harass Unit 63. Flags brought 63 around in strong positions, using speed and their better unit maneuverability to his advantage. He was often able to flip around and shoot down a team trailing them. His tactics typically allowed him to out gun Arrow, but she was able to attack from three ways at once. All in all, they were decently matched.

The combat testing ended mid afternoon. They could only keep it exciting and fresh so long with just two Units.

Olive Pit headed to his office to catch up on some thing. He hadn’t had time to work on a new medical segment for their Unit. He checked his physical in box by his door and found plenty of papers. Almost all of them where from the clinic. Basic reports that were easy to quickly read and then file away.

His terminal had one message. It was from Sunset Fury. It had the name, post and IDs of nine individuals in the medical field. Each individual had a profile with the information that Sunset Fury recommended they teach about. Half of them were Combat Medic School trainers, but one was an ER doctor, another one a surgeon, and two were Emergency Medical Teams Warrant Officers.

Sunset Fury had messaged all of them. All but two of the trainers had responded that they would come if asked. And it had only been a few days since Sunset Fury had been putting together this list.

Olive Pit shrugged and went for it. He looked at his calendar and scheduled the seminars to start two days after they had graduated from ACS. That gave them one free day before they were back to work. Nova was informed of his plans.

It also meant that he had to contact headquarters and extend the coverage of the clinic. They had anticipated Unit 0 needing more time and everything was already ready to go in.

Cardinal Spitfire had spent the time after the combat exercises writing up a report on Olive Pit. She was done well before dinner so she typed up one on Unit 17 and one on Unit 63. She sent them as a message over the terminal to Nova. Marble Falls’ report was hoof written. She wasn’t a fan of terminals for official reports.

Marble Falls read the report while eating dinner.

“Good,” She finally said. “I am glad he is shaping up to be an excellent aerial combatant. Gauging from this report, he will earn his wings and be ready to lead Unit 0. He certainly has improved since Basic Training.”

“Arrow was a good pick,” Cardinal Spitfire remarked.

“Yes, she was. A pity Lightning had to make things more complicated. But she was a phenomenal choice. I know my trainees!”

For acrobatics, Cardinal Spitfire worked them through more hoofstands. They were improving quickly. Several were already able to stay up on their own. As one tried, she fell. Nothing unusual about that except she slammed into another and somehow ended up with a gash along her forehead in the process.

Olive Pit was immediately by her side.

“First Sergeant,” Olive Pit called. “Grab the emergency flight deck med kit!”

Morning Spark, now the only First Sergeant, grabbed the kit and was by their side within seconds. Olive Pit made it obvious that she was Morning Spark’s patient. He cleaned the wound off to see what they were looking at. It was a long gash, but clean. No rips or jagged edges.

“And you do what in this situation?” Olive Pit asked with all the authority of an officer making sure his soldier knew what to do.

“The Clinic-”

Olive Pit cut him off. “Is not in the field during combat.”

“Stitches. Ten, no twelve. To make sure it holds under stress.”

“Wrong,” Olive Pit said. “You want a few less...”

“To allow for the wound to move under the stress of combat, while still being held together to stop the bleeding.”

Morning Spark pulled open the stitching kit and to her horror, and the others, drove the hooked needle into her skin, without any anesthetics. Several ponies vomited and most had to look away. Some even covered their ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound of her pain.

The Clinic had a stretcher and were waiting for him to finish. Morning Spark either didn’t see them, or didn’t care as he finished cleaning the wound and binding it off like he would in the field.

“Fuck,” Cardinal Spitfire said with a shiver. “That was horrible.”

“That, is combat medicine,” Morning Spark confidently replied. “Under fire, we don’t always get to use even local meds to numb the pain. For something like that, it is stitch and go. They have a battle to fight. You can live through pain. You can’t survive bleeding out.”

“Yeah,” He proudly stated. “Something like that is minor, and that means you still are going to have to fight. It just is our job to make sure you either live, or are patched up enough to keep fighting. You are in an Aerial Combat Unit. You will be outnumbered and often unable to get better medical care until we are free to carry you out.”

Cardinal Spitfire got them back on track.

“That was well done,” Olive Pit praised Morning Spark. “Just like a First Sergeant should be.”

“But I messed up on the number of stitches.”

“And its training,” Olive Pit smiled. “They are going to cut them and redo them with twelve or so stitches. Your first thought was to act like you were in the clinic, that is all. You do most of your work in the clinic.”

“And if you had put in twelve, it would have been fine. Seven, like you did, was optimal for having to continue to fight. You remember and the rest were reminded of that tactic.”

Cardinal Spitfire opted to not introduce back springs due to the injury. She put them back into dive rolls. Many had not figured them out yet.

The night ended with her examining Shadow’s medals. She still hadn’t removed them from the boxes. It was the second closest she could get to Shadow. The necklace was first, but these were what he had done after the memories stored in the necklace. She couldn't take them out. They were too reverent. They would come out when he needed to put them on.

The morning was no different. Cardinal Spitfire was called out as she was going about her business.

“Lieutenant Spitfire!”

“Yes?” Cardinal Spitfire asked, turning to see who had called her. “Yes Chief, what can I do for you?”

“You are needed in Unit 0’s Office number 5.”

“I will head there,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “As soon as I do whatever it was that I was doing beforehand. Do you know what I was doing beforehand?”

“No Ma’am, I have no idea.”

Cardinal Spitfire shrugged. “Well, it must not have been that important. I will head there now.”

They parted ways and Cardinal Spitfire remembered what she was heading to do.

“Chief! I was heading to Blue Barrack’s flight deck to harass a friend of mine.”

“Don’t you have soldiers to train?” He asked, suggesting she had her priorities wrong.

“Not yet,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled. “I get to teach Unit 0 combat flight formations. I love flight formations. I have the morning off before I get to spend the next few days teaching them the formations like the Soft Point, Wad Cutter, Spitzer, and my favorite, the Boat Tailed Spitzer. They will also learn how to work in teams of five and seven. Especially seven.”

“Go on,” He said, pointing with his head. “You are needed.”

“Right,” Cardinal Spitfire said with a nod and a chuckle.

She entered the office.

“Sir,” She saluted.

He had no rank, no name and very possibly was not in her chain of command. The Wonderbolts were wanted ponies and with so many high ranking officers around, many of them wanted to at least speak to one. Even just a brief moment was prized.

“Take a seat,” He said, guiding her to the chair.

“You are a Second Lieutenant, correct?”

“Yes Sir, I am.”

“And you didn’t receive a promotion from Wonderbolt training?”

“No Sir. I had just been through an Officer School here at the Squad Barracks before the Wonderbolt testing, so there was no reason to promote me. The impromptu Officer School was done because ACS needed more officers to lead, so those eligible were taught here by senior staff and officers qualified to teach us. We didn’t have time to go to the formal school, and we learned everything they are required to learn, we just didn’t have to leave. Its common enough and was planned ahead of time.”

He gave a nod of understanding an continued. “You have been in training since you first joined?”

“Basically. Basic, to ACS, with a few days off before the special Officer School and then right after that we headed to testing. I technically was in training after I became a Wonderbolt. I had to learn a lot, but it wasn’t like the other trainings that were schools. I was already one of the best. A Wonderbolt. I just had to hone certain skills to be even better.”

“And now, you are here, teaching?”

“And very proud to be here doing that as part of my post. I know that I do not have to teach, but we need teachers as this ACS is happening. It is a big one. They have some NCOs leading the Basic Training’s aerial combat section to compensate. Although an officer rank isn’t required to lead and part of Basic Training. The flight segment is just typically lead by officers, officers here in ACUs.

“And I love teaching. I really want to inspire recruits to be better than they think they can be. Like Captain Marble Falls inspired us in Basic Training. She was tough, but got us to rise to the occasion, above the others. I want to make sure they are taught the best, by the best.”

He gave a short nod. “If things are so stressed, why is Pony Patrol teaching as a whole unit of six, instead of splitting you up more? The other Wonderbolt teams have fully fragmented. There are a lot of new teachers within their ranks and a lot of seasoned instructors helping them better teach. And the Third Degrees are down one due to a grave injury during personal training.”

“That would be Colonel Nova’s call sir. When we landed, it was immediately to Unit 0. We started their ACS two days early. We had begun with 24, but that number was reduced to 17 after the incident. But its tough running lead on them all, so we shift around who is lead and who is support, resting as much as possible.”

“Please elaborate on the incident you mentioned.”

There was nothing hidden about the incident, so Cardinal Spitfire complied with his request.

“The short version, two members of Unit 0 were caught with large amounts of drugs. One was producing and selling cut down doses of Buck to several others, including five members of Unit 0. The dealer was tried and dishonorably discharged into a rehab facility. The other major addict was also found guilty and dishonorably discharged into a rehab facility.

“The five soldiers in Unit 0 who were using Buck to keep up were removed from the unit and sent to rehab. To my knowledge, their careers are still undecided. Several others were caught with drugs as well, and I think they faced the same charges and consequences.

“The entire Squad Barracks was torn apart to deal with the issue and find every stash and user. We had to spend a day, not training, cleaning everything up. The Wonderbolts specifically tore apart the ACS units so it would take all day to reorganize everything to the standards. But all Units and all soldiers were inspected after they had the day to clean up.

“Unit 0 was suspended as a whole from ACS. The drugs were not the only issue. Their performance was sub par. But they were allowed to continue training out of necessity once things had cooled down and the trouble markers removed. With their seven members missing, we have reduced their four squad training matrix to three squads.”

“With less trainees, shouldn’t that mean less of you are needed?”

“We do rotated. I am off this morning because I am about to spend an intensive few days teaching them my favorite thing.” Cardinal Spitfire smirked. “Combat formations!”

Cardinal Spitfire was still beaming. “I love formations. Wad Cutter, Spitzer, Soft Point, Boat Tail, and best of all, the Boat Tail Spitzer. It will take an estimated five days for them to learn each well enough to put into practice as we continue to build their skill set. They will need to learn these combat formations backwards and forwards. It is especially important that they learn to work in groups of seven since they often will be applied as the supporting seventh member.”

His face didn't change. “You took a large number of books out from the Quartermaster at Fort Griffin's Gate. Most of them were about military philosophy and teaching. How have those helped?”

“Well,” Cardinal Spitfire said, stalling as she thought. “The history books helped me better grasp where we are by where we have come from and how we should proceed. The military philosophy books won’t have a direct effect that can be easily seen. It has changed how my mind views the puzzle of combat and other situations. I will react in ways I would not of in early training. My tactics are grounded in better philosophy and tried and true methods which will reduce our casualties and strengthen our position, while maximizing the impact on the enemy. But it isn’t something I can explain or demonstrate.

“The teaching books helped some. I am able to better apply them now that I am in a role that allows me too. But much of teaching recruits aerial combat is learned on the job. How best to present my information to multiple different recruits or trainees who learn differently. How to handle multiple individuals with different goals and different attitudes. And worse, how to learn 50 names at once and make it look easy.”

“With all this teaching, are you ready for combat?”

“I am as ready as anypony else Sir.”

“You were not like every pegasus else when it came to scoring. Top in everything, including the Wonderbolt testing list.”

“Where I rank in training has no actual bearing on how I will react in combat. We all are trained to do the same thing. Being the best at combat isn’t the goal. There are a lot more players in that game as objectives are given or taken. And its on a much wider scale than our testing has ever provided.”

“Your husband, Shadow Flare, has done some remarkable combat actions. Do you believe you will be able to perform like he has.”

Cardinal Spitfire narrowed her eyes, her tolerance level dropping significantly. “I do not know what he has been doing. I understand has been doing reconnaissance work. Their combat is not the same as line work and formations. And, it is inappropriate to judge my skill off of who I married.”

“You both performed similar in training. Including how you approached problems.”

“It was training, not real combat. I may freeze.”

He nodded silently. Cardinal Spitfire had knowingly just made herself look weak. But it was the truth. She might freeze, and she knew it. But that would be why she wouldn’t freeze, because she was preparing herself as much as possible for her reactions to not be negative, but positive to their situation.

“You have been on a training rush. How long can you keep this up?”

Cardinal Spitfire smirked. “We will find out. But I am not near running out of steam or coasting yet.”

“Your husband is MIA.”

“Your point?” Cardinal Spitfire asked as she leaned back in the chair, eyebrow raised.

“You have been wearing the MIA badge since you received it.”

“Again, point? Of course I have. He is MIA. He didn’t plan that or purposefully cause it to happen. There is no shame in that and as soon as he gets out of whatever cluster fuck they are tangled up in below, he will have been MIA. And probably move to join as a Wonderbolt instead of reconnaissance.”

“You are optimistic he will be found?”

“Duh! I told him I would wait for him and he said he would be back. He doesn’t break a promise. Especially to me. He will be back. Luck has always favored him, no matter what he attracted. But he will be back and I will wait, however long it takes.”

“It is good to know that you are optimistic about that future.”

Cardinal Spitfire wanted to laugh, but her tolerance was too low to laugh at his stupidity. “It’s not optimism when you know the outcome. And no, I am not in a state of delusion or denial. I just know him and I know the wasteland can’t contain him. Even if the Enclave can’t find him.”

“You have been leading the acrobatic segments after dinner. You are quite good. Who taught you?”

“Shadow Flare, while we were still in Basic Training. We were working to improve each other. Flexibility was one of the areas I needed to improve in. Accuracy was his main concern, but he needed to cinch down on navigation and leadership as well. I had the hard job.

“Leading it in our ACS was an accident, but it turned out to be a good thing and improved the school. Our ACUs will be better prepared for whatever needs to be done.”

“He was quite the shot before he left.”

“Eh,” Cardinal Spitfire shrugged. “He learned from the best.”

“That is a lot of confidence in your skills.”

Cardinal Spitfire finally gave a chuckle. “I mean Captain Marble Falls. She made it so he had to become an expert shot. And he did. Same with me.”

“How do you plan on teaching Unit 0 formations?”

Cardinal Spitfire’s chuckled has a sprinkle of mania. She could do whatever she wanted to teach them formations.

“I will be teaching them by hoof. Move and place on the ground until they get the formation. Then they get to run speed drills to end up in the correct position. After they have things down on the ground, moving them to flight will be a lot safer and simpler. I get to use an air horn to make sure they hear me correcting them as they fly.”

“What do you think of Captain Marble Falls?”

“I don’t want to piss her off, period. She is a close friend, but that isn’t why. I have seen her skills, been taught by her skills and I learned how to pass mine off from her training tactics. She doesn’t teach what she can’t back up with the power of a Wonderbolt.”

“How about the new rank proposal? Open thoughts.”

“Open?” Cardinal Spitfire said as she thought. “Nothing fun comes to mind. It is a good idea to expand and fix a stale area in the fleets. Yes, we in the ACBs are fine with little to no promotions. But there are not the number of teams to be ranking up to Captain and above. We didn’t join to rank up, we joined to do a unique job.”

“Still, the expansion does allow for better officers to shine out and be better prepared to take on new roles as positions open up.”

“I want to highlight an incident you were involved in. Can you guess which one?”

“I could say five or six right now, but I am not stupid enough to guess.”

“You broke into a restricted area and then beat the shit out of a superior office.”

“Superior in what way?” Cardinal Spitfire spat. “No ability to defend himself. No brains to keep himself out of trouble. No ability to respect his chain of command. No humility. No ability to lead soldiers. No tactical knowledge. And he didn’t know when to not fuck with me. I only wish his head was a little squishier so I could put him out of our misery.”

Cardinal Spitfire was shocked at the confession. She had been doing her best to play it calm and collected. All she was getting was a blank stare from whoever the officer was. She decided to drive the point home.

“I am not sorry for what I did. It wasn’t the first time he had caused serious trouble for me.”

“Good. He was a pain in the ass pinprick who deserved it all. He defiled my fort, made a mess of my Wonderbolts and conducted military actions outside of my authority. Specifically outside of the Colonel’s authority. He never met me before. He is sorry he had to.”

Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “Still changed shit in the end, but it felt good letting it finally rip on his pretty little face. And you must be General Shielded Vengeance.”

“That I am Lieutenant. I wish I had met Shadow Flare. Golden Dawn was a thrill to have as a student in a special training I conducted. She taught me things because the five of you learned how to excel in a special way.”

“I heard you conducted special training for mechanical and support units, with the odd splattering of combat focused roles. It sounded useful, despite knowing nothing.”

“I have been thinking about a crash course for the Wonderbolts. We will see how things go.

“Now, I need your eyes and honest opinion on designs. With the new ranking system, we break apart from the standard and we need new symbols to show the ranks in the Aerial Combat Battalion and in the Fleets.”

The General pulled out a flight suit from behind the desk. It lacked ranks, but had 3 gold lines on the sleeves and the shoulder, where the epaulets the Cloudship officers used were. As a flight suit, it didn’t have the epaulets but still used the area for the markings.

“We have the new rank below Second Lieutenant, Ensign. That is a full line, which is the thickness of this band. Then One line and a half line is for Second Lieutenant. Two full lines for Lieutenant. A full line, half line, and then full line, is for a Lieutenant Commander. That is this flight suit’s rank. Commander is three full Lines. And then four full lines marks a Captain. After that it is a thick band for a Colonel and then more added lines for the grades of Generals. Or Admirals in the case of the fleets.”

“This is looks great,” Cardinal Spitfire stammered. “A change, but logically constructed. Will it change our dress uniforms?”

“We are trying to figure that out,” General Shielded Vengeance admitted. “Any input would be appreciated. But, this is what a flight suit would look like. Bands at the elbow and the shoulder. We thought about the rear knees, but dropped it because it was just a flight suit and it would be too much.”

“I agree, a little too much gold. But it looks great. What about other uniforms?”

“All Aerial Combat Battalion soldiers no longer have any other service uniform outside the flight suits. You never used them anyway. The Wonderbolts do still have their flight jackets as proper uniform. And the regular ACB Units can earn a slightly different style of flight jackets, but that requires missions, which we never do. I want that changed, somehow, without loosing their prestige.

“In combat configuration, these gold stripes will be more of a gray, so they do not stand out too much. For the armor, the color will be black with dark gray stripes at the same location. We don’t need the enemy seeing any flashes of gold in combat."

“Good call,” Cardinal Spitfire nodded. “On dress uniforms, rank is usually worn on the high collar. Silver vertical stripes would not be a bad substitute. Or gold, depending on how you want them to stand out. Admirals and Generals could move back to the star designation.”

“A good idea,” The General nodded.

“Actually,” Cardinal Spitfire said, taking a second to formulate her thoughts. “No, you can run standard symbols. Gold Bar, Silver Bar, Double Silver, Gold Leaf, Silver Leaf, Colonel Wings, and then stars. More would understand that on the dress uniforms.”

“You are right about the cross branch understanding on the dress uniform, since it is standardized.

“One last order of business before I let you go. I am putting this new system in place and these are your new uniforms. I have the unique ability to promote officers by merit and where I see them heading. To promote officers who embody what I want the other officers to be like. To inspire them.”

The General flipped over the flight suit to reveal it’s chest. It had Cardinal Spitfire’s name on the left breast and the gold MIA symbol on the right breast. It also had another new feature, Squad 12 “Pony Patrol” beneath her name on the left breast. They would get to have their list of Wonderbolt Units they served in on their flight suits.

“Lieutenant Commander?” Cardinal Spitfire exclaimed. “But I am a Second Lieutenant. There are scores more who deserve the promotions.”

“And they will come as I slowly mold how these ranks will play out. But the Wonderbolts and the ACUs are officer centric. Each officer deserves his or hers rank and can perform the duties of those ranks.

“But I know my Wonderbolts. All of them. It is a symbol. Same with the ACUs. It is what you do. Most of them are average officers at best. Nothing wrong with that at all. I want them. Need them.

“But more importantly, I need to pull out and display the above average officers so the others can see what it looks like to earn the new, higher ranks and rise to the challenge. You are all Wonderbolts and should not back down, especially for something as minor as ranks.

“You, Cardinal Spitfire, embody a strong mind and spirit, holding fast to what is true. Even Shadow Flare being MIA, he said he will be back. He promised. That is enough to hold true to for the rest of your life, if it comes to that. And the others will see that courage. They already do see it.

“They also will see the kind and compassionate teacher, albeit often through a hard exterior, to help the ones she is training be better. And they will see a leader with spirit and fire who won’t back down. Who will stand up at every occasion and get it done, properly. No matter what.

“You, as a Wonderbolt, have individually displayed the tenacity, the cunning and the guts to be a real Wonderbolt. And you can show them the rest of your skill, making a mark in their memories.”

General Shielded Vengeance pulled out a flight jacket and slid it across the table to her. It was using the new rank design. The rank was only on the epaulets. It was almost the exact same as her first flight jacket, but neither of Wonderbolt jackets had their names on the outside. The addition of the Wonderbolt symbol had been skipped as well. You knew them by their flight jackets. There was no need for their symbol. However, this one did add their Squad assignments and the MIA badge was already on. Cardinal Spitfire slipped it on.

“Have you ever done a Sonic Rainboom?”

“No Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire said shaking her head. “Never had the clearance to even try. Neither have I been close to breaking that barrier. It is forbidden outside of special training. And Wonderbolt testing didn’t require it to join the ranks. They had to see that you had the potential for the speed, forcing us to get right up to the barrier and ride it. But the testing focused on other abilities, more necessary to everyday duties.”

“A shame. I half expected you to ignore that rule. I know you can do it. Who is faster; you, Marble Falls, or Shadow Flare?”

“I honestly don’t know. The times Marble Falls has led the three of us on the chases, she finally throws me and just outruns Shadow. So I think Shadow is at the bottom of that list. He still needs to learn some flying techniques he never got at his home flight school. With refinement-”

The General cut her off with a slice of his wing. “What about a dead sprint, you and Marble Falls?”

“I don’t know.”

“You should find out. You really should know, Lieutenant Commander.”

“I will as soon as possible,” Cardinal Spitfire stumbled. “I am still caught up on being a Lieutenant Commander and being an image of what it means to be that.”

“Just be yourself and never give that up,” General Shielded Vengeance smiled. “I am promoting you for who you are right now. You are the first to parade the new rank insignia. Only a few from the Third Fleet are in these new ranks, but most are not here. Lieutenant Commander Deke and Commander Little have their new uniforms, but they wear their Cloudship duty uniforms, not flight suits. Wear them proudly.”

“Thank you Sir.”

“This box,” The General said picking up the large box behind his desk and placing it on the desk. “It holds new flight suits for your rank. Your old flight jacket is in here, unchanged from when you submitted it the other day for work. I see you are already enjoying the new one.

“I know that flight jackets are a special thing. You can add the MIA badge to your first one if you want, but it is from before Shadow Flare went MIA and holds that meaning. I still wear my original one from way back when I became a Wonderbolt, as Staff Sergeant. I am old, it is old, but it is still my first love.”

“Thank you Sir!” Cardinal Spitfire beamed. “I will take these and get them back to my room to change. Thanks for the new jacket, but you are right, it is not my original. We will see how that plays out. This one fits nicely and has a meaning of it’s own. A very good meaning.”

Chapter 77 - What You Really Want

Golden Dawn and Gunmetal touched down at the new landing pad that had been hastily put together at the Squad Barracks. With Recruits at their flight decks, there was nowhere else to land. What was left of the open space for the Squad Barracks had buildings being constructed or materials on it. Most of the senior officers that had come were being housed in opened Units.

“Alright,” Golden Dawn growled. “Lets find this fucking General Shielded Vengeance and find out what this summons is all about. I have a job to do.”

Gunmetal nodded. “I could care less for myself, but you need to be back, training with your unit on this set of exercise.”

As they moved towards the Squad Barracks they passed by officers talking in small groups. All were at least colonel, mostly admirals and generals. There was enough traffic through the walkways between the Units that everything was chaotic. The sky was off limits because of the Aerial Combat School that was in session. Safety first.

Golden Dawn was shocked. “This is one of them most docile places in the Enclave. Yet this is madness!”

As they jumped out of the way of a bolting Pegasus, they bumped into another.

“Sorry Sir!” They said as they did a quick 180 and saluted.

“No worries.”

“Colonel, Sir,” Golden Dawn said to the Colonel who had conducted the Equaggan War Weapons. “It is good to see you.”

“I would say the same, but you are obviously angry.”

Golden Dawn snarled. “I have to talk to some fucking General Shielded Vengeance. I have no fucking idea why I was fucking summoned here. I am supposed to be engaged in exercises so I can learn to be a better fucking NCO soldier before going to Officer School, but this stopped that. My Lieutenant already loathes me. And then I have to deal with this fucking chaos!”

Gunmetal shook her head and smiled at the Colonel. “Ignore her, its not been easy for her at her unit. The Lieutenant gives her shit whenever he can and she got plenty for being called away by a general. Coward was the nicest thing he said.”

“But we really do want to talk to this General Shielded Vengeance to understand why we were summoned. Especially me. I am a gunsmith and this is combat units with no gunsmiths stationed at the Squad Barracks. I checked before we left.”

“Well,” The Colonel said with a laugh. “It was good bumping into you. General Shielded Vengeance’s temporary office is in the big building, two stories, near the back of the Squad Barracks. Unit 0, Office 5. I don’t think he is in there at the moment. I will get a message to him and he will be there soon. Just head in and sit down.”

“That you Sir,” Golden Dawn said, forcing herself to put a smile on.

Since Unit 0 was the only Unit that had multiple floors. It was easy to find.

“Big building,” Gunmetal stated. “I wonder what Unit 0 is.”

The main hall had officers talking in small groups that they had to weave around. Nopony was in Office 5, so they quietly sat down and waited. It wasn’t long.

“Fancy seeing you here,” General Shielded Vengeance smiled as he sat down.

“Fuck,” Golden Dawn said as she began to beat her head on the desk, each time repeating the word.

“I never could have seen that coming,” Gunmetal chuckled. “What are you doing here? Or better yet, what were you doing back there as a Colonel?”

“You can stop now,” He said to Golden Dawn. “Its no problem. I typically wear no rank or Colonel wings. I like to stay on the down low and let my Colonels do their jobs. I am head over the Aerial Combat Battalion, and that includes the Wonderbolts.”

Gunmetal starting to speak, but hesitated. “Are you a Wonderbolt?”

“Yes, I am. You do not have to be for my job, but its basically always been held by Wonderbolts.”

“I am a light trooper,” Golden Dawn declared. “I don’t want anything to do with this. I believe I made that very clear when I joined up and each time I got kicked around specialized trainings. I just want to be a light trooper.”

“And why am I here?” Gunmetal asked. “I am not a combatant. Armorer isn’t a combat roll.”

The General smiled and leaned onto the desk.

“My battalion is small. Its always been like that. But its powerful. We need to expand it quite a bit with new information being learned about below. We need more Aerial Combat Units. It still will be small, even when fully expanded.

“Golden Dawn, they may wear medium armor, but they are still lighter troops than your standard soldiers. Kind of a middle troop. Gunmetal, you may be a mechanic and a gunsmith, but I know how well you can shoot and what you can do in your yearly combat exercises. You are not a simple mechanic. And you purposefully coasted through EWW.

“And now that you mentioned it, there is no immediate gunsmith for the Squad Barracks. The ACUs take good care of their weapons, but anything big has to be serviced at headquarters. I don’t think they have anything big though. Give me one second.”

The General picked up the phone.

“What?” Nova groaned.

“Colonel, with the new numbers, we should think about getting a permanent gunsmith with a full workshop.”

“Workshop is on the list for Building 4, name pending. I have that covered. Is that it?”

“You can go back into hiding now. Thank you.”

The General turned his attention back to them.

“Colonel Nova is exactly what I need right now, but he is quiet. This is way to much activity for him. Or me. Or really any of the officers stationed here. And, come to think of it, most of the soldiers as well. Even more when it comes to an ACS.”

Golden Dawn was adament. “General, I am not going to join the Aerial Combat Units. I don’t want to.”

“I get that. Even with the expansion, our standards are not dropping. Even bringing on so many new soldiers, we still have very limited spots. Will you at least take a few days to run with a group and feel things out?”

Golden Dawn let out a groaning sigh. “Fine. As long as it means I will never hear of this again.”

“Deal. Gunmetal?”

“I’m here,” She shrugged. “I love to play, but I might as well try and learn a new dance. I would say I have nothing better to do, but back there, where I just transferred to, there is a lot backlogged to deal with. What some of those idiots were thinking or doing is beyond me. If this does end up as a transfer, at least I made a marvelous impact in their logs. Just get them a new, trained gunsmith, even a green one. Just a dedicated, trained armorer.”

General Shielded Vengeance smiled warmly at them. “I will. If you move, I will make sure they get one ASAP. Before you officially transfer if I can.”

“You two will be in Unit 234. Tomorrow, 0900, outside of your Unit. Chose beds on the right side of the Unit. Orientation is as you walk in. You will line up on that same side in the morning.”

“Thank you,” They said as they departed.

“I fucking hate this idea,” Golden Dawn spat when they got outside.

“It might be fun,” Gunmetal chirped. “More fun than you think. So put that smile back on and try and enjoy it. At least you wont be belittled and yelled at for no reason.”

“That is the only good thing,” Golden Dawn sighed.

Finding Unit 234 took some work and asking for directions. The new additions couldn’t follow the same pattern as the originals. Unit 235 was almost finished.

“Brand, brand new,” Gunmetal said, looking around. “Everything is shiny. Nothing squeaks. The toilets should work perfectly. Shower heads should spit water out evenly in the right spread. This is nice. We are probably the first occupants!”

“Second positive,” Golden Dawn stated. “Our board isn’t trashy.”

“I wonder what is going on here,” Gunmetal stated. “I forgot to ask. But he belongs here.”

Golden Dawn shrugged. She was still ticked off. “I do not know. An early dinner is probably a good idea. Their mess hall is appropriately sized for the typical numbers.”

“Lead on!”

Few ponies were in the mess hall when they entered. By the time they sat down, the line for food was out the door and growing fast. There was nowhere to hang out and the sheer amount of ponies in such a small area made them want to head into their Unit for some peace and quiet.

Vengeful Blade was inside along with two others. They had eaten at the headquarter mess hall.

“Hey!” They greeted each other.

Blade was the third pony on their side.

“At least you are a soldier with a direct combat role,” Gunmetal stated. “General Shielded Vengeance brought me here because I shoot well and am really good during our yearly combat exercises. I still am in a support field with my crossed wrenches.”

“Are you still using that Snack Gun?” Blade asked Golden Dawn.

“It’s put away in the locker, but ready to rock and roll. I had that combat exercises to do when I got back to my Unit. I showed them how to do it old school. And I whooped half of their butts!”

“Nice,” Blade chuckled.

Nopony knew what was going on at the Squad Barracks. Only that they were summoned there by General Shielded Vengeance. Their sixth roommate arrived late and it wasn’t long until they were in bed, lights out. Some came by Cloudship, like Golden Dawn and Gunmetal, others by wing.

There was no avoiding the breakfast gridlock. The six of them stayed together to navigate the storm. At least nopony was dilly dallying. It was like they all were at Basic, eat and go. Even the stars and wings were not dilly dallying. The seats were rotated out quick enough.

“Look at that,” Gunmetal said referencing Cardinal Spitfire in her new uniform. “I have never seen that uniform before.”

Golden Dawn’s face lit up when Cardinal Spitfire turned and Golden Dawn recognized her.

“CARDINAL SPITFIRE!” Golden Dawn called out over the noise.

“HEY!” Cardinal Spitfire said trotting over to them with her tray full of food.

“It is so good to see you!” Golden Dawn laughed. “It looks like things have been going well for you. Its been trash for me. And now General Shielded Vengeance has me twisted into trying out what it means to be in an ACU. I am a Light Trooper damn it!”

“Well,”

“STRIPE TWINS!” Deke interrupted.

Deke was in the usual black duty uniform for cloud ship officers. His stripes were at the same locations as the flight suits, the duty uniform just didn’t grip the body, but were like normal pants and shirts, just pressed.

“So, its Lieutenant Commander now,” Deke grinned, bobbing his head.

“Ignore the idiot,” Little said joining them. “Cardinal Spitfire has shit to do. Not talk dress up with you.”

Little was in the same uniform style as Deke. She had the commander’s three full stripes and her cover’s brim was gold trimmed, not a plain black one like Deke was wearing.

“Hi Deke!” Golden Dawn said, getting his attention.

“GOLDEN DAWN!” Deke exclaimed. “They really got everypony here for whatever the fuck is going on.”

“Oh!” Deke said getting serious. “She is officially taken. So its a defin- OW!”

“Fucker,” Little said as she prepared to smack him in the back of the head again with her wing.

“Golden Dawn,” Gunmetal chuckled. “If I swung like you, yeah. She is smoking hot.”

Cardinal Spitfire rolled her eyes, choosing not to say anything.

“Okay, uniforms,” Blade said. “What is up with them?”

“New type,” Cardinal Spitfire quickly explained. “For some test runs including a rank change up for the ACB and Third Fleet. Right now, it is just a few of us in them. Their poster foals. I am the only Wonderbolt in one, and none of the ACUs have been given new ones either.”

“Deke can tell you more. I have shit to do. Its 0752 and I am supposed to be training Unit 0 on formations in 8 minutes. Today they apply the formations in the air. I will not make it in time. Fuckers.”

“Let Deke plan a meeting for us later. And your friends as well.”

“Wait!” Gunmetal said as Cardinal Spitfire turned to leave. “What does the Enclave symbol with the wings pointed down mean?”

“Oh,” Cardinal Spitfire stumbled. She steeled her heart, but it was reinforced with anger. “It is an MIA badge. Gold is for direct family members in the military. When Shadow unfucks below and gets back, he will be wearing a silver one. Fucking Lieutenant replaced the Major and fucked them over more than what little we could get before it was all shut down. If I ever see him again…”

Cardinal Spitfire walked away to find a place to sit as far away as possible.

“Yeah, that is why she is off the market,” Deke stated. “I was trying to get there but I got smacked. She married Shadow. He was put into ACS with her, as her teammate. Long story short, they got leave right before the end and went from teammates to dating and married in less than a week. And then they finished ACS and he was immediately pulled away for recon.”

“And then she became a Wonderbolt,” Golden Dawn finished. “And an officer.”

“Those two are separate,” Deke clarified. “A condensed crash course for the ACUs to build more officers. They needed them and they got a lot of good officers out of it.”

“Deke should have gone to their school,” Little chuckled.

“Ignore her,” Deke said shaking his head. “I have to eat so I can harass Olive Pit more. It is my duty!”

“No, you are just bored,” Little said.

“And what better things do you have to do?” Deke asked. “Hide away in your room from all these blasted mother fuckers? Actually, that is appealing.”

“Yeah, Bright Starr has opened up her library for me. I know she would let you borrow a book. Actually learn something.”

“Nah,” Deke waved off. “Just being next to the flight deck to poke at Olive Pit is fun. And good for his mentality. Have you seen him this morning?”

Little chuckled. “The Squad Barracks officers with a personal office have been getting their meals delivered to their office. Even the ones in the Pen. And the staff is picking up the dirty dishes for them when they drop off the next meal.”

“How are they planning a wedding with all this?” Deke asked.

Little sighed. “They had to stop. I know I fucked up by getting it started during an ACS, but this sudden influx of senior officers was not my fault. They can’t plan with them chocking everything out.”

“That is something we know nothing about,” Golden Dawn said getting up. “However, we are done eating, so take out spots. We have to meet up with whoever is going to try and get us hooked into joining the ACUs at 0900, outside Unit 234. So we will be around. If you can find us. I want to meet up with you guys and introduce you properly to Gunmetal and Vengeful Blade.”

Even with the late eating schedule, all of Unit 234 was outside their Unit by 0845 in parade rest. Their was an obvious split between the two sides. Several soldiers from other Units came up and loosely mirror the side they were with.

“Should we have flight suits?” One of the others asked.

“No need. You won’t be pushed to those extremes.”

Their last two ACU guides dropped in from the sky.

“Fuck the rules,” Striker said. “I’m declaring we are now leading an ACS unit.”

Striker took at look at the three he was supposed to be leading.

“Well that explains a lot. Still stupid.”

“I thought you were a tech!” Golden Dawn exclaimed. “You said you have been redoing a whole AC system on a base.”

“Yeah,” Striker said slowly. “Here is the thing. EWW was approved because it wasn’t supposed to be taught to combatants. They fight. It was the mechanic and support groups that would have time to deal with those things. But as ACUs, we need to know. We get to do it all. We will be the first, and sometimes only, pegasi to find those things. We just have to know.”

“So we are snuck in, under different jobs. Sometimes different ranks. New uniforms. And we always have a story for what we do as a job. And its something obscure, like redoing an entire base’s AC units. It makes it so that we don’t get caught in between the storm clouds because we should know somepegasus.”

“But, I have the joy of getting you three to understand what an Aerial Combat Unit is. What we do and why it is important. Oh, and what our standards are. We might be expanding, but those have not dropped. Y’all are here for a reason though, remember that. The General thinks you can make it.”

“Did you know it was the General during EWW?” Blade asked.

“I never met him until two days ago,” Striker replied. “Or well as General Shielded Vengeance.”

“And you are not happy to see us?” Gunmetal asked. “Is it because Golden Dawn turned you down?”

Striker sighed and rolled his head into a shake.

“Look. Everypegasus has been listening to me anyway. Us three, are in Unit 22. We have three of us. They are unit 9. They also have three. We are only half of a Unit, meaning we need three more.”

“We have been watching the school to put bids into the soldiers we want to be put in our Unit. We have the rare opportunity to observe new trainees and we want to try and help make the right fits, on all fronts, for our Unit. So its not you guys, its the fact that we have to spend a few days not observing.”

“Why don’t they just put you six together?”

“Because between the six of us are four officers. You have to have at least two officers in an ACU. We can’t put two brand new officers in charge of an ACU when they have just graduated. The officers are spread thin right now. 22 lost two because they were officers and 9, their missing three were all experienced officers.”

“I lost my Captain and the other First Lieutenant. Safe here is a brand new Second Lieutenant who became an officer after last ACS. He got his wings, then we had a special Officer School here so others could earn their bars. Which are now ribbons or bands or more stripes.”

“He isn’t ready to lead on his own. I am. So we stayed, the other two were moved. Our Captain is taking on five new members to form a new ACU. That means one of the officers testing will go to his Unit. I think its 177.”

“So is it Captain Striker?” Gunmetal asked.

“No, I still am a First Lieutenant. That might change with the new ranks, but that isn’t up to me. You just need to be an officer to lead an ACU. Technically, a Second Lieutenant who has been in the ACU longer can be in charge of the ACU, over a First Lieutenant or even a Captain. Ranks get screwy. The new system helps fix that. As soon as they untangle everything to be able to figure out who deserves what rank.”

“Why are there so many here?” Gunmetal asked. “All these officers?”

“We don’t know,” Safe said. “It probably has to do with the new ranks, and then uniforms. The rumor is that the uniforms were only figured out three days ago. The first to come here was the Third Fleet’s Admiral who introduced their similar uniforms and new ranks to Colonel Nova and the Wonderbolt Colonel.”

“After that, more just started showing up out of nowhere and then we were scrambling to find them rooms as we conduct a training school. At least they are leaving us alone to do our jobs and behaving.”

“Well, that is ACU chain of command 101 right there,” Striker declared. “I have spare training vests and gear for you. Its light. Just a single training rifle on a battle saddle with a magazine. One that you do not have to eject case from to work. No need for armor. We are just going to introduce you to the main battle tactics of aerial combat. And it’s not just to shoot up other flying teams.”

They fell out and followed their test Unit. Each one was paired up with an ACU member. Golden Dawn was matched with Safe, Gunmetal with Striker and Blade was with Tac, a First Sergeant. They made their way to Unit 22 where the vests were. 22 had others bunked in the other three beds, but none of them were around.

As they were putting their vests on, Golden Dawn had a question. “Striker, the first night, after orientation, we were going through my basic book after my pony mistake. You pointed to a picture of Cardinal Spitfire and didn’t know who she was.”

“Still don’t,” Striker replied. “Heard the name, not met the Pegasus or put a face to the name. Even when we were small, there still were a lot of us. I had more important things on my mind like 22’s split and taking lead.”

“Well you can meet her later. We are trying to get our group together and with our new friends.”

“You won’t have time,” Striker stated. “The day is packed.”

“She is training Unit 0 on formations,” Golden Dawn replied. “So it would have to be later.”

“Oh, she is one of them,” Striker said a little down.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Gunmetal asked as she helped untwist one of Golden Dawn’s straps.”

“A Wonderbolt,” Striker replied. “Never got along with any of them. My experience is that they look down on the ACUs. Not so much at the Squad Barracks, but I am never here. Or was.”

“Well, come and meet her at least.”

“Yeah,” Gunmetal interjected. “She may surprise you.”

“She was gorgeous.”

“And off the market,” Golden Dawn replied. “I was shocked things happened so fast for her and Shadow Flare. But lets focus on you teaching me why the fuck I should join an ACU. Fucking General.”

Safe was visibly appalled over Golden Dawn’s language about General Shielded Vengeance. Gunmetal broke down, laughing at his face.

“She. *snif* Said. *snif*” Gunmetal finally got her eyes clear of tears. “She said it to his face when we met him soon after arriving. We called him Colonel because that is who he was when we went to the EWW training. We literally bumped into him and he asked why Golden Dawn was so angry about. EWW was open. We didn’t know anything different until we went to, what turned out to be his, office and then he came in a few minutes later.”

“She is alright,” Striker said to Safe. “If I had known, I would have warned you. But yeah, EWW does change things. General Shielded Vengeance was surprisingly relaxed around me. Just like he was at EWW.”

“But, vests are on and we have so training to do!”

Striker lead them out of the Unit and over to the flight deck. They were cleared by the guard and passed through the barriers where they walked along the flight deck to check in with the Traffic Control Coordinator.

Currently, the flight deck was split down the middle with thin cones. The outside half was for landings, the inside for take offs. There was a cross area for those who landed to safely cross over in between take offs.

“We have a bit of a flight,” Striker told them. “There is a large urban zone that was created nearby. We will talk new philosophy once we arrive. And then we get to have some fun trying it out.”

They were given permission to enter and take off. As they took their positions a thunder cut across the sky, right above their heads. They dove out of the way.

“FUCK YOU ARROW!” The Traffic Control Coordinator swore. “I SAID DON’T BUZZ US! I DON’T CARE WHY YOU NEED TO, DON’T! ITS TOO RISKY!”

“Lets get out of here,” Striker panted.

They formed up quickly and got into the air. It was less than pretty, but they were off and away. Presumably safe.

“Who is this Arrow?” Blade asked as they touched down on top of a building.

“A hotshot from the last ACS,” Striker replied. “She is good. But she is young and inexperienced and so it her team, Unit 17. They are down their sixth and are looking at the officers. She will be getting a officer when they graduate. It just is a matter of who.”

“But in the mean time, Colonel Nova has them training Unit 0’s officer, Second Lieutenant Olive Pit. A combat medic working to get his wings. That is Unit 0, the combat medics. After quite a few got caught with drugs, they number 17. That is a whole fiasco and story I don’t want to explain. I want to teach you real aerial combat.”

“Oh, now you do,” Gunmetal prodded.

“Yeah yeah,” Striker waved it off. “A lot changed this morning, fast. But we are on an urban battlefield put together for a top notch barracks a not too long ago. That is why none of you are familiar with it. It has continued to serve a solid purpose since. Quite well too.”

“Umm,” Golden Dawn hesitated. “Yeah, I know this place inside and out. It was built for our Barracks.”

Striker rolled his eyes. “Of course it was you. And I saw your picture book too.”

“None were taken here,” Golden Dawn chuckled. “But that is besides the point.”

“If this was built for you, then you know what you are getting into. Mostly.”

“And that is why I am really pissed off at General Shielded Vengeance. He knows it too!”

“Well,” Strike grinned. “If you know it, then you can lead us in on our first attack. Although since we got here first, 9 is going to attack us. So I really need to deploy you.”

They followed Striker to his desired location and took defensive positions.

“Well,” Safe said quietly to her. “You are full of surprises.”

“I don’t try to be,” Golden Dawn replied with a sigh. “Its just how things are right now.”

“You never thought about joining the Aerial Combat Units?”

“No,” Golden Dawn shrugged. “I went in to be a soldier. And to be a LT, not a regular soldier. I want to move fast and strike hard, in between our more solid lines. I never was that great in the sky. Not like you guys. Not like our best squad in our Basic Training group. All six were offered spots, but the others had things like mechanics and tech slots they had been working for since they were young.”

“I never got offered a slot. I do not know why I am being offered one now. My skills in the air haven’t improved and all I want to do is be an LT. They sent me to EOD and Heavy Weapons training as well, but I just want to be an LT!”

“Great,” Safe said quietly. “They heard that.”

“LET THEM COME! LET THEM ALL COME AND FACE MY FURY!”

Golden Dawn dashed out, abandoning Safe and slid down and alley way and out of sight. Unit 9 turned their attention to her, diving to intercept. Safe shot one of the sky and the others downed another two.

Golden Dawn let them give chase. She knew these roads and squares and kept ahead of them. She slid around a corner to find what she wanted and vault to the top of a building like Shadow had taught them. Three quick shots and the others were zapped.

Golden Dawn glided back to the others with her head held high and a smile on her lips.

“Damn,” Gunmetal said beating the others to speak first. “I am afraid to find out what you were like in that training with that Snack Gun. I know they feared you, but that…”

“That isn’t a Light Trooper,” Striker grinned. “That is more like a Aerial Combatant than a LT. And you were looking fine doing it too.”

Golden Dawn playfully pushed Striker away for his playful flirtation.

“Damn,” The Captain over Unit 9 said joining them. “That was one hell of a chase. I never saw that coming.”

“You saw what I wanted you to see,” Golden Dawn said winking.

“And she says she doesn’t want to be anything but an LT,” Safe announced.

“LTs would not have been able to out run and maneuver us. Shoot, sure if they had the right position, but not one shot per Pegasus.”

“I was in the Barracks these buildings were built for,” Golden Dawn said with a chuckle. “I know them decently well, and your overall philosophy quite well. It was designed by our instructor, Lieutenant Marble Falls. I am sure of that.”

“Captain Marble Falls?” 9’s Captain asked. “As in you were trained by Captain Marble Falls? Striker may not like the Wonderbolts, but she is a solid legend here for her work. Wonderbolt by day, trains recruits on her off days, and she makes sure the Instructor Squad is properly maintained.”

“She wants to do it all and can. She is generally in a good mood, not haughty, loves to laugh and play, and is kind. If she barks, you deserved it. But she is forgiving and willing to help. On top of it all, I have not touched on her flying ability.”

“Even I like her for that,” Striker admitted. “Not that we know each other, but she is one of those pegasi that make it hard to dislike them.”

“I am pretty sure if she found out I am here, she would track me down immediately.”

“Let’s see,” Striker smiled.

He switched his com to talk to dispatch and set up their coms to listen in. Only listen in.

“This is Lieutenant Striker, where is Captain Marble Falls?”

“Captain Marble Falls is with Unit 0,” Dispatch replied. “The chart says they are in Zone 1, above the Squad Barracks. Do you need her?”

“Oh, I just have a message for her,” Striker replied. “I know she is busy.”

“Busy how?” Marble Falls said, catching the last bit as they connected her up.

“Oh, I just have somepegasus who claims to know you. A Golden Dawn.”

“Golden Dawn! She is here? Why the fuck is she here? Damn it. I would, but I am playing six in Squad C and can’t break this tight formation. Unit 0 needs to know these formations like they know stitches. And they are surprisingly doing well.”

“I will track Golden Dawn down as soon as possible. No need to tell me anything. I will hunt her myself. And enjoy it. Shit, fell out of formation.”

The coms clicked as Marble Falls broke the connection off suddenly.

“Well,” Striker stammered. “She lost her spot in the formation at the idea of hunting you.”

Golden Dawn shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like it will be fun for me at all. She is eccentric and crafty. I will probably end up bruised and or pissing myself. If I remember her training tactics right.”

The others were chuckling.

“Lets wrap this chatter session up!” Golden Dawn declared. “I have to show Unit 22 that I know how to conduct aerial combat, just like an ACU, like Captain Marble Falls apparently taught us.”

They took off, forming up on her command. Golden Dawn put them trough some basic test maneuvers to get them in sync. When they were given the go ahead, she brought them in low, spreading the teams out a bit. They would not get spotted in the sky.

Her search pattern cut across the map and over Unit 9’s position. It was reported, but Golden Dawn moved them forward a bit and then around, like they had been missed.

As they zeroed in on the locations she had Blade and Tac drop and move into a strong defensive position. She put Striker and Gunmetal on a roof a few buildings back and swung around with Safe.

They slid into a road undetected and sprung their trap. Golden Dawn hit one before they were pinned. Their movements were called out. Striker and Gunmetal jumped to the last roof and opened fire, taking out three from behind.

The last two holdouts were in a position they couldn’t get to without being hit. Blade and Tac were in the superior position and blindsided the last two.

Since they were all right there, they gathered together.

“Fuck, you know aerial combat philosophy and can apply it,” 9 Captain said first. “And you don’t want to be in an ACU?”

“I want my hooves on the ground,” Golden Dawn shrugged.

“You didn’t enjoy that, even a little bit?” Tac asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Golden Dawn blushed. “It was a lot of fun. But I put us on the ground, not the sky.”

“That is where we do most of our fighting,” Striker grinned. “And its that idea. Maneuver and strike fast. Don’t let them know where you are. Make sure they can always be surprised. Whoever has the high ground wins.”

“And I can see why Officer School is lined up for you. It just flows for you.”

“Well,” Golden Dawn shrugged. “I just do what I do. What comes naturally and what is best. I didn’t want officer to start either. But by the end, it was fun.”

“Do you want to go back to those lunkheads back in 256?” Gunmetal asked.

“No,” Golden Dawn said without thinking. “But I will get my own platoon and they won’t be lunkheads.”

“You may be an officer, but you can’t change who your troops are,” 9’s Captain warned her. “If they are ignorant lightweights, they are ignorant lightweights. You have to get them to perform as best as possible, but you are not going to change who they are or why they are an LT in the first place.”

Golden Dawn defended her fellow LT soldiers. “They serve important tactical roles like moving in faster to secure the line, reinforcing a front or running flanking maneuvers. They run light and are faster than deploying even regular soldiers.”

9’s Captain was ready for the reply. “But they also are kind of the fodder. The first to be sent in because officially, it takes more time to move the other types of troops. It really doesn’t. But the Brass would rather send in soldiers with light weapons and armor to take the known immediate hits, rather than loose the more costly armor and better trained troops. I know they both go through combat school and pass, but if you look at the spread, the lower ranked soldiers by performance typically end up in an LT Unit.”

“Fuck,” Golden Dawn spat. “That was what I was having to deal with on our last combat exercise. I kept a whole line together after three quarters of us were taken down by a soldier unit, including our idiot Lieutenant.”

“I raised hell. We held that line and they felt the fury of my Applesnack Submachine Gun. My Lieutenant hates me even more for it.”

Gunmetal chuckled. “At this point, hate is putting it lightly. And he can’t move you. You have been one shining star in the Unit, and then in the company, and the battalion. I even think you are supposed to get a citation.”

“A box came in for you right before we left. I was in the cage, but not allowed to open it. To be fair, I was covered in black grease from unfucking a heavy machine gun those lunkheads jammed up. Still have no idea what they did.”

“Yeah, I shouldn’t of transferred myself there,” Gunmetal admitted. “It has been a blast with you, but I am going to have to take this ACS offer. I probably will take that damn machine gun with me since its useless anyway. And its so old, the Enclave doesn’t even know it exists.”

“Do it,” Golden Dawn grinned. “That thing has been such a pain. I wish I could’ve helped you more than I did.”

“Hey, you helped unfuck that bitch to be able to remove the firing pin. That is a big win. Giant. I was on that task for two days before you came in. But its like they welded it together, without welling it.”

Golden Dawn heaved a heavy sigh. “Fuck. I know what I am going to end up doing, but I do not want to. The official summons better come to my Lieutenant and he has to be tasked with giving it to me.”

Striker could only give a single chuckle with his grin. “That is the Golden Dawn I know.”

“Before we head out for round 3,” Golden Dawn said. “Gunmetal, do you think Treasured Rose, Summer and the other rovers I work with would make good ACS candidates?”

Gunmetal shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to inquire. If not, they really should get trained in Peace Keeping or something to use their skills better.”

“Well, I will give fucking General Shielded Vengeance that information to leverage me joining.”

“Leverage the General?” Safe said appalled.

“Yeah yeah,” Golden Dawn said rolling her eyes. “I know you have a high regard for him and other senior officers. Great. Good! Better than me and I will always admit that and probably still add ‘fucking’ before ‘general’ most of the time for him.”

“But I only meant telling him I will only join if he puts in consideration about extending an ACS offer to the other seven rovers. Its not an actual power move. Its just a request. Obviously he will do it because all he has to do is consider them and he obviously wants me enough to kidnap me and bring me here.”

“Kidnapping is strong,” Gunmetal clarified. “But we didn’t have any notice, it was an immediate summons, or know anything expected of us. It would’ve been nice to have a little more information. We had to run to meet up with our transport.”

“Alright. Enough,” 9’s Captain said. “We can chat after we play a few more rounds and get the others into feeling things better. It’s not their fault she is a natural. They still need to learn and we have to make sure you actually can make it.”

Chapter 78 - Break One Patch The Other

Nova trotted up to the group who had recently arrived. He had enough to deal with. His mind was preparing for the discussion and his hoofs were working on making sure his uniform was spotless. An easy task since he was wearing one of his old flight suit from his time as a Scout. And a rare khaki one at that.

He was enjoying their nostalgic feel, but he was also working to alleviate the staff’s laundry duty. It was suffocating because of their visitors. He had assigned two units that were squared away to assist them with the laundry, food tasks, and other forgotten duties. And he was probably going to have to add two, but it was crowded.

Nova took a deep breath in for composure and let it out, become as hard and unyielding as rock.

“It is unwise for them to be here. They are not welcome,” Nova said to the two Colonels and the Admiral walking towards him.

Each had brought a protege.

“They are our assistants,” The Admiral replied, obviously thinking she was better than anypegasus else. “And that is no way to greet guests.”

“I know who you all are,” Nova snorted. “Miss Windy Lightning, Admiral, on the Lenticular and First Fleet, Task Force One. The Lenticular is the flagship of the First Fleet, but you are under several Admirals. You are the Admiral in charge of Task Force One. Your go to meal is hay fries with a tomato based vegetable shake. You brought along First Lieutenant Green Shield.”

“Sir Sky Gust, Colonel of the Second Division’s, First Brigade, First Regiment. You are currently dating Flutter Moon and will be proposing to her next time you get the chance, which will be after this. Lieutenant Honey Bee is your protege.”

“Sir Mighty Maille, Colonel. First Division, First Brigade, First Regiment. You like your tea, Earl Grey, with two drops of lemon juice. General Thunder Sky will be retiring soon and you are one of the top three choices for his position. And you brought with you Captain Autumn Leaf.”

“Now, for the safety of everypegasus here, please have your assistants depart. Headquarters should still have space for them to bunk.”

They were shocked and didn’t know what to say.

“You have to know the players if you want to play the game,” Nova declared.

“And you are?” Admiral Windy Lightning asked.

“Figure it out for your fucking self,” Nova spat. “Disrespectful hooligans.”

His flight suit should have told them who he was. The Scout’s flight suits were designed differently that what the ACBs currently fielded. And khaki had stopped being a valid work uniform over five years ago. Only a few still had them after they stopped issuing them. And it took someone with enough power to wear one. Every so often a general would cause a stir with a throwback uniform like the khaki version.

“Well Sir, we will keep our assistants with us,” Colonel Mighty Maille stated firmly.

Nova wasn’t going to take it or lay down. He stood his ground firmly.

“They don’t belong. Only a select few are majors. The rest of the pegasi here are Colonels, Admirals, Generals and others like them. Get them out of here. Nopegasus wants them, we need this place as free as possible and three more is a lot. Plus, I don’t want them.”

“We will deal with them,” Colonel Sky Gust assured Nova.

Nova shook his head in disappointment. “You have been warned. It is dangerous around here.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Admiral Windy Lighting shot back.

Colonel Nova grinned. “Exactly what I said. It is dangerous around here. There are way too many pegasi here while we are training. This is not place for those three to be.”

Colonel Nova did a clean 180 and walked away. He resisted shaking his head. What would happen, would happen. They were warned it was dangerous. At almost twenty years of military service, Nova was confident that he could politically handle both Colonels and the Admiral with ease.

“Come on,” Colonel Sky Gust said trotting away. “Lets see this legendary flight deck and what is really happening.”

They made their way over to the flight deck but found it secured by a boundary with a guard. They walked over to him.

“Name and Unit?” The Guard asked.

“Colonel Sky Gust. We don’t have a Unit here.”

“No Unit, no name on my list, no entry. We have too much happening for me to let you past this barrier. It is an unsafe time.”

Autumn Leaf rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t barred last time when I was here, during an ACS. Do you know who I am?”

“Yes,” The Guard shot back. “I know you. You, sadly, do not know me. And you are right, it wasn’t blocked off. That was a small ACS and there were not so many visitors.”

“For safety, no visitors are allowed past the barriers. It is for safety of all. We have had already had several near collisions on the runway today, and the day isn’t even halfway finished. You will have to get clearance from at least one of the Colonels to enter.”

“For crying out loud,” Admiral Windy Lightning snorted. “Just let us through. I am an Admiral.”

“Orders are order,” The Guard replied firmly. “I can not in change of anything from here. Go get permission from either of the Colonels.”

“We can remove you from your job,” Colonel Mighty Maille threatened.

“Fuck off,” The Guard ordered, flipping his wing at them. “Order are orders and you can’t touch me.”

“Why you!” Admiral Windy Lightning stammered.

“Master Sergeant!” The Wonderbolt’s Major, Windstone Hill, called from out of their sight. “Let them in for the day. For the day only. Unless they get it extended through proper channels. Lieutenant Autumn Leaf was here before and knows the safety rules.”

“And Lieutenant, you and your friends, they can’t touch him. The Master Sergeant has a long, illustrious career here in the ACUs. Respect him and all other traffic controllers, no matter what rank. They out rank you for safety reasons.”

The Master Sergeant cleanly stepped aside to let them in.

“Standard reminder. No flying, period. Wings tucked in at all times. Stay behind the warning cones so you do not get too close to the flight deck and keep an eye out at all times from every direction for any possible threat. Everything outside of that, talk to Traffic Control Coordinator.”

They ignored him as they stepped past the barrier and walked along the flight deck, but keeping their distance from the edge. The Major that let them in was nowhere to be seen, not that thanks were in order. The Major watched them walk by, oblivious. The Wonderbolt flight jackets screwed most outsiders up and the jacket was marked for a First Lieutenant.

“That is a lot of pegasi in the air,” Admiral Windy Lightning stated in awe. “And they are being controlled by one Pegasus?”

“Five actually,” A Lieutenant said as she walked by, her trainees in tow. “Still stay out of the way. We don’t need an accident and we already have some trouble makers. And quit gawking. Its just a standard four zone training system. Each Unit gets a zone to work in. The bigger the maneuvers, the further out their zone is.”

“And the fifth?” Lieutenant Green Shield asked.

“Take off, landing and zone transfers. Now we need to get back up in the air.”

They watched them take off, enthralled by the massive skill it took. Not just to coordinate the zones, but for each Unit to be training, independently from the others, while still not slamming into each other.

“Fuck,” Deke groaned from his usual spot on the side of the steps. “You again?”

They turned their attention to Deke. Little stopped coming down the steps to watch.

“Hello again,” Admiral Windy Lightning smirked. “You pass yet? Or are you here because you failed?”

“Far from it,” Deke laughed. “I’m here for her sister’s wedding. Which was supposed to happened before all this shit, but now its on hold.”

“So they let you navigate after all,” Lieutenant Green Shield smirked.

“He he,” Deke chuckled, trying to compose himself. “I navigate. And pilot. And run weapons. A week after I was on board, I was flying her solo and the week after that, they were dumb enough to train and qualify me on her weapons. I do it all. I learned in two weeks what you still can’t do.”

“I brought her into Fort Wind and made an epic entrance slash landing on the flight deck. I did almost get skinned alive for the stunt, but it was worth it. I would have added a salute with blanks if I had known we had them on board.”

Little giggled at Lieutenant Green Shield’s and Admiral Windy Lightning’s faces. Part horror, part pure hatred.

“What are you laughing at?” Autumn Leaf barked.

“Their stupid faces,” Little grinned. “Yeah, I taught him. I wish I regretted it, but he is a damn fine operator and officer.”

“He is a damn fool,” Autumn Leaf spat.

“He does not always think through things fully,” Little admitted, coyly, before getting serious. “But he knows what he is doing and could do it on their ship as well as he can do it on ours.”

Admiral Windy Lightning was pissed off at that. “The Lenticular is a powerful warship that can not be controlled by a single Pegasus,” She huffed. “It is a Raptor and he has no clue how to deal with one. That is why he failed his practicum under our banner.”

“Nooooo,” Little said, drawing it out. “He failed because you couldn’t handle his greatness. He can fly that ship by himself. Easily. Otherwise he would not be trusted on our bridge, for hours alone, to fly ours.”

“And what is yours?” Lieutenant Green Shield snorted.

“If you know, then you already know,” Deke shrugged. “Otherwise you don’t need to know and can’t know. Unless of course, you need to know. But then, you would already know.”

“Good day!” Ruby Snow said coming out of the Squad Barracks. “I am actually not surprised to see you Admiral. Your protegees shouldn’t be here. Nor should the other officers. I guess the Colonels could stay, but it is dangerous right now. I have no idea why they would care, or most of the pegasi here. But this is where it is all happening, I guess.”

“Still, it is good seeing you Admiral Windy Lightning.”

The Admiral had no idea who Ruby Snow was. A sad fact since his coat was unforgettable.

“We went to Basic Training together,” Ruby Snow stated. “In Blue. The same with Officer School. We served our first year on the Mammatus together.”

“Oh yes,” She said, it finally clicking. “What happened to you? You had promise and then you disappeared.”

“To fulfill that promise in the Third Fleet,” Ruby Snow smiled. “And now that is passing it all on to these two. Don’t the new uniforms look great? Deke here is already a Lieutenant Commander and Little here is a Commander who also serves as my First Mate.”

“In case you missed the memo,” Deke smirked. “Lieutenant Commander is in the Third Fleet’s new ranking system. An O4. Above a First Lieutenant. And Commander, that ranks at an O5. Above a Captain.”

“You might want to pay them the respect due,” Ruby Snow said as he smiled innocently.

“No fucking way,” Lieutenant Green Shield spat. “The Third Fleet is a shit fleet and there is no way that you actually outrank me.”

“And I have more skill,” Deke reminded him.

“He can handle her with great finesse,” Ruby Snow said, fueling things by simply just bragging about his crew between captains. “I am lucky you didn’t see his great potential and was able to snatch him up. In two weeks I could sleep soundly at night with him at the helm. The same as the entire bridge crew.”

“You are taking things too far,” Admiral Windy Lighting warned. “Insulting my officer, my ship and my skills as an officer.”

“Facts are facts,” Deke chucked. “Even when they hurt.”

“You didn’t last for a reason,” Lieutenant Green Shield growled. “You couldn't last on a real ship.”

“Not as anything but a Captain,” Deke said with a single nod. “Above the idiots so I can teach them and lead them correctly.”

“Eh,” Ruby Snow shrugged. “Ain’t worth your time. Put it back into pissing off Olive Pit. That serves a purpose. Arguing with them ain’t worth it.”

“However,” Ruby Snow smiled at the Admiral. “I would love to catch up. If you have the time. I know things are busy being an Admiral and there is a lot you must have to do.”

“I will see,” Admiral Windy Lightning smiled back. “For now, we were just checking out their skills in the sky. Captain Autumn Leaf was here when the last ACS happened.”

“And when my Barracks blasted apart all the others,” Deke added. “He was watching out for us, helping us train. Making us better soldiers. The best Barracks to come out of Fort Wind. Ever!”

“Ugh,” Autumn Leaf groaned. “I thought I recognized your face.”

“Would my flank help you remember more?” Deke ask, showing his off a bit more.

Autumn Leaf was raging, but without words.

“That is going too far!” Honey Bee yelled stepping into Deke’s face. “You show some respect to him!”

“Let me think?” Deke said slowly. “Nah. He didn’t give me an ounce before. He is going to have to earn it. I am not hard to please.”

“He isn’t going to give you any sexual favors!” Honey Bee barked in Deke’s face.

“Hey,” Deke said, wings up to show his innocence. “It was a harmless joke. I didn’t mean to make you jealous.”

Nothing more could be said as a red and black blob slammed into the ground right next to Deke and sent Honey Bee flying backwards. He rolled a few painful times, sliding to a stop a good 50 yards away.

Cardinal Spitfire pulled her head up, flipping her mane in style. Style was over before it settled all over the place.

“You killed him,” Cardinal Spitfire growled as she began to stalk forward.

Marble Falls landed hard, in between. The rest of Unit 0 and Pony Patrol was right behind her, staying off to the side. They all had come in hard and fast, breaking all of the safety rules. Several of Unit 0 began to move towards the injured Lieutenant but wisely stopped.

His breathing is rough and a struggle. The pain of his brokenness was obvious as he just laid there. Aware, but in pain. He heard every word.

Cardinal Spitfire continued to move forward.

“You kept their team below. You usurped the Colonel. You stepped out of line. You should die by my hooves.”

Cardinal Spitfire just growled for a good minute.

Arrow brought 17 in for fast, hard landing and Olive Pit began to move towards the Lieutenant.

“OLIVE PIT!” Deke yelled in warning, “STOP! She will put you in the hospital!”

Olive Pit nodded, frozen in mid step. He hadn’t see Cardinal Spitfire.

“I would finish you myself,” Cardinal Spitfire said as she stopped being aggressive.

She proudly stood there, head high as she asserted her position.

“I would, but Shadow would rather take care of you himself. I want to say my husband would be civil and not let you know when he came for your hide, but I have no guarantee. That will depend on what you put him through. You are at his mercy, now that I had a chance to inform you of the consequences of your choices.”

Cardinal Spitfire kept staring at Honey Bee. Marble Falls relaxed since the situation was defused. Marble Falls nodded to the nurses who had responded, but smartly held back rather than risk their lives.

Cardinal Spitfire turned back to Deke and began to confidently walked over to him.

“You are just going to stand there!” Colonel Sky Gust interjected. “After assaulting my officer! And striking a superior officer!”

“That!” Nova declared, getting everypegasus’ attention from the top of the stairs. “Is why I warned you they shouldn’t be here.”

“Because you can’t control your troops!” Colonel Sky Gust shot back.

“No,” Nova said with confidence. “Because with all these pegasi in the air, bad landings happen. Mistakes happen. Fuck, Arrow has been buzzing other units until, we had a talk.”

“You are going to just say that assault was a bad landing! What about after.”

“What about it?” The Wonderbolt Colonel asked from behind them, making them jump and having to split their attention.

“Things get heated,” The Wonderbolt Colonel shrugged. “And he has assaulted her before and there was evidence of him mishandling Her husband’s team that went missing. The case was closed before we could look at things deeper, but its not inconceivable. We know something happened between him and the recon team, just not what.”

“That is your excuse?” Colonel Mighty Maille demanded. “That is it? A possible mistake about a case which is a closed case that proves his innocence. That will never hold up in a trial.”

“First off!” Deke said taking control of the conversation. “She can’t be charged with assaulting a superior officer. She outranks him. More importantly! From my stance, she was protecting me from him who was about to beat my ass over hurt feeling. She protects her friends.”

Deke’s swagger and arrogance was gone. All that was left was a confident Lieutenant Commander who had the control of an Admiral over a whole fleet. You respected him for who he was as a Pegasus, not what his rank was.

The tension was shattered as a Pegasus careened over the Squad Barracks and ground to a halt mid air.

“MASSIVE COLLISION IN THE RECRUITS!”

“All wings on deck! Olive Pit ordered. “Sparky! Emergency Bag! Then lead half of each squad in getting the combat med bags from the clinic. Double down on them and make sure you get plenty of wing splints!”

Olive Pit caught the med bag as they began to move.

“LET’S GO! LET’S GO!” Olive Pit ordered them.

They perfectly split their teams apart so that one went for the gear, and the others were following Olive Pit over the Squad Barracks as fast as they could go.

“Ground all teams!” Nova ordered before he followed the others.

Pony Patrol rushed after them, The Wonderbolts Colonel followed suit, Arrow was not leaving Unit 17 out of observing. It would help them better train Olive Pit, seeing firsthoof what it meant to be a combat medic.

The injured were at Black’s flight deck. As they were touching down, Willow and Sunset Fury were already giving out orders for the immediate care. A scared Lieutenant dashed over to Olive Pit.

“I don’t kn...”

“Stop!” Olive Pit cut him off, wing raised to halt anything else. “It doesn’t matter why, just that we are here and on duty. We have this.”

“All non essential personnel have been evacuated,” The Lieutenant followed up. “It is just the injured, their rescuers, or assistant if they made it here on their own. Officers are me and Sergeant Dipper”

“Well done,” Olive Pit said as he was surveying how things had played out. Now that the others were back with the bags, things were beginning to move.

“Initial estimates are between 34 and 42. We are sorting the others out at green right now.”

“NUMBERS ARE 34 TO 42!” Olive Pit yelled out. “LETS SHOW THEM WHAT UNIT 0 IS REALLY LIKE!”

There were no cheers. They were all hard at work, focusing back on the important part.

Olive Pit trotted over to a Pegasus who was on her side, wing feathers all over the place at weird angles. He knelt down next to her and began examining her wing. It was fractured in at least two places, badly. Like the Wonderbolt’s wing.

“SUNSET! I NEED YOU TO TAKE THIS ONE. NOW! WING FRACTURE, MULTIPLE PLACES. IT NEEDS YOUR SKILL.”

“Bright Starr!” Sunset Fury called. “Switch out with me.”

Bright Starr had just finished with her first patient and was free to change out.

“I got it,” Sunset Fury said sliding up. “Go!”

Olive Pit scrambled to the next injured Pegasus. His goggles had been forced into his cheek, down to the bone. They were still in place, blood sliding out from below the edge.

“At least the lenses is still in place,” Olive Pit smiled to his rescuer, a very scared mare who was shaking. “It’s not too bad from the looks of it. But hold him down. No matter what happens. No matter how you feel, hold his shoulders down.”

She nodded, Olive Pit prepared the wound with a quick wipe and then cut the straps of the goggles, discarding the rest. The Pegasus was out of it, but not enough.

“Ready?” Olive Pit nodded to her with a reassuring smile.

She pushed down with all she had as Olive Pit wiped away the blood and pulled the goggle out of the gouge it had made. Olive Pit was oblivious as to just how bad the screams were. He just focused on fixing the problem, disconnected. It was the only way to survive.

He made another pass with a wipe and was quickly stitching him up. It was a bad gouge, but repairable. Olive Pit made fast and close stitches, perfectly working his way along the gash, wiping the blood away every so often.

“OLIVE PIT! I CAN’T STABILIZE THE WING!” Sunset Fury yelled. “COME ON BUDDY! I ALL READY HAVE EBONY HELPING BUT WE NEED YOUR SKILLED HOOVES!”

“Coming!” Olive Pit said. He rushed through the rest of the stitches, making wider passes to speed it up.

He pressed gauze over the wound and looked at the Mare. She had thrown up on herself and the patient’s shoulder, but she had held firm.

“Great Job!” Olive Pit praised her. “I need you to press down on this gauze. I will be right back. Oh, and take this red flag so we finish the bandage. Be right back!”

Olive Pit planted the flag in the ground and dashed away. He slid up next to Sunset Fury and Ebony Bolt.

“The splint wont hold the bones,” Sunset Fury panted as he kept the wing pulled out in alignment. “I can, we can, save it! I know we can.”

“We got this,” Olive Pit assured him.

They couldn't afford to waste time on lost causes, but none of them wanted to let the wing go yet. It would mean a crippled, painful life. Not something they were going to let happen unless there was absolutely no avoiding it.

“We tried with the tent poles, but they only helped so much.”

“Alright,” Olive Pit said, glancing around. “Goggles!”

He ripped the pair off the mare’s head and unbuckled them. The frames were curved a bit, but they were able to help adjust two of the bones so that the rest could be aligned along the tent poles on the top and bottom.

Between Ebony Bolt and Olive Pit they were able to cinch it all down into one solid splint. Ebony bolt dashed to get the tent fabric.

“Listen,” Sunset Fury said as he grabbed the rescue Stallion’s face to force eye contact. “As soon as the first medical chariot arrives, get her on it and have it take off. Tell them ‘Sunset Fury said Doc Wingnut needs this patient now.’ Got it?”

“Yes,” The Stallion nodded.

“Here,” Ebony Bolt said sliding up. “You and another can use this as a makeshift stretcher.”

“Just like we were taught!” He said as it all clicked.

Ebony Bolt helped him get the stretcher set up and another set of hooves to help move the patient. Sunset Fury was running down the flight deck in an attempt to reach the ones farthest down.

“I need three to finish up and follow Sunset down the flight deck!” Olive Pit ordered.

He got his answers and returned to the previous patient. The mare was doing a good job, but she had vomited at least once more, probably twice. The gauze was soaked through. Olive Pit held in swearing to keep her calm. He lifted her hoof off the bloody gauze, wiped it off and then tossed aside the soaked gauze. With the goggles gone, the wound was really bleeding.

“He is going to be okay, right?” She asked, voice shaking.

“Its all natural and expected,” Olive Pit smiled.

She threw up as a blood boiling scream cut out across the air from another injured recruit. It was all painful dry heaves.

“You are doing great,” Olive Pit said to her. “Look, I am binding off the would with much better gauze. I barely gave you any bandage to hold against it before. Now, I am also giving you this emergency ice pack. Its just a simple crack to make the chemicals mix and I need to you push it down on the bandage. It will help reduce the bleeding.”

Olive Pit whipped out his medical scissors and cut off the pant leg of the patient. He folded it a few times and placed it over the ice pack.

“There, now your hoof will stay warm until we can get him moved.”

“Thanks,” She smiled at him.

“One last thing,” Olive Pit said as he opened up a telescoping green flag. It had 3 printed on it. “This will let them know in what order they need him to be taken care of. No need for the red flag anymore. Green Three is the middle level and last green flag. Yellow Two and Yellow One are the big, bad boys. This is nothing really. Four and Five are super minor.”

Olive Pit smiled at her and got a smile back. He stood up and searched the sky. No chariots in sight. Not a surprise since it was still early.

“OLIVE!” Willow yelled.

She was further down and right next to Sunset Fury. If they both were together and she needed him, it was bad. Olive Pit lost some gear and he scrambled his kit together and raced off to join them.

“The epicenter,” Willow stated calmly.

The two of them were out cold. Willow had sent there rescuers off to the side to wait.

“They said it was definitely a crash,” Willow said. “Heads hit. They had to move them in the air, but they said their necks were loose.”

Olive Pit took a deep breath in. “How should we proceed?”

“Cut off the armor starting at the shoulders. Peel it off and hopefully we can see some guide as to how to proceed. There is a lot of spine that may have broken.”

“Then lets cut the armor open,” Olive Pit said as he pulled out his tool kit.

He selected the large size 10 scissors. They were made for cutting through everything. They cut out the shoulder area to start.

“I see the injury,” Willow said. “Just above the shoulder here.”

Willow cut some more free and Sunset Fury helped guide Olive Pit as they sliced open the helmet. The armor the recruits were given was tough stuff. The Size 10 was tougher and chomped through better than a bullet would.

“Why are you making him bleed!” One of the recruits on the sidelines screamed.

“HEY!” Olive Pit yelled. “This is our job. You learned your first aid, we teach you your first aid. We have this. She knows exactly what she is doing.”

“Although,” He said quietly to Willow. “I will want and explanation later on your methods.”

“No need for later,” Willow replied softly. “The sight is showing massive internal bleeding. I am draining the blood into bags so that when surgery comes, they have less to clear away with suction. And second, it will help me bind a better splint so it will shift less.”

“That has to be a big bleed,” Olive Pit said as he felt along the spine on his patient.

“Here,” Sunset Fury said. His hoof was only a few vertebrae below the skull.

“I knew one wouldn't be easy,” Olive Pit replied quietly.

“CHARIOTS ARRIVING!” Morning Spark yelled as he began to organize who would be going when. The wing injury was first on that list.

“DIRECT ONE HERE!” Olive Pit yelled. “SPINAL INJURIES!”

“FIFTH IS COMING TO YOU!” Morning Spark yelled back.

They were not ready for a chariot. It was best that they received one further down the list.

“Alright,” Willow sighed as she changed out the bag that the blood was draining into. “That can be put back in during surgery, if it is their last resort. It is a rare blood type.”

“Great call,” Olive Pit praised.

“Alright,” Sunset Fury said. “We are going to go with a head anchored, top latched, full neck reinforcement brace with shoulder anchors and flanking spinal guides.”

“Lets make it happen,” Olive Pit said digging deep into his bag to get the telescoping rods for the braces and anchors.

Olive Pit held the head and neck as steady as possible while Sunset Fury put together the whole system. This was beyond Olive Pit’s skill, but it was also beyond a Combat Medic’s skill. Maybe it would be taught in further medical training. Olive Pit would have to talk further details with Sunset Fury.

Willow had finished setting up an IV for plasma. She had one of the recruits hold it up while she continued to work.

“Damn it,” Willow panted as she changed out the bag again. “I am loosing too much blood. I can’t treat the injury. Permission…”

Olive Pit cut her off. “Do what needs to be done. I trust you.”

Olive Pit smiled at her. The smile he got back wasn’t tired. It wasn’t holding anything back. It was a genuine smile of love, confidence and most importantly, hope. Hope that she really wasn’t useless and was a valued member of Unit 0.

Willow called over another recruit and set up a second IV line. This was connected to a bag of blood to put more in as it was coming out. The patient was now getting a full blood transfusion, using her own blood.

“Good job recruits,” Olive Pit grunted as he was straining to hold things steady.

The fifth chariot arrived and two EMTs got out with stretchers. They waited patiently as Sunset Fury continued to build his brace. Willow was behind them in that regard, but she was dealing with a lot of bleeding. She had reserved herself to preparing the patient for Sunset Fury’s magical braces.

Sunset Fury put the finishing touches on the brace that covered half of the patient’s body. He wrote several markers on the neck to indicate the injuries observed and they moved him onto the stretcher. The neck never moved. Sunset Fury certainly knew what he was doing.

The chariot was immediately sent off and another one was requested.

“Okay,” Sunset panted. “Bleeding one with near shoulder break.”

Sunset Fury began to feel out the neck to ensure there was no other breaks. Things felt good so he began devising a new plan.

“The question is, how do we want the neck positioned,” He said. “Down, in line, mid, or up? Willow, assessment on the bleeding?”

“Its below the actual break site, which makes me concerned about another fracture or strain further down the spine.”

“Then we will go in line and run brace rods all along the spin. The muzzle will be put in line with the spine as much as possible. We will not make a direct latch onto the fracture, but we will anchor it at the head, the mid neck, shoulder, mid back and rear. And we will tie the hooves together and run a center rod for them to be anchored to.”

“Tie her up pretty and it will make for an easy move and allow them to decide how best to proceed with her positioning. If I do it right, they won’t have to remove anything. Except untie the hooves for her dignity.”

Olive Pit surveyed the scene. The last of the patients were being taken care of. Morning Spark had begun moving low level green flags into their clinic. The clinic could hold fifteen normally, seventeen if pushed. And one was already taking up a bed.

Olive Pit watched as Sunset Fury worked his magic as he made the brace. He was skilled at telescoping a rod out to the perfect length and twisting it tight, no double checks needed. By the end, she was trussed up tightly. Sunset Fury finished the job with a quick rod straight up to hold the plasma bag and the blood bag. The patient was still bleeding, but it had slowed.

They got the patient onto the chariot and it was off. Olive Pit looked around. The last of the patients were being loaded onto the final few chariots and they were done. Olive Pit stood up but fell to the ground. He took a moment and then worked his way back up into a sitting position.

“Here,” Sunset Fury said picking up his hoof.

Sunset Fury set IVs to help replenish themselves after the stress and adrenalin lose. The Bag was taped to the side of Olive Pit’s head. Sunset Fury had given Willow one and himself.

“Another trick,” Olive Pit smiled, a bit giddy. “We really need to talk about some of the medical procedures you wanted Unit 0 to be further trained on.”

They quietly walked over to the others who had loosely gathered around Morning Spark. Sunset Fury ran them through his IV method. After that, Olive Pit spoke.

“Nice work,” He smiled. “From what I saw, you handling things perfectly. Every injury was quickly assessed, dealt with appropriately, and a plan was put in place immediately. You worked fast and hard. I do not know what the final count was on injuries.”

“41,” Morning Spark said. “It was 41 sir. 19 were Yellow Two, 8 were Yellow One, 10 were Level three and only 4 were level Four or Five.”

Olive Pit nodded and continued. “We couldn't of asked for a more perfect scenario for combat medicine than today. It is, of course, sad we had to. But since it happened, you did an amazing job. You kept the patients safe and secure and you kept their assistants safe and secure. You used them well. Good job.”

“If there was anything you felt you didn’t know or wanted to learn more about, send me a message. We are going to be doing further medical training since we are Unit 0, the ACU medics. Anything anypony has to say? What to say. Bah, I am tired.”

They laughed.

“I think you covered it Sir,” Morning Spark said.

“Sparky,” Sunset Fury said, still out of breath. “You did a great job organizing the chariots. Stuff of a real First Sergeant. Or Master Sergeant. I caught what I could considering the injuries we were dealing with, but amazing job leading like the senior NCO should do.”

“Guys,” Willow smiled. “We did it. We really did it. Your backs are to them, but our General is there, watching. Our trainers were watching. Both Colonels were watching. A few others made it past the barricades the Wonderbolts put up to leave us to do out work in peace. We just showed them medically why we deserve silver wings. Now lets crush the rest of the ACS!”

Their cheers were tired and strained, but they began to loosely fly back to the Squad Barracks. As they touched down, Olive Pit told them the night was theirs. Which meant most would shower and then crash. Olive Pit would not have that luxury and headed to his office.

He opened the door to his office, and as expected, found the senior brass waiting for him. Willow and Sunset Fury pushed him through his door and joined them. They were his senior NCOs after all. They joined him on his side of the desk.

It was just General Shielded Vengeance, Nova, the Wonderbolt Colonel and Marble Falls.

Olive Pit wordlessly sat down, the IV bag still taped to his head.

“Does that actually help?” Marble Falls asked.

“At least psychosomatically,” Olive Pit smiled. “But you are not here to talk about the IV bags strapped to our heads. There is more to you using the master key to enter my office than asking me about IV fluids.”

“I was impressed,” The Wonderbolt Colonel finally stated. “You guys worked flawlessly to deal with a chaotic situation and calm it down.”

“That is the life of a combat medic,” Sunset Fury shrugged. “Yes, we shoot and run the same, but when full combat happens, most of the time we are not shooting. We are putting stitches in and slapping on band-aids. Once that starts, the only reason we shoot is to protect ourselves or our patients. We can’t help them if we are dead. But we can’t help them if we hold back, either.”

“Very good to know,” Marble Falls said. “We saw Unit 0 like we have never seen it. I loved what I saw. I trusted what I saw. I can better train you because of what I saw.”

Colonel Nova let out a few happy chuckles. “Unit 0 had me worried. We had to get them their wings. But this showed that if they keep things up, they will. They reacted better under pressure than we have ever seen. I am finally proud to have Unit 0 under me. They are blossoming into what they were always supposed to be. I like it!”

“I am not here for Unit 0,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “But since being here, I heard some things, I watched some training and most importantly, I watched real skill out there, from every single member of Unit 0. I had to plug my ears up a good bit. Their shrieks and cries of pain have never been something I have been able to handle well. Thankfully, combat is generally loud.”

“Master Sergeant,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “What happened those two times you needed Olive Pit? Why did you need him?”

Sunset Fury began to break down the wing and why he needed Olive Pit. Finding out that Unit 0 would be learning those tactics was a big relief. Sunset Fury passed the spinal injuries off to Willow to explain why all three of them were there and what they were doing.

They talked back and fourth, mostly the General asking questions and catching up on things. He knew nothing about combat medics or medical practice of any kind.

“Lieutenant, I know it is early, but where do you see these two after ACS?”

Olive Pit took a second to think. “General, I have put thought into those things. I have thought a lot about the future of each soldier under me. We are getting twelve new members we have never seen before, so things have to be ready to take them in smoothly.”

“I had originally set it up that each wing would have a staff Sergeant over it, to care for it. I will have to make appropriate promotions to fix that. It will also require a big reshuffle in rooms. But that isn’t what you mean.”

“I saw three stand out today. Master Sergeant Sunset Fury does things I have never heard of and is skilled in way I have never know you could be skilled in. My current plan is to promote to Warrant Officer and place him as head over training.”

“I have looked at what the hospitals do, especially the emergency rooms and trauma wards. He will have to stay up on all the new medical procedures and conduct seminars. I would have to require my soldiers to go to a certain number of those seminars. But I will not take him out of the field. If there is a big push, he may very well be put as the head, directly over combat medic squads.”

“Sergeant Major Willow, I have had less time to know in this regard. The Master Sergeant trained me. Sergeant Major Willow shocked me. She was very calm and quiet and made more clinical decisions. It saved that mare with the injured neck’s life. She was bleeding out internally, too fast.”

“I have always seen the Sergeant Major as my number one for the clinic. She was the one who ran most of it the past five years. Warrant Officer over the Clinic would be a really good role for her. Of course, that still would not take her out of being used in combat.”

“The other is First Sergeant Morning Spark. He often just goes by Sparky. I was unprepared to see him take such a strong organizational role. He is an original Unit 0 soldier, before I came in. Their organization was crap. So it was refreshing to see him in such a role.”

“I would love to see the pressure put on him to lead the Unit as it’s senior NCO. With the Sergeant Major and the Master Sergeant as Warrant Officers over their specific fields, I will need a strong senior NCO to keep things organized, in line and trained. He is the next in line in seniority too.”

“I can do that,” Marble Falls smiled. “I can whip him into shape to be a great senior NCO. I am slightly ahead of you, but I will put my hoof down and give it everything we got to put him in that role. He is responding well since the reboot.”

“Wonderful,” General Shielded Vengeance nodded. “It all sounds like a good plan. I hope you released your troops for the evening.”

“I did Sir,” Olive Pit nodded. “As soon as we got back to the Squad Barracks. I think most of them have crashed for the evening. It will be a rough morning and I bet some will be late.”

“I won’t give them grief,” Marble Falls interjected.

“Good. They need that break,” The General continued. “I know you are tired, but your friends are finishing up with acrobatics training and then should be headed here.”

“Yes!” Olive Pit exclaimed. “Its been one hell of a difficult afternoon. But even a bit of time with them is great and worth pushing myself for.”

“You certainly earned it,” The General smiled. “All of you. I checked into yours records. It is well deserved.”

Chapter 79 - Future Plans

Olive Pit walked into the clinic. He needed to be training with Arrow, but first and foremost, there were 15 patients in his clinic.

The night before had been fun, but he was feeling the lost hours. Letting breakfast settle while he did some work here would be to his advantage.

Patient 1 was Honey Bee. He was broken and bruised in multiple places. Every rib had at least a minor crack. But he would walk out soon enough. Colonel Sky Gust had gotten him several extra health potions. There was no damage to the Lieutenant’s head outside of a minor cut. Assuming Cardinal Spitfire had assaulted him, it was impressive, focused work.

The Colonel Sky Gust, Colonel Mighty Maille, and Admiral Windy Lightning had tried to burn Cardinal Spitfire alive for the ‘assault’, but it fell of deaf ears within the Aerial Combat Battalion leaders. They had been warned it was very dangerous to be near the flight deck. They tried the other Generals and Admirals, but they were turned away too.

The ACUs had worked fast; seeding information in the mess halls, chatting to each other as they headed to their Units, and making sure the six of them were not seen in the best light.

Their main tactic was pointing out the dangers and that they were not supposed to be there, despite being warned multiple times. The incident with the recruits only bolstered that argument.

Others worked the angle that the six of them were squabbling with approved officers on the deck and had not only lost sight of any dangers, but had gotten confrontational. The idea that Cardinal Spitfire was protecting one of her best friends from an unknown assailant was going over well. Since she didn't press the attack, it looked defensive.

The Wonderbolts were more brazen in their talks, outright joining conversations. Many of them had been brazenly joining random conversations before, but this time it was with real purpose. They were there to tell them the tale of Honey Bee and Cardinal Spitfire that only a Wonderbolt would know. How he had entered his room to assault her, and had tried to pin his mistakes on her that evening.

They had effectively put doubt and confusion into the whole incident. That meant the blame was shifted away from Cardinal Spitfire and learned towards Honey Bee.

Olive Pit was pulled out of his work with groans he was familiar with. He lowed his chart. It would have to wait.

"Olive, I could use some assistance," Cardinal Spitfire moaned. She was in enough pain to drop the Pit.

"Where doesn't it hurt?" Olive Pit asked, not turning around.

"That is why I am here. I have never done and emergency stop like that before."

"Take a seat in the triage chair. I have no beds.”

“I am needed training troops. Your troops. I can’t spend time in a bed."

Olive Pit grabbed a new chart with a empty treatment sheet on it.

Patient: Cardinal Spitfire

Rank: Lieutenant Commander

Sex: Female

Diagnosis: Fall from the sky at high speeds. “Emergency landing.”

Info: Patient is a Wonderbolt who came in on her own. Patient is in real, justifiable pain with an obvious full body injury.

Treatment: Pain reducers backed with a healing potion and light steroids to facilitate healing.

Medicine: Med-X dose, administered slowly.

Health potion.

20mg of Buck: Twice a day for two days, once on third day. Administer with food at Breakfast and Dinner.

Comments: The Patient is needed in the field, teaching Aerial Combat School. Patient is teaching specialized maneuvers that only she knows. There is no way the patient can be grounded for any length of time.

"Good morning," Sunset Fury chimed. "I am not surprised to see you Olive Pit, I mean Lieutenant.”

“It’s fine,” Olive Pit said, not looking up from his chart. “What has you in here?”

“Food wasn’t enough,” Sunset Fury answered. “I didn’t sleep well. It has been a long time since I had to deal with such bad injuries. I am putting myself on some IV fluids to help.”

“Just make sure to chart it for supply reason,” Olive Pit replied distracted. “Wait, tell me what you think of this.”

Olive Pit passed the chart to Sunset Fury to double check his prescribed treatment of Cardinal Spitfire.

“Good call,” Sunset Fury nodded, signing the bottom as a witness since Buck was being administered. Better safe than sorry with something like Buck.

Olive Pit signed on his line and put the date.

“Alight,” He said turning to Cardinal Spitfire. “First, some Med-X for that pain.”

Cardinal Spitfire had no warning as Sunset Fury hit her shoulder with the needle, perfectly into a vein without needing to check first. It was a slow administration so he only pushed half of the dose in. The needle was cleaned off with alcohol since it was going to be used a second time.

“Now drink this,” Olive Pit said.

He didn’t give her any moment to even catch what was happening as he put it to her lips and raised her chin up to help her drink it.

“Is that a...”

“Yes,” Olive Pit cut her off. “Now give me a second for the last.”

Olive Pit opened up the restricted medicine cabinet and opened up a bottle of Buck. He pulled the chart off the inside and charted the dispensed medicine. He put each pill in a 7 day container to make sure she was give the proper dosage. He wrote her initials on a medical sticky tab and placed it on the container.

Olive Pit locked everything up and gave the first pill to Cardinal Spitfire, along with a bit of water.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Just a small medical steroid dose to facilitate the healing,” Olive Pit explained. “Standard stuff.”

Cardinal Spitfire just nodded and downed it. She was a bit woozy from the Med-X. Sunset Fury was ready to give her the rest of the dose. He had an IV bag taped to his head and gave her the rest through the other shoulder. Again, it was a perfect hit without needing to check for the vessels.

“Nice job,” Olive Pit said slowly shaking his head. “I won’t get used to you being able to do that in one, easy go.”

“Okay Cardinal Spitfire,” Olive Pit said. “That is it for now. At dinner, I have a pill to give you. So make sure you swing by.”

“Right,” Cardinal Spitfire said with a nod that was a half nod and a half shake.

“Are you sure you should just let her go like that?” A nurse asked.

“She will be fine,” Olive Pit chuckled. “If she wasn’t a Wonderbolt, I wouldn’t.”

“They are not all powerful,” The nurse warned.

“I will be out there with them,” Sunset Fury added. “I will keep my eye on her.”

The nurse dropped it, but still was weary. Since Cardinal Spitfire would be coming back, Olive Pit hung the chart up on the outpatient wall. If he didn’t make it back, somepegasus else would dispense the Buck.

Olive Pit wasn’t sure how she would react when she learned it was Buck. It was a tough enough drug to administer normally because of its rampant misuse during the war. After the incident, the Squad Barracks would never see Buck the same way again.

It was a good, standard dose. Heavier than the cut ones they had found, but it was still the lowest dose. He had little worry about her physical reaction to the drug itself, but he would keep his eye on her as much as possible. The biggest risk was her drowsiness from the Med-X, and that was a one time deal.

Olive Pit found Arrow at the steps of the Squad Barracks. A lot of officers were there for various reason. It was the most common meeting place, but it was extremely crowded at the moment. And or no obvious reason. Unit 17 was lined up way down at the end of the Squad Barracks.

Arrow was not her usual peppy self. She had the energy, but her voice was down.

“What’s up?” Olive Pit asked. “You are not yourself.”

“I assume you had to check in on the clinic?” She asked, deflecting the question.

“Yes,” Olive Pit nodded. “I checked through all fifteen patients. They will be moved to the Headquarters hospital by dinner time to make sure we can take in any possible emergency cases.”

“I understand that Colonel Nova, General Red River and General Shielded Vengeance are having a tough talk with the recruits after yesterday.”

“I haven’t heard anything,” Olive Pit replied. “But stop deflecting.”

Arrow sighed. “Several of 17 want to become officers. After seeing you work yesterday…”

“They are young and certainly inexperienced, but so are you. And me,” Olive Pit stated.

“Yeah, but you got sent to Officer School from Basic,” She rationalized. “And I had the best instructor who naturally taught me to lead an ACU. They made it here, but they were nothing special through their trainings.”

Olive Pit grinned. “Then we do what was done to us to make us prime candidates for officers. We push them to excel as they make all the calls. We let them fail. We let them experiment. It’s weather in a few days and then its basically the home stretch. Am I ready to lead and pass?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Then we give them all we got. Just like we were given. We want them to be officers. Its not just because of what the ACUs do, but because it makes better soldiers.”

Arrow got her confidence back and her voice perked up. “Lets do this!”

She followed Olive Pit down the flight deck to where Unit 17 was on standby. He walked their short line as he spoke.

“So, I hear some of you want to go to the Officer School that will be conducted after this school is done. A lot of time and effort has been put into me earning my Silver Wings. There is not much time left in that regard, so I hope you have been paying attention.”

“With your interest peaked, and my training essentially done, its all going to rest on you to get things done. If you are ready, you are ready. If you are not, its not a mark against you. Being an officer takes time, effort and the balance is a lot to learn.”

“You know how to fly. You know how to conduct aerial combat warfare. You already understand how to lead. Now its time to put it into practice. We will start with the Cityscape Maze we did yesterday.”

Arrow organized them and they made their way to the Traffic Control Coordinator. Unit 0 was trying to get clearance. Marble Falls was arguing with him. He stopped the conversation and let Unit 17 skip ahead. Marble Falls was not happy.

“She care barely stand,” The Traffic Control Coordinator said, pointing to Cardinal Spitfire.

“She is cleared medically!” Marble Falls exclaimed. “And these are medics and he signed off on her heading out.”

“He also has an IV taped to his head.”

“It is just formation work.”

“Those two are a health risk to themselves, your group, and every single Pegasus in the air. And on the ground. Whatever they gave her is doing number on her little body.”

“She is fine it was only,” Marble Falls stopped. She had no idea what they had given her.

“Master Sergeant, what did you give her?”

“She is feeling the Med-X a bit, but we administered it slowly to help ease the side effects.”

“I want her to learn to fly with that. All of Squad 12 will learn to fly with Med-X. Why I didn’t think of it before is beyond me. Now, what else did you give her?”

“A health potion was administered.”

“And?”

“And she is on a small, short term steroid boost to help her body recuperate from such a harsh fall.”

Marble Falls groaned as she was shaking her head. “Please tell me it wasn’t Buck?”

“It has it’s uses,” Sunset Fury defended. “This is one of them. It is the small starting dose; for today, tomorrow and then half the third day. Why, does she have a problem with the drug?”

“No,” Cardinal Spitfire answered. “Never had it before.”

“This is all standard for her injuries,” Sunset Fury pressed. “The other steroids are heavier than most Buck doses and not appropriate solutions.”

“I believe you,” Marble Falls sighed. “But I can not let her fly right now. And since she is sitting out, so are you. Pony Patrol will do med training when things calm down. We shall see how things are after lunch.”

Sunset Fury groaned as he caved. Cardinal Spitfire shrugged and walked off towards the Squad Barracks.

“Then I am going to sleep,” She yawned.

Unit 0 was let onto the flight deck and took off in their formations. Cardinal Spitfire was just the most enthusiastic about formations and teaching them. She had made sure Pony Patrol was amazing at combat formations. She also was more likely to change up their formation than anypony else in Pony Patrol. The others had no problem instructing them.

Tough break,” Deke said to Sunset Fury as he sat down on the grass next to the stairs.

Deke had posted up on the edge of the stairs, as usual. Not the safest place to be, but it was outside the funnel of the door.

“It is probably for the best,” Sunset Fury replied. “Still is annoying. I have work I could do, but I don’t feel like it.”

“You all took a beating yesterday,” Deke replied. “Prime work, but a beating. I got to watch. I am not sure if I was lucky, or unlucky. Even at our distance, it wasn’t pretty.”

“I got over most of it so long ago. Had to with my job. But it isn’t pretty. Especially wing or spine injuries. Wings just… the bad ones, you get lucky to fly. I do not know how the Colonel does it with his. The neck and spine, they can shake me to the core. They are so strong to support us, but when the break, it breaks you.”

The heard a yelp and then a thud and a crumbling as somepony fell down the stairs and rolled along the ground. They were by their side faster than their eyes stopped rolling.

It was a mare in a dress uniform. She was laying on top of a folder full of files. Sunset Fury pushed her back down when she tried to get them out from under her.

“I’m a medic, just relax.”

She giggled. “I am pretty sure medics are suppose to give IVs, not wear them on their head.”

“Well,” Sunset Fury shrugged. “Its complicated but there is a reason I am not in the air. Unrelated to doing my job as a medic.”

“I’m fine. I just took a quick second to look into the air. It was impressive. I took an extra, unplanned step and ended up down here. Probably just a good bruise. I never hit my head.”

Sunset helped her up and Deke picked up the crumpled files.

“Shit,” She groaned. “She is going to kill me. These were for the Admiral. How do I explain this?”

“With the truth?” Deke suggested. “You tripped and fell down a few steps. It happens.”

She hurriedly began to flip through them, checking each one. Deke expertly snatched it out of her hooves, not losing a single page.

“Lets get you away from the flight deck,” Deke said. “We don’t need you getting hit by another Cardinal Spitfire accident.”

“A what?”

“Did you just arrive?” Deke asked.

“Late last night. We came over here this morning from Headquarters. By Chariot. I have about and hour free.”

She looked at her watch. It was a very rare thing to see a watch. Few had a real need for them and they were not cheap to produce. “Make that 43 minutes.”

“I was clear to step out,” She stammered. “Honest.”

“We don’t doubt it,” Deke smiled as he got her to sit on the steps where he had been. “But we already had some big accidents here, and they had a massive one yesterday on the other side with the recruits.”

“He has an IV bag on his head, what has you grounded?”

“Oh,” Deke chuckled. “I am not a flier. I let the Cloudship do the flying for me. I am here on… I’ve lost track now. We got here before everypony else suddenly converged on the place. We had business. Now all I do it sit here, poking at my friend who is in the school, so he trains better. Its been working.”

“What brought you here in the first place?” She asked.

“The First Mate’s sister is an ACU officer and is getting married. Then they took our ship for some repairs and forced R&R. I had the chance to stay here or head to New Heaven. Or go with the Ship to Nellie, but I chose here. Some friends are here, so even on the boring days, a quick lunch with them is a good day.”

“I am Lieutenant Commander Deke.”

“And I am Master Sergeant Sunset Fury. I do belong here.”

“And I Second Lieutenant Sunny Swirl. I am Vice Admiral Breezy Sky’s assistant.”

“How did they let you in here?” Deke blurted out. She wasn’t wearing any rank insignia.

“I mean,” He stammered. “It’s all been senior officers and we have no room. Only a few lower officers have come, to the annoyance of all.”

“I assist the Admiral in a few way,” Sunny Swirl replied. “I am a correct, real assistant. I love my job, but I would love to be a line officer on the bridge like you do on the Buttercup. And our stay here was planned well in advanced. They had rooms held for us before this gathering came. We were planned from the start. I don’t get why so many others came. That wasn’t planned, or known about unil we arrived this morning.”

Sunset Fury pulled the empty IV bag off his head. “We don’t get why they came either.”

“The Admiral guesses its all for the uniform and rank adjustments,” Sunny Swirl shrugged. “But for 90% of them, it means nothing.”

Deke rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but that means they can say they were here for it. And that has power when it comes to a big change like this.”

“Have any fights broken out?”

“Just yesterday,” Deke shrugged. “An old Lieutenant I was under was not happy about my rank and some other things. He was one of at least three who shouldn't be here. It ended, with a big twist and a ball of fire. Long story.”

“Interesting. Often the Admirals and Generals can get pretty heated in their talks. They don’t trust the other because of the rank name change. They think they are the superior rank.”

“We have three Wonderbolt Squadrons stationed here,” Sunset Fury chuckled. “A fight breaking out would bring them all down on their heads. Not a good ending for anypegasus fighting. Even a verbal match. Several of the Wonderbolts can command better than most of them.”

Sunny Swirl checked her watch. “Shit, I have to go. Thanks for the help.”

She scrambled up the stairs, looking like she was going to fall again.

“That mare,” Sunset Fury shook his head. “She is something else. We are going to end up with her in out clinic if she keeps that up.”

Deke let our a few mischievous chuckles. “I bet the others will leave soon if they were waiting on that Admiral. Then things can be put back together. The last question is, what can we get them to break in revenge?”

“Don’t start a fight,” Sunset Fury warned. “Even being involved in one indirectly could have serious repercussions. You are not a Wonderbolt.”

“It is an unfair balance,” Deke said annoyed.

“They can kill you in your sleep while they sleep. You don’t piss that off and you make sure that anything valid is held accountable. They regulate themselves well. They are very professional. It’s just been a bit odd around here with Shadow Flare marrying Cardinal Spitfire and him going MIA after suspicious circumstances. It will calm down.”

Deke sighed. “I have no idea if she hit him because it was him or because he was right at me. I want to say it was to protect me, and everything else after was once she knew who it was. It all happened so fast and she doesn’t fly slow.”

“That is the big mystery,” Sunset Fury replied. “It is a good mystery. It is keeping her safe. She won’t tell. That and the information that got kicked around fast.”

“Lieutenant Commander Deke!” Admiral Purple Breeze called out. “There you are. I have been trying to find you for an hour now.”

“I haven’t been anywhere else since I came here.”

“Its a hectic morning,” She panted. “20 minutes, Unit 0, Meeting Room C. I also need to find Lieutenant Commander Cardinal Spitfire.”

“They are in Zone One,” Deke said. “He can get her for you. Just tell her to land at Unit 0. Screw the flight deck. She knows how to land properly.”

The Admiral shrugged. “She did land right next to you at a speed and trajectory that is almost impossible to believe that she was on target.”

Deke chuckled. “You stay out of her way at times for a reason. I went to Basic with her. I saw some shit go down. Some of it was between her and Shadow Flare. Funny to think on those times.”

“15 minutes,” Admiral Purple Breeze reminded him.

“Fuck!” Deke said scrambling up the steps and into the Squad Barracks.

Before the door closed they heard him yelling. “IDIOT LIEUTENANT COMMANDER COMING THROUGH! I DO BETTER FLYING A SHIP THAN I DO OFF THAT DAMN THING!”

Cardinal Spitfire slid in front of Deke and hopped into Unit 0 ahead of him.

“I win!” She declared.

“Yeah well, you had a head start! You were already flying.”

“I was sleeping in my quarters,” Cardinal Spitfire reminded him. “The Med-X.”

“Damn,” Deke swore. “Fucking embarrassing.”

“Faster in the air, still faster on the ground.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah” Deke said rolling his eyes.

They entered the meeting room.

Little shook her head at the sight of Deke. “Your uniform is all over the place.”

“Hey miss pretty prissy something, I have been working. Not getting all fancied up like you in that dress uniform.”

“Working? By sitting on the steps?”

“I actually was assisting Master Sergeant Sunset Fury on a fall case. Down the steps of the Squad Barracks.”

“Everypegasus can relax,” Admiral Purple Breeze said entering and closing the door.

“This is simple. The other Admirals and such over the Cloudships are here to look at the new rank structure and displayed uniforms. We were waiting on the arrival of Vice Admiral Breezy Sky. Deke, if I had wanted you to be nice and pretty, you would have known it.”

“The service uniforms do not stay nice and pretty all day. I want to show that the rank is still plainly visible throughout the day. And you always manage to mess yours up shortly after breakfast, yet it never gets worse after that.”

“Yes, I have been observing, almost stalking, you two to see how the new style is working.”

“Creepy,” Deke smiled. “Yet flattering.”

“Cardinal Spitfire is here to show off the Aerial Combat Battalion uniform. Although we will need you to remove that flight jacket. It doesn’t have your proper rank.”

“Of course,” Cardinal Spitfire said taking it off. “The first one is almost always the first love. I was wearing it when they announced my name and orders over the PA system. If I had known, I would have grabbed the other.”

“It is fine. They do not need to see a Wonderbolt’s special jacket. Basically, you will just need to stand up front, at parade rest. I will give you cues if I need you to move to display a different side or something. So stay focused.”

“Yes Ma’am,” They said in unison.

“Lets roll in,” Admiral Purple Breeze said. “We may have to do this again, once or twice, to get rid of those pesky army officers who have no real business being here. We will take things slow for now.”

It was boring. Deke focused as best as he could. Ruby Snow was up front and the only officer below Admiral. Admiral Windy Lightning was in attendance, sitting in the back. Lieutenant Green Shield wasn’t to be seen. The room had a chair or two open, but there was no way they were letting a pointless Lieutenant in.

Sunny Swirl was in the front, taking notes. She was sitting besides an old Pegasuswho’s eyes were a tad cloudy. Her ears were certainly attentive. Her mane was silver from old age and so was her wing feathers. An odd contrast to her forest green coat.

Deke almost missed his cue. He was focused on Sunny Swirl. It occurred to him too late that she had said he was a line officer on the Buttercup. She knew of him and his position before she met him. It wasn’t sitting correctly with him. He would have to catch her after, when she wasn’t working. But that seemed to be never with the stack of files she had and as she was adding more to it.

When it was over, Deke breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“You actually made it,” Little jeered.

“I am surprised myself,” Deke smiled. “And proud.”

“You should be proud,” Admiral Purple Breeze stated. “That was well over three hours of passive modeling. Its not easy to do that. Especially in front of a crowd of Admirals who will remember what you did. Especially a mistake.”

“I am so glad I didn’t think about that beforehand,” Deke replied. “That would have been disastrous.”

“Vice Admiral,” Admiral Purple Breeze greeted her. “It is good to see you again. It has been too long.”

“Yes, it has dear. I have been so busy with the Second’s Seventh Task Force. They are a wreck. I wish I had time to divert the other day when the emergency arose, but you all did fine.”

“And you two,” She said looking at Deke and Little. “I heard great reports about you two. Holding the Enclave’s line during and then the after effects of the legendary storm while the Captain had to retreat to get reinforcements and equipment.”

Deke cocked his head. “That is the report you got?”

Little punched him in his arm to tell him to shut up.

“I may have embellished it a bit, but it is what you did. You led 30 troops, spread out in the frozen north, as they protected and worked to keep the community calm, warm and safe. Often times, the things that you do that are most admirable seem like the obvious and simple choice. Seeing the greatness of those choices can be difficult from where you stand.”

“Okay,” Deke shrugged.

“I have no idea how an officer like yourself failed your first practicum.”

“Don’t get him started,” Little groaned.

“It’s what the fight yesterday started about,” Deke replied, ignoring Little. “Just a rival Lieutenant who doesn’t like me. Who is the protege of an Admiral and caused trouble for me.”

“I was the navigator. If I decided to double check with visual and map navigation, I got in trouble for neglecting my duties. What happens if nav goes out? Or worse, when the discrepancy in the system compared to the real location causes a problem so troops deploy too far forward or too far back. That could be a very bloody mistake. They ran the engine efficiency program, but won’t listen to me about the nav system!”

“Commander, is the system information true?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Little replied with a quick nod. “I corrected ours and all the others in the Third. It was off by a tenth of a mile. His concerns are more than valid. A tenth of a mile in the heat of battle is a huge margin of error. And he is correct that we do not have a back up in place if nav goes out.”

“I do not doubt that he caused half of the problems on the reports, but I do not doubt that he was right. He has done some wonderful maneuvers with the Buttercup, including a Bootleg turn.”

“How did that go?” The Vice Admiral asked Deke.

“Depends,” Deke chuckled. “For me or her? It was arriving here. They got up to the launch point to make their grand entrance. I made it grander, but scared them. Almost got flayed alive for the stunt since pegasi were in the air. Clear, but in the air. I was in control and I swung in exactly where I wanted to.”

“Was that your first attempt?”

“Of course Ma’am,” Deke beamed. “It wouldn't be special if I had done it before. Even if I had failed previously.”

“Not even most Raptor pilots will try that. It is a valuable tactic. Rough on the engines, but valuable.”

“Rough on the engines, but battle is worse,” Deke shot back. “And if you are burned alive while being chased, the engines are pointless.”

“Only a skilled officer can do it and only if he has full control of the ship.”

“The Buttercup and I are very well acquainted,” Deke mischievous grinned.

Little’s head was in her hoof. “You are talking to a Vice Admiral. Some class would be wise.”

“Nah,” Deke shrugged. “I am not going to be stupid, but hiding who I am as an officer, who has skill, won’t get me appointed to where I am really needed. Kissing ass sucks and you don’t get appointed by merit and skill. Often, that comes with rough edges. Which I know you love.”

Little was speechless.

“She still hasn’t backed up why she is called lightning yet,” Deke smiled. “I don’t think she has any. At least not for me.”

“You are gutsy and confident, almost to the point of arrogance,” The Vice Admiral said. “Tough to be that when you are not even a Captain. It is threatening to your superiors.”

“Still, you are not the only one on the Buttercup. Commander Lightning here is beyond a fine officer and First Mate. After all, she trained you. And while she has a bit more class and less of an arrogant feel, she knows this stuff more than most captains.”

“The big question is, what do both of you really want?”

Deke didn’t answer, he was letting Little go first.

“I love the Third,” Little finally stated. “Its got its quirks, the jobs vary and nothing is solid. But the Third is my home fleet. I would be a Captain on a Net Layer before I took the chair on a Raptor in another fleet. They wouldn’t be able to handle my unique command style.”

“I don’t micro manage, but I want to know how the ship is doing. And often. Most of my time flying the Buttercup is from the pilot’s terminal and controls. I would drive an experienced crew insane. I know we are taking on a batch of officers soon, which is part of the reason why we were promoted, but they will be learning a different ship design with a drastically smaller bridge. That should be enough change.”

“What is your optimal job?” The Vice Admiral followed up.

Little didn’t have to think. “Captain of the Buttercup. Although I realize that the Buttercup is the training hub, and a more experienced captain will be sent elsewhere, since the Admiral can oversee the younger captain. The Lord Clove seems like a fine ship and from the specs, is very similar. I bet I can beat her top speed records.”

“If anypegasus can beat the Clove’s speed records, it would be you,” The Vice Admiral smiled. “You have good observations on the whole workings of the Third. Admiral material.”

“Ha!” Little exclaimed to Deke.

“Hey, I don’t want to be an admiral. Give me a good ship with a good crew I can take into any job, face any danger or lack of danger and be the best performing ship in the entire Enclave.”

“Simple, but loft goals,” Vice Admiral Breezy Sky said. “You would make a fine commandant. A Captain in charge of a short term task force.”

Deke’s smile grew. “Can I be Commandant and then keep the title permanently? Or admiral?”

“No, not really.”

“Eh,” Deke shrugged. “Worth it. Goal is still the same.”

“Commander Lightning, could you command Lieutenant Commander Deke, if he was a Captain and you were an Admiral?”

“Absolutely,” Little grinned. “It’s not hard. We poke at each other all the time, but when stuff needs to happen, it happens. We would work perfectly together. Probably best in an Admiral Captain relationship. I know I could trust him to not cause a real problem and focus on the rest of my Task Force.”

“Lieutenant Commander...”

“Yes,” Deke said cutting her off. “I would have no problem with her as my Admiral. I know that if she gives an order, it means business. It isn’t a worthless command or one to keep me under her hoof.”

“Good,” The Vice Admiral smiled. “I am old and with my eyes fading, I can’t stay in my position much longer. I am putting the finishing touches on my retirement and making sure the right Admiral takes my position.”

“You want Admiral Purple Breeze, don’t you?” Little asked.

“I do and have a good cloud to stand on. Despite the Third Fleet’s small size, her technical rank is Fleet Admiral. One of three. It would be a step down in ways, but the move would be a powerful one and good for the Second Fleet.”

“I do not know if I did anything wrong, but I am sticking to it all,” Deke said to Admiral Purple Breeze.

“So,” Little hesitated. “That would put Captain Ruby Snow as an Admiral?”

“Yes, dear, it would. Fleet Admiral since we only need one. And you would take the Captain's chair of the Buttercup and Lieutenant Commander Deke would be your First Mate.”

“I don’t get to choose?”

“No,” The Vice Admiral chuckled. “Do you think you can handle all of that?”

“Please,” Deke waved it off with a wing. “We basically are anyway. She flies, I fly, Warrant Chief Bronze Valve flies. Captain Ruby Snow would stay on the Buttercup. Not much would actually charge, outside the intake of new officers.”

“You two have been seen in a very good, promising light in front of all these Admirals. Admiral Purple Breeze got to assert her real rank explaining the changes in the Third Fleet. And Captain Ruby Snow was also seen. They won’t forget him and won’t be surprised when any of these changes happen.”

“I will still be around,” Admiral Purple Breeze said. “The Vice Admiral has helped me out at times with some of the oddities of the Third Fleet, and before too. I won’t leave any of the six ships hanging. Ruby Snow knows that. I also couldn’t stand not keeping up with him. We were, at one time, a lot like you two when it came to working on the bridge together.”

“That sounds amazing,” Little replied. “A good chunk to take in, but amazing.”

“Your uniforms look grand now that I can see them up close,” Vice Admiral Breezy Sky smiled. “But, I am hungry. I think lunch is in order.”

Deke held back outside the door to catch Sunny Swirl. She walked right past him without noticing him, like he had planned.

“You know,” He said surprising her and catching up. “If you want to make a good, clean jump to a line officer position on the bridge, you should use your standing with the Vice Admiral to make it now, to the Buttercup. We won’t take on the rest of our compliment until after the admiral changes happen.”

“I would be asking to abandon her,” Sunny Swirl stammered.

“No, you would be stating the facts. She leaves, that leaves you where? Take the opportunity to request that when your time serving her is over, that she sends you to the post you want. You have put in a lot of great, loving time and effort. She will recognize that and give you just about anything you want.”

“I,” She continued stammering. “I will tell her.”

“She doesn’t bite,” Deke added.

“Why do you care?” Sunny Swirl asked.

“I just do,” Deke shrugged. “I can’t have an answer for everything. I try, but no. Not everything. I do on my ship though. I have to then. Down here, I am just a simple pegasi.”

“Are you hitting on me?”

“Am I?” Deke asked. “I am only speaking the truth.”

“You are not involved with the Commander?”

“Unless she is involved with me, I don’t know. I am just doing my job, so is she. We get things done together, no problem. We get along great, even with the petty, fun, childish squabbling. Although she has been unusually kind the past few days.”

Sunny Swirl giggled. “Well, everypegasus is afraid of me because I am the assistant to the Vice Admiral. There still is time for you two to figure that out before I end up on the Buttercup. You are right: I ask, it will happen. I won’t wait for you because you have been kind to me for half a day.”

“You are a smart mare,” Deke stated. “Too many have swooned over me. None since I ended up on an obscure ship, but I am past most of that. Most.Running a ship with a full bridge crew will be weird and stressful. Having you on board will be wonderful.”

“How long have you been in?”

Deke had to think. “Its been about a year.”

“Wow,” Sunny Swirl stated, shocked. “I would have guessed four or five. Especially with the rank advancements you are looking at obtaining in the near future.”

“I am good at what I do,” Deke said strutting a bit. “And it is why I failed my practicums. They just can’t handle this much perfection. But, this perfection needs food. And food is that way!”

Sunny Swirl couldn't help but giggle and smile. Deke was too sure of himself. It was fun, and comforting. He wasn’t hiding anything either. A rare mixture.

Chapter 80 - Cardinal Spitfire

It was lunch. Cardinal Spitfire had come in with the bulk of the Admirals since they had all gotten out at the same time. She wasn’t needed like Deke and Little. The Admirals didn’t try and talk to her and that was fine with Cardinal Spitfire. She had put her first flight jacket back on. It was keeping her warm when she shouldn’t be cold.

She was trying to find a spot to sit down and eat when a Pegasus who wasn’t paying attention slammed into her, splashing food all over her face and jacket.

Cardinal Spitfire wiped her eyes off with her wings and opened them. Lieutenant Honey Bee was standing right in front of her. A dish slid off his tray and clanked to the ground. He was frozen with fear. So was the entire mess hall.

He had obviously been released from the hospital. Sooner than he should have. Colonel Sky Breeze had to have put some pressure on the clinic to release him here rather than be sent back to the hospital at headquarters.

Cardinal Spitfire was fuming and it was obvious. Her jaw was set tight.

“This is my first flight jacket,” She said through her teeth. The hall was quiet enough that everypegasus heard it clearly. “My jacket from before things happened. My happy jacket.”

A Two Star General fearlessly stepped over to Cardinal Spitfire. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” She cooed. “This should come out. Your jackets are built to last.”

“Thank you,” Cardinal Spitfire finally was able to say.

Cardinal Spitfire was mad. Seeing him was bad enough, but this, while not his fault, seemed personal. She wised up and just dropped her empty tray. It made it easier for the General to get the towels to do their work. The room relaxed as the tray settled on the floor. It was over.

“Thank you Ma’am,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled. “I don’t know what has me in an odd bind right now.”

“It’s your first dear. This jacket has a lot of meaning for you. You have gone through a lot with it.”

“It still was an accident,” Cardinal Spitfire responded. “I shouldn’t be so upset.”

“Emotions are tough,” The General said finishing up. “There, that should do it.”

“Thank you Ma’am,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled. “I guess its back in line for food.”

“Nonsense! We have room here. They can bring you a new tray.”

“But!” Cardinal Spitfire wasn’t able to protest anymore as she was pulled down to the table, ending the conversation. A tray was quickly brought to her. She felt bad. Typically they worked to clean up their messes and got their own food if they spilled. It was cheating, especially with the line at the counter.

“Don’t worry about him dear,” The General said. “He ran off a while ago. He was smart.”

“I don’t intend to command through fear,” Cardinal Spitfire said in between bites. She was suddenly very hungry. More than usual.

Another General at the table spoke. “You get to be up at our rank, you either are friends, or you do not like each other.”

“I am not usually this, emotional. I had a hard time standing still in front of the Admirals for the meeting, and then here, it was a simple mistake. He should have known better with this crowd, but it is bound to happen. I have no idea why I am off today.”

The Two Star General put her hoof on Cardinal Spitfire’s. “When was the last time you were intimate? I was all over the place before we realized I was carrying my first.”

Cardinal Spitfire was shocked at it being so blatant.

“No,” She stammered. “No, its been months now. The last ACS we got one time in. We were married only a few weeks, but separated because of the school. We had no time them, and then we went to our jobs.”

“And there is no way I could ever turn my back on him like that. We made a promise to each other. And he will never break his. Nor will I. I wish it was that simple, but no.”

Cardinal Spitfire sighed a deep sadness. “That would be a wonderful gift, but no. It was a long assignment. It was weeks of mismanagement, not something that just happened. A totally different strategy from the previous sets of missions a few years back.”

“We should get that investigation opened again,” Another General stated.

“No,” Cardinal Spitfire said definitively. “It was laid to rest for a reason. Yes, things should have been different. But no. I trust the officers who put it to rest. Communication should have been better, that is all.”

“Whenever he figures out what is happening, he will come back. Honey Bee will be in trouble only from Shadow, if its deserved. Shadow will let that case rest. Justice will be found though.”

“Why don’t they just come back to their drop point and knock?”

“Because something bad happened,” Cardinal Spitfire said distracted. “Something broke them. They can’t trust above. If they could, they would be back. I am sure they are trying to get a message above. Not an easy thing to do. A message…”

Cardinal Spitfire perked up as she thought it through. If Shadow was going to leave a message without using technology, he only a few options. And only one of them didn’t endanger others. He wouldn’t risk the lives of innocent citizens.

She focused back on the table of Generals. “Sorry. I wish I could say more. But none of you can quickly grasp the complexity of things. The ACUs are quirky compared to the rest of the military. The Wonderbolts are shrouded legends. The Recon team was a mix of both.”

“I can’t explain things properly or risk exposing sensitive information. Information not even Lieutenant Honey Bee knows. Sorry I can’t say more.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” A General waved it off. “We all have to hide stuff and watch our tongues. For a variety of reasons.”

“Thanks,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled. “Thanks to all of you.”

She stood up. “I have to go find my Colonel. Thank you again. All of you.”

“And thank you,” She said to the Sergeant cleaning up the mess.

“Don’t worry about it. You do me a solid every day. Just returning the favor.”

“Do you a solid?” The Two Star General asked the Sergeant.

“Oh yeah,” The Sergeant replied. “She knows our names. Chats with us in line. A lot know our names, but few actually care enough to interact with us and check in with how things are going.”

Cardinal Spitfire didn’t have to find her Colonel. The Colonel was waiting outside on the steps for her.

“Good job. I am surprised you brushed it off like that. I thought the empty tray might be used.”

“It wasn’t worth it,” Cardinal Spitfire said firmly. “He isn’t worth it. I have much, much more important things to do and worry about.”

Cardinal Spitfire took in a deep breath. “Colonel, I want to request some personal time after the ACS is finished.”

“I need you to help lead the Officer School.”

“I know. But there will be some wiggle room, correct?”

“Depending.”

“I am talking four, maybe five days tops.”

The Colonel took a deep breath in. “I do not know the timing. But when the graduation ceremony is over, you will get your free time until the day before Officer School starts.”

“Thank you Ma’am!” Cardinal Spitfire said saluting.

“After everything, I should be saying thank you.”

The flight deck was clear. The teams were just beginning to assemble. It was horribly slow with so many here. Cardinal Spitfire ditched her jacket and slipped off her flight suit. She was defying everything. She dashed straight at the flight deck and charged across it without looking. She took off over the edge.

She had held it in long enough. Yesterday she had restrained herself like a good soldier after she knocked him back. Today she did too. More civil than anypony expected it to be. Yet She was burning inside. And through lunch it had grown to an almost raging fire. She needed to fly. To let it out.

She was going to get to that cave and she was going to leave a message for him if he hadn’t left one for her. Cardinal Spitfire pushed as she began to slowly come back towards the Squad Barracks. She was well past Zone 4 and the Fort’s boundary was coming up. She didn’t want to be intercepted and have to explain anything.

She just pushed her rage into her wings. It forced the fear that Shadow would never return out through her tear ducts, clouding her vision. With a deep breath in she put the last bit she was holding in reserve into what she had and shot off at double the speed than she expected.

General Shielded Vengeance was standing with Nova and The Wonderbolt Colonel watching the flight deck got organized. Most of them were outside.

“Where is Cardinal?” Marble Falls asked them. “I expect her training with us now that the Med-X is out of her system. We are not as good as we think we are when it comes to teaching the combat formations.”

The Colonel made a subtle gesture to her flight suit and jacket on the ground and out of the way.

“You won’t see her for the rest of the day. She has some stuff to work out. You don’t want her today. She is too distracted.”

“Damn it Filly Fooler!” Marble Falls swore. “I need her. I get it, but I can’t just go off whenever I need to blow off steam!”

The sky exploded, almost shattering their eardrums, as a ring of red flames ending in yellow tips opened up like a flower blooming in the sky. There was a long flame burning from it’s epicenter and speeding away.

“And she finally did it,” General Shielded Vengeance chuckled. “Good to see. We haven’t seen a real boom in ages. Even when trying.”

“Yeah,” Nova marveled. “But that isn’t a sonic rainboom. That is flames. She spit fire.”

“That is a horrible pun,” Marble Falls said, unable to stop watching.

“Yeah, but the sky is literally burning,” Nova defended. “Shadow Flare couldn’t do that. His would be a pretty boom. A dainty rainbow like you would expect from somepony who looks like a mare, but not like that.”

They had heard the sonic boom, but the impact of her breaking the sound barrier finally slammed into them, a testament as to how far away she had been. It hit hard but had nothing behind it, ending fast. She was long gone.

When Cardinal Spitfire finally figured out what had happened her heart burst with pride. It was flames. The fire inside her had exploded out. It wasn’t a fucking rainbow, it was her. She was way off her mark because of her speed. She rolled back in and around. If she was already doing it, she was going to milk it.

Cardinal Spitfire zipped around the backside of the Squad Barracks and came in low, right over the flight deck, causing a a team to hit the deck as the air burned above their heads. She turned and flew under the Squad Barracks and began to do loops over and around it, engulfing the air in flames.

She broke it off, hit a hard turn and brought herself over the flight deck. This time she dug her unprotected hooves in and slid to a stop in front of the ACB Senior Officers. She knew her grin was cocky as she began to walk off the deck to get her flight suit and jacket.

General Shielded Vengeance just smiled at her.

As she pulled on her suit, Cardinal Spitfire turned to Marble Falls. “How bad was it teaching them formations?”

Marble Falls was not expecting Cardinal Spitfire to sound normal. There was no hint of anything she had done.

“Bad,” Marble Falls stammered. “I was fuming when I found out you had taken off. Apparently I need to work on my tight formation flying. And you gave us a good hammering during our training.”

“Yes you do,” Cardinal Spitfire said as she put her jacket on.

“General,” Cardinal Spitfire said with a straight face. “On record. I am faster.”

She walked away, never loosing her composure.

“Oh!” Cardinal Spitfire exclaimed turning around. “Just because they have me on some Buck for yesterday’s injuries, well, I can do it any time, anywhere. That fire is inside me. My heart. Not my blood.”

“Damn Buck is making me cold though,” Cardinal Spitfire said walking away.

“Who put her on Buck?” General Shielded Vengeance asked, concerned.

“I did,” Olive Pit said trotting up. “Standard starting dose to help her body repair all the micro fractures in her bones and stitch up any troubled muscles. It is a common medical treatment for the fall she suffered. Especially since she has to keep moving. It was signed off by another, Master Sergeant Sunset Fury.”

General Shielded Vengeance shook his head to get it organized. “I believe and trust you. I saw you work yesterday. You would not endanger a patient. Especially a friend.”

“Her hooves have to be burning,” Olive Pit stated. “A stop like that isn’t fun. At least not when you end it.”

The Wonderbolt Colonel let out a chuckle. “She is feeling a different, better burn.”

“Captain Marble Falls,” Olive Pit said. “No offense, but she just became the dominant Pegasus here.”

“Good,” Marble Falls chuckled. “It is about time some Pegasus began to challenge me.”

“Lieutenant,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said, still watching Cardinal Spitfire saunter off with a good deal unknown swagger. “She just put her chip in the pot for the whole Wonderbolts and made several fold. When I finally got cleared for mine, it was a small one. I popped. But I passes and did my job.”

“I did better than a pop,” General Shielded Vengeance added. “But it’s blast ring was nowhere near that. That lit the sky on fire.”

“Seriously, more bad puns,” Marble Falls interjected.

“We haven’t seen that one like that in my entire career,” The General finished. “And she can teach. And she can do killer acrobatics. And her tight formation flying is top notch. Her clandestine activities, well I didn’t know some things were possible. Her hoof combat is her weakest, but it is solid too.”

“And she can fall out of the sky and live,” Olive Pit added.

“She will go places,” Nova stated. “And Equestria better watch out.”

General Shielded Vengeance raised an eyebrow at Nova.

“What?” Nova shrugged. “I’ve been below. I can say Equestria.”

“Fair enough.”

“Captain,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said. “I gave her free time in between schools. She knows she has to be back by the day before I start Officer School. But I do not know how much time we will have in between and she knows that.”

“But, she isn’t going home. Either home. That was clear and she wasn’t trying to cover anything. Just ask for permission for personal leave.”

“I am lost on that one,” Marble Falls replied. “At least off the top of my head. Somehow, Filly Fooler is involved. That I know for certain.”

The Wonderbolt Colonel sighed. “I wish I could give her the break she needs. Head home and mourn for a week.”

“Please,” Olive Pit snorted. “That refueled her more than a month off could. I have never seen her with that much joy. Although to be fair, we only were in the same Basic Training Barracks together. Basic is stressful. I never got to see the two of them together as one.”

“However,” Olive Pit said changing the conversation. “Captain, you never told us about yours.”

“I can’t, not solo,” Marble Falls replied stoically. “I can do it all and better than most, but I can’t pass that mark. I’ve ridden the edge for a good hour and more, but no.”

Nova chuckled mischievously. “And now you have a young one to prove to you are still the best in all regards.”

“Fine,” Marble Falls said, beginning to move and stretch her wings. “I’ll prove it.”

A deep boom that zipped into a high pitch went off and they saw the colors flow from the sky. It fizzed off a second later and the rainbow trail wasn’t long. But it was a solid Sonic Rainboom.

“And thus it begins,” General Shielded Vengeance smirked.

Another one went off, similar to the first except the blast started high and ended deep.

Marble Falls shook her head. “I better get Pony Patrol. That is Tuff and he has them lined up and shooting out from a formation.”

A third one hit, larger than the others but none were even half of what Cardinal Spitfire produced. Tuff’s last Wonderbolt struck home with another solid boom. The only difference was that it was a pure blue blast. All different shades of blue, but not an ounce of red or yellow in the mix.

As Marble Falls had Pony Patrol line up at the entrance to the flight deck, Astral Sunrise was taking Squad 43 into the air. The Third degrees had a lot to prove. They had to back up their name. Cardinal Spitfire was left to watch over Unit 0 since she had already proven herself.

When they were give the green flag Marble Falls lead them into a slow, perfect take off. She wasn’t in a hurry. This was something you warmed up too.

Astral Sunrise’s boom was like the northern lights, but small. Bigger than a pop, but small.

“Alright Pony Patrol,” Marble Falls said over their coms. “Simple. Fly fast, fly straight and when the air begins to resist, push harder until you breach it and blast off. I am confident you all can do it. Your times indicate you can. Don’t marathon it, sprint.”

“Order is Swirl, Twist, Lemon, Rasp and then me. Thirty Second intervals. So you better make it. It shouldn’t take more than 15 at these speeds.”

They were cruising at a fast pace, swinging in to where the Third Degrees were launching from. The last one went and Marble Falls brought them in perfectly timed for Cinnamon Swirl to jet off. Ten seconds later Cinnamon Swirl blasted past the barrier and put down a good Sonic Rainboom.

Fountain held her own with a boom she could certainly be proud of. Lemon Lime’s was small after a long, high pitched screech leading up to it and grating explosion. The concussive blast was impressive and unexpected from the visual size of her rainbow blast.

Marble Falls heart was beginning to be the only thing she could hear. Raspberry Lemonade shot off on time and Marble Falls began the countdown and then to count up. Raspberry Lemonade finally struck home after 43 seconds.

Marble Falls began slower than she should of with a bit of a wobble. She straightened out a few seconds later and by 10 seconds was at the cusp of breaking the sound barrier. She held there another twenty seconds, her speed perfectly balanced against the force bearing down on hear.

Marble Falls could not fail in front of the others. She would not. She was not ready to give up the dominate Pegasus here yet. She still had a lot to teach Cardinal Spitfire. She couldn’t fail for her. She used the rage of being denied so many times to push herself over the edge and shatter the sky.

Her Sonic Rainboom was only half the size of Cardinal Spitfire’s but it was one of the larger ones for the Wonderbolt standards. The noise was a unique crack as if glass under pressure was fracturing until it finally shattered in all it’s glory.

Marble Falls turned and swung up and around to skid to a landing on the flight deck. There was no time for show boating with so many working to prove they had to stuff to break the sound barrier with an explosion that could damage nearby pegasi and other structures if it was directed correctly.

Nova was the only senior officer on the flight deck. He pointed with his head as Marble Falls walked over to him. She looked up in time to see a really small burst of color and an actual ‘pop’. It was immediately followed up with another small blast and pop. It happened three more times until a small but solid blast finished it out.

“The Colonel go it,” Marble Falls stammered. “I am surprised the Colonel even tried.”

“The Colonel has to assert that rank,” Nova reminded her.

A very loud boom echoed over the Squad Barracks as another Sonic Rainboom exploded in the sky. It was an oval, not a circle. It’s tips were vertical, meaning it would easily strike the ground with a devastating blow, if it was performed low enough.

The Sonic Rainbooms were more than a staple to gauge speed and a status marker. They were a Pegasus’ magic turned into a physic, magical blast like a Unicorn could produce.

The Wonderbolt Colonel slid into a decent stop on the flight deck and dashed off to the side. It was good timing. General Shielded Vengeance touched down but couldn't hold it. He was forced up and then brought himself back down. He bobbed a few more time and skidded off the flight deck. He was slow enough he could easily flip back around and land solidly on all four hooves.

He laughed heartily. “So, I need to work on my high speed landing. But I haven’t flown like that in years. It felt good to let loose and kill the sky.”

“That it was,” The Wonderbolt Colonel smiled. “And Marble Falls finally passed that mark.”

Marble Falls couldn't respond. He face was frozen in a smile.

“So much for a pop,” The General said to the Colonel. “You had a good run popping before you hit a solid boom. I have never seen that before.”

The Colonel winked at him. “I have never had that much riding on me to perform one. Especially a good one. All these young ones were killing it.”

Marble Falls broke free. “Well you showed them you still got it. I wasn’t expecting either of you to give it a go. But I am glad you took up the challenge. Unfortunately, we just wasted half of an afternoon. On an unapproved aerial competition involving highly dangerous activities.”

“That isn’t exactly true,” General Shielded Vengeance said cautiously. “When I presented Lieutenant Commander Cardinal Spitfire with her uniforms, we had a talk. I did challenge her to find out if she could do one and if she was faster, or you were.”

Marble Falls hung her head in exhaustion. “Well then, that is approval enough. She did it when no teams had hit the air yet. Weather starts in the day after tomorrow. So they will lose a few days of general maneuvers. That is my only real qualm.”

Nova laughed. “But you love weather.”

“I just hope they are all ready for it,” Marble Falls replied. “Because I will be running four tracks at once to get the entire ACS through it all in three days.”

“I know you have it,” Nova smiled. “You never give up. You just did something you have been trying for years to accomplish.”

“Besides,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “Unit 0 was first in the sky and Cardinal Spitfire is attacking them with their formation flying. They are adjusting well to that.”

“They have to,” Nova stated. “They will be the extra Pegasus on the Unit for support. Which means knowing how to fly in all types of formations. They will probably know them better than the other ACUs. Typically tight formations are not taught until after or during weather to help them see the full value of them.”

It wasn’t long before a disturbance at the side blockade directed their attention. A Three Star General had entered with somepegasus in tow. Nova’s heart skipped a beat as soon as he realized who it was.

“NO!” Nova asserted. “He isn’t welcome here! The ACUs don’t need Crowd Control. That segment was canceled and both of you know it!”

“That is why I am here,” The General replied. “I am in charge of that and I still think we need their advanced skills to learn it to better protect the Pegasus Race. I am here to go over it with General Shielded Vengeance since I finally know where he is.”

“It is a step backwards,” Nova spat. “And if they are needed, If, they will be able to deploy. It is a waste putting them into Crowd Control. You know nothing about the ACUs!”

“I am the real expert,” Bull stated. “And they need to learn.”

“You don’t know shit!” Nova fired back. “You are a soulless bastard!”

“I do the tough job, but you can’t handle it!” Bull said taking a step forward.

“Go!” Nova ordered. “Last time I told you if you ever came back I would shoot you.”

“You don’t have the guts,” Bull smirked as he stepped right up to Nova. “You can’t kill me and you know it.”

“Don’t push it,” Nova growled.

“You are a coward,” Bull growled back, stepping further into Nova so he was forcing his head back. “You can’t handle the job and you shouldn’t even be in charge here. You don’t deserve your rank. And worst of all, how can you lead Aerial Combat Units when you can not fly?”

“You go too far! You and whoever that General is! Back off now and run. If you get caught here, you won’t be lucky. I have mercy.”

“Mercy is a weakness when your enemy is willing to kill.”

“Back off,” The Wonderbolt Colonel ordered. “None of us need your shit here. And you don’t want to test Nova’s limits. All I know is, His actions will even surprise me and the General.”

“The Aerial Combat Units are better soldiers than the rest of the Enclave,” The Three Star General stated.

“No they are not,” General Shielded Vengeance said getting defensive. “Good, yes. But not better. Its a tough philosophy. It takes the right soldier, but they are not better than any other soldiers. We have many fine soldiers all over. We are small and can keep a tighter grip on them. Most of what you are thinking of is the flare we can do. Show work doesn’t make us better soldiers.”

“Back down,” Nova growled at Bull again. “Or you will suffer my wrath.”

“You have no wrath. You lack a backbone.”

“What steroid regiment are you on?” Nova asked.

“You think I need meds?” Bull barked.

“Yes,” Nova smirked. “I do. It explains why you have no soul and are so ‘tough’ and ‘scary.’ Only steroids can do that.”

“I am my own Pegasus!” Bull said further stepping into Nova and making him crouch down.

“I assure you, he is not on steroids,” The General stated. “Unlike here. His is well honed skill.”

“That is low,” General Shielded Vengeance asserted. “And certainly not true. Ours is still a different skill that isn’t suited for this petty training. You have tons elsewhere you can be training.”

“And we are,” The General huffed. “But we are to do our duty and train them.”

Nova was not going to be left out. “The Council knows, and so do you, that we do not need it! Now go!”

“How does it feel to be put in your place?” Bull asked Nova.

“You might be bigger and stronger than me,” Nova hissed. “But you are not in any position to put me in my place. Nor is your pathetic attempt right now doing that. You are on me because you wouldn’t dare do it to a Wonderbolt or a General. Go whine and cry elsewhere! We have been kind enough!”

Bull laughed. “And what can you really do to me?”

Nova chuckled maniacally. “I am not warning you about me.”

“Who would dare to touch me?”

“That is a really bad attitude,” Nova pointed out. “And conceited. There are many here who would dare. And a good chunk of them already want to.”

“They are in the sky, playing around.”

“So far. But you keep me down here like this, it is only going to be worse.”

“I am shocked nothing has happened,” The Wonderbolt Colonel stated. “What? You don’t think he actually fears you. Or wouldn't put you in your place. No, that isn’t as much fun.”

Bull let a good hearty laugh that wasn’t quiet. “You are all talk! You know shit! You can do shit!”

Bull was knocked back a good twenty feet as Cardinal Spitfire slammed into the landing, forcing him back.

“Who dares?” She growled.

Cardinal Spitfire relaxed, but her voice was confident and clean. “Oh, its you. Fucktard number two on my list. We told you to never come back, or we would put a bullet in your head. You are lucky I am unarmed.”

“Ah, the Red Coward,” Bull spat. “You won’t even face me head on without a surprise attack.”

“All I saw was somepony over Nova. And that meant create space to defuse the situation. Yeah, I used my position to dive. Few others can do what I did to immediately create space.”

Cardinal Spitfire took a few sure steps forward. “I don’t fear you. You should fear me. You were told to never show your face here again. Run. Fly. Leave! Last warning.”

“You are weak,” Bull hissed. “Without the power of the dive you are nothing.”

Cardinal Spitfire charged. She faced Bull head on as they traded blows. She swept his front leg, dropping his head low enough for her to drive her forehead into his nose. She jumped back to stay out of his reach.

Every pegasi who had to undergo Crowd Control had landed and was standing around them, a wide birth. They were not happy he had shown his face.

“We are not letting you force any more of us into a stupid fucking Crowd Control segments!” Arrow barked.

“Orders are orders,” Bull shot back. He was ignoring his nose like it wasn’t broken. “You just can’t take it. I know how weak you were in the course.”

Bull took a step towards Arrow and Cardinal Spitfire jumped in between.

“We warned you,” Cardinal Spitfire hissed. “Don’t be stupid.”

“You won’t even attack me,” Bull laughed. “You are so afraid of me.”

“Crush him,” Flags ordered Cardinal Spitfire. “For us. For you. For Shadow Flare. For the farmers. For the good ponies that fear him because that is all he knows! He causes more problems than he solves.”

“I do a job you are too afraid to do,” Bull growled.

Cardinal Spitfire let her actions do the talking as she went in. She slipped low and drove he hind leg into his sternum. She felt it crack a bit under the pressure. She slid out under his side but he was ready for the move, driving home several strong punches. As Cardinal Spitfire threw a block, he turned it against her and cracked her foreleg.

Cardinal Spitfire screamed with pain and rage as she rolled back and out of his grasp. He was backing her against the Squad Barracks. She leaped forward and then vaulted over him as he tried to block her nonexistent attack.

Cardinal Spitfire bucked him in the chest like Shadow had done to her. Bull took a step to the side and tried to stay up but he fell onto his side. Bull was up no time.

“Enough!” The Three Star General ordered.

Cardinal Spitfire relaxed her stance but Bull didn’t.

“Bull, we are going. It is clear to me that it was a mistake coming here. The ACUs are not what we need to help us.”

“I’ll go once I have finished this whelp,” Bull asserted.

“We go now!”

“I am no whelp,” Cardinal Spitfire hissed. “But before you leave, you should know I am a third. A planned, approved, Third.”

Bull shook his head and then tensed up as he struck. Cardinal Spitfire dodged and weaved the initial volley and then landed two strong strikes on his upper leg. She followed through with a grapple and flipped Bull, slamming him to the ground. Cardinal Spitfire had worked hard on grappling with her size.

Broken arm or not, Cardinal Spitfire was on top and drove multiple punches into his head. She finished with an elbow straight down on his muzzle. She felt bone crack as she rolled forward, again out of his grasp.

“Leave,” Cardinal Spitfire ordered. “Leave now!”

“Or what! You are too weak to finish me in one go!”

“Fighting smart isn’t weak! But if you want, I will finish you. I will rip off your wings and bust a hole to below, sending you to the wastes below where the other soulless bastards are.”

“You don’t have the strength to break the clouds below. Let along rip a feather off my wings.”

Cardinal Spitfire cracked her neck. “One. Last. Chance. Leave.”

“No!”

Bull was forcing Cardinal Spitfire to come to him. But training as a Wonderbolt brought new tricks to her repertoire. Before Bull knew it, She threw him again.

His wing was in her mouth and she pulled it out, despite his fight and strength. Her teeth sunk into his flesh to the bone and Cardinal Spitfire Stomped on the bottom of his wing, using the leverage to snap it. She stomped on it again, higher. And then again and again until the entire wing was broken. Nothing spare.

When she spat it out, it flopped onto him, useless. Bull stood up, composed.

“That’s it?”

Cardinal Spitfire let out several mean laughs. “I figure that busting up one of your wings so bad it has to be removed is a worse, and a more fun, sentence than tossing you below. You will have to forever live with the shame of little me destroy it. It will be evident for all to see.”

“Bad choice,” Bull hissed. “I don’t feel pain.”

Cardinal Spitfire knew the color was fading from her face. She gulped trying to regather her strength. Busting his wing wasn’t easy on her mind. She could almost feel it happening to her wing.

Bull didn’t miss her hesitation and Cardinal Spitfire took several blows before she was able to sweep his leg and land him on his other side. She looked as the wing beneath him that was at horrifying angles, but it didn’t stop her from ripping his other one open and dealing the killing blows to each bone.

She took a few steps back, spitting his feathers out of her mouth. She knew his blood was visible on her lips and mouth. Bull took the moment to stand up.

“You still do not have the guts-”

“Fuck off!” Cardinal Spitfire ordered, silencing him. She began to circle his torn up body. “You are abomination. I knew you were soulless, but this is beyond that! This is a plague on the mind! You have no restraint, no care, you feel nothing and yet you are supposed to teach and lead us in protecting the Enclave from unruly demonstrations.”

“You can not connect with them! You go overboard with no ability to control your actions. Not even your General can get you to stop! You are a danger. A very big danger to the Grand Pegasus Race. You spread fear and hate! You stop peace by force! A world where there is oppression for even thinking about speaking out is not a grand race of any kind!”

“You work against the Council. I have no brand here, but I keep a hold out knife in my jacket. I am going to carve off your Cutie Mark and make it so that when everything heals, its hers over yours. If you survive going below, then you will never be able to come back up. Below is where monsters like you belong!”

Cardinal Spitfire’s lip tilted up into a dangerous smile. “I hope for your sake Shadow Flare never finds you. This is nothing compared to what he would do to you. Even banished below, its not enough for Shadow after all you have done to the farmers.”

The knife was out and in her mouth faster than the eye could see. Cardinal Spitfire moved in with a playful purpose. She had told him exactly what she would do. Now the fun began.

Bull tried, but almost immediately Cardinal Spitfire made the first gash as she slid underneath him. The second was made and she was forced to do a few back springs to get clear. She charged back in, this time she skip to the side and then threw her shoulder into his neck. As he took that half step to catch himself, she finished the one side in a swoop.

She wasn’t cutting with the edge of the blade. Cardinal spitfire was make sure the cut would heal in a nasty, obvious scar. She was tearing the flesh open with the flat tip of the knife.

It was lopsided and wanky, but the outline of the bolt was solid. The cloud was more of a circle than puffy and it only connected to the bolt for more of an ice cream cone look. But pegais would know. And if needed, a real brand would be brought forth.

Cardinal Spitfire was able to buckle his unmarked hind leg and finish his other side in a quick motion. She flipped back a few times to set up.

“Now all that is left is to kick you into the sky. And the make that hole for you to fall through, banished as an enemy to the Grand Pegasus Race.”

Cardinal Spitfire hopped in at full speed but dropped back at the last second. He fell for the feint and She launched herself into him, taking them into the sky. It wasn’t a good launch, but it put them over the side of the flight deck.

Cardinal Spitfire kicked him off her and dropped straight down. She kicked into the highest gear possible and struck as she braked at the clouds. The flaming boom tore open the clouds below and burned out the rest of the sky.

Cardinal Spitfire flipped around and watched him fall into the perfectly laid out hole. She sliced around it, flipping clouds up and into the hole, sealing it up before sweeping back around to land on the flight deck. Unit 24 was exposed more than the others and had caught fire.

Cardinal Spitfire held back a scream of pain as she put pressure on her front leg. She was unable to put any more pressure onto her broken foreleg. The Fight was over. Her body was done holding together. It was screaming at her to stop.

The senior officers were behind her, not by the Squad Barracks. They had watched from the edge as she finished him. She hobbled around to face them.

“How does it feel to make your first kill?” The Three Stared General asked.

“I didn’t kill a pony,” Cardinal Spitfire spat. “He was a beast.”

“Still, how did that feel?”

Cardinal Spitfire was raging about who he was, but the other emotions could not be denied.

“It feels empowering. I feel enthralled. My blood is wanting more. My mind wants more. There is an unexplainable high from it. I love it! My heart says to stop. That I am not this way. Not bloodthirsty. But I am. And it is not the same rage I have over the worthless fuck he is.”

Cardinal Spitfire couldn’t help but clench her jaw. “I feel like a monster. I have his fucking blood around my mouth even. I taste it on my lips.”

“You are not one,” Nova smiled with a deep joy. He had found somepony else who understood. “You have tasted battle. You are a warrior. Many can be soldiers, few can be warriors. A warrior thrives on battle but hopes and advocates for peace. You love it for the same reason I do. We are two of the same because when everything happens, when it all bursts into chaos, we do not. We can control and manipulate that chaos.”

“While others cower or are being brave, we enjoy the moment and chose how we act. They react, we act. It is not a monster to be able to love controlling that chaos. To make sure the righteous actions are taken. It is how you go about it that is the key. And what you did, you didn’t kill him like he goaded you too. You fought for it to end. You only did what you had to do once it was clear how gone he was.”

The Three Star General was nervous, but spoke up with a clear voice. “I will be reevaluating our Crowd Control class and put in new policies. We will retrain if we need to. I had no idea he had taken things so far. I knew he was rough and that pegasi had problems with it, but he never has disobeyed me or gotten close to it. If he could have been taken into custody, he would have been branded and sent below.”

“You did your job,” The General asserted. “I do not know who would have been able to take him in. I am sorry for the pain and suffering he has caused all of you. And I am impressed with your patience and skill. That and you put down a controlled Sonic Rainboom thing in like three seconds.”

“Once you unlock it,” Cardinal Spitfire smirked. “Well then it just is natural and easy for me. That makes not only two total, but two in one day. Not more than a few hours apart.”

“But Sergeant Major Sunset Fury,” Cardinal Spitfire called out. “I must apologize. I learned from Lieutenant Olive Pit how you handle the tough wing cases. I used what you could do to save a wing to ensure you couldn’t. I turned healing into suffering.”

Sunset Fury waved it off. “Please. The last thing you want is to get in a hoof to hoof combat with a Combat Medic. We know how to disable every part of you and make sure its not capable of being patched up. We use it when it must be used.”

“You did what you had to,” Morning Spark spoke up. “And I enjoyed it. Especially the wings. We treated way, way to many minor injuries when he was here last. And we had to patch them up and send them right back out. No rest, no break. It was a pleasure to see him be taken down.”

“Enough chit chat!” Olive Pit ordered. “She is not only battered and bruised, but her leg is fractured and its is swelling fast.”

“Oh,” Olive Pit said as he helped her hobble into the building. “You keep a knife in your jacket?”

“Yeah,” Cardinal Spitfire giggled. “Most Wonderbolts do. Some even add a small side arm. Like a really small one, designed for special… occasions we might face. I probably will begin to carry one as well. We have a few unique pockets inside.”

Cardinal Spitfire looked down at her jacket and sighed in grief. “It has been a tough day on my jacket. Tough enough to retire it from general use. I will have to break my new one in and have this one cleaned and polished.”

“The new one does reflect your new rank,” Olive Pit said as he got her undressed and into a bed in the clinic. “You will spend the night here. Its not going to be an easy night though. If you are going to be up and out, then we need to make some aggressive healing tactics.”

“Sparky’s got them,” Willow said coming in with Sunset Fury behind her. “Lets get to work and get her back on her hooves.”

Before Cardinal Spitfire realized what was happening, she was strapped into the bed. Her eyes got wide, but before she could ask, Sunset Fury answered her question.

“Direct steroid injections are not the nicest feeling. Just relax. It will be taken care of. You will walk out of here in the morning able to perform your duties.”

Cardinal Spitfire took in a deep breath and relaxed. She was in good, skilled hooves.

Chapter 81 - Fifth Conclave

Lance led Rain Jubilee into the room. There were five tables and the head table was marked for Turnip Homestead, including their named seats. None of the Counselors were present yet. Buck and Lunar Harvest were with them, Buck was carrying Ice Tempest. Black and Golden Harvest sat down with them. That completed their table.

Cherry Tart and Early Blossom had come in with them, but took their designated seats at Cherry Homestead’s table. Shadow Heart was sleeping in Early Blossom's arms. Red and Yellow, Stump Crusher and Silver Sun, Big Red and Sweet Cherry, and Lex came in after another minute and took their seats. They were joined by Bronze Bell and Parsley with Lightning Storm.

The members of Lemon Burst homestead came in, following after Lemon Burst The Tenth. Their Homestead had been passed down though first sons since the start of the Farm, before the war. After the third, it became a pride to be named Lemon Burst. They had seven members at their table.

The Counselors entered, and sat down patiently. There was a lot to gather and prepare for. They had a long session coming up. All they knew was that they had been invited out. Invitation was putting kindly. There was no choice. Extended family and the community was taking care of their farms.

Rain Jubilee took a sharp breath in and straightened up. Holly Bell Homestead had arrived. It wasn’t common knowledge that their marriage had been arranged. Not even their children knew they were arranged. Everypony thought Rain Jubilee came from a nearby community that they were not plugged into. It just revolved around that and those circles never crossed enough to question it.

Lance Turnip and Rain Jubilee had been married early in their lives. Turnip Homestead needed fresh blood and Holly Bell Homestead needed some financial aid. Neither Lance Turnip or Rain Jubilee hated the arranged marriage. They quickly grew to love each other deeply. Neither had found anypony in their community or extended community fit for marriage.

Homesteads didn’t marry their successors lightly. Rain Jubilee was enthralled that she was staying at a Homestead. She left family, but she never lost that status. Arranged Homestead marriages were typically not spoken of, forgotten outside of the Homestead books.

King Homestead entered quietly. They had three Subsidiary Homestead and they all had come. They required extra chairs to be brought it. The Council was not aware they were bringing more. Lance had made sure they knew he was bringing Black and Golden Harvest. It was odd, but King Homestead was in the deep south and did things differently.

The last homestead came in. It was Pit Haven. Grandma Cherry Tart broke off to sit with Cherry Homestead.

Red jumped up. “YOU! THEY INVITED YOU!”

“WE ARE JUST AS PURE AS YOU ARE!” Cherry Virtue shot back. “WE TOOK A DIFFERENT PATH, BUT THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT WRONG!”

“YOU WOULD HAVE FAILED WITHOUT OUR HELP!”

Lance looked at Early Blossom and raised his eyebrow. Early Blossom mouthed “Let them get it out of their system.”

“ONE BLUNDER, ONE NEED, DOESN’T QUALIFY AS FAILING!”

“IT TOOK CHERRY JAM JOINING TO MAKE A SUCCESSOR!”

Swift Harvest wasn’t going to take that. “TAKE THAT BACK! YOU ARE INSULTING ME AND MY WIFE! RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!”

Red growled. “YOU LOST YOUR ROOTS! YOU CAN’T BUILD THAT BACK!”

“WE TOOK THE RIGHT PATH FOR OUR COMMUNITY! YOU ARE THE ONE THAT HAD TO FRAGMENT ITSELF SO IT DIDN’T HAVE TO CHOSE ONE SUCCESSOR! AND NOW YOU HAVE A FIFTH!”

“HEY!” Cherry Tart yelled jumping up. “I LEFT TO FOUND A SUBSIDIARY! IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH SUCCESSION! AND I MARRIED ANOTHER HOMESTEAD! THINK ON THAT!”

“YOU CAN’T EVEN GROW YOUR HOMESTEAD!”

“WE HAVE ONE! SHADOW HEART WILL GROW UP TO TAKE ON THE FARM! OUR LEGACY IS SECURED! AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! JUST LIKE YOU!”

“WITH WHAT, SOME RANDOM PEGASUS WHO’S BLOODLINE CAN’T EVEN BE TRACED?”

Cherry Tart let out a maniacal laugh of power. “YOU WANT TO TALK BLOOD, EARLY BLOSSOM AND I HAD SHADOW HEART. IT IS OUR FOAL. BLOOD IS AS PURE AS EVER! BECAUSE!”

Cherry Tart slammed her hoof into her chest for effect. “WE HAD THE HONOR OF HAVING SHADOW FLARE AS OUR DONOR FOR ME! IT DOESN’T GET ANY PURER THAN THAT. IT IS A GREAT HONOR THAT HE GLADLY ACCEPTED. HE DIDN’T QUESTION IT. WE ASKED THE BEST PEGASUS FOR THE JOB, AFTER A LOT OF THOUGHT AND CONSIDERATION. FOR THE SAKE OF SEMANTICS, THE CHERRY HOMESTEAD AND THE TURNIP HOMESTEAD MARRIED THEIR BLOODLINES!”

“MY FAMILY WILL LIVE ON! WE ARE NOT A BURDEN! WE ARE A REAL, FULL HOMESTEAD! AND WE KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! WE ARE WORKING OUR ASS OFF FOR THE COMMUNITY TO ACCEPT US. AND WE ARE GAINING GROUND. ITS NOT JUST BECAUSE WE ARE FILLY FOOLERS. THEY ARE UNSURE WHAT TO DO WITH A HOMESTEAD COMING INTO THEIR COMMUNITY.”

“IT ISN’T BECAUSE OF THAT! YOU ARE FILLY FOOLERS. A BAD FARM. YOU ARE THE SECOND HOMESTEAD IN THE AREA!”

Lance wasn’t going to sit by at that. “THAT IS MY DAUGHTER! AND THEY HAVE MADE A BIGGER IMPACT THAT YOUR HOMESTEAD EVER HAS! TURNIP HOMESTEAD IS EXACTLY AS WE SHOULD BE! IT’S KNOWN AS A FRIEND. A PILLAR. BUT OUR HOMESTEAD ISN’T REMEMBERED AS A HOMESTEAD WITH POWER. THEIRS IS. AND AN ALREADY SOLID COMMUNITY GOT ROCKED HARD, BUT IS COMING BACK SWINGING, PRODUCING MORE TO PROVE THAT WE ARE THE BEST!”

Cherry Virtue waved off Lance. “WE ALL CAN’T BE THE ILLUSTRIOUS TURNIP HOMESTEAD. NEVER NEEDING ANYTHING, NOT EVEN A MARRIAGE. THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AS A HOMESTEAD.”

The entire Holly Bell Homestead table laughed, ending the yelling.

Grape Wing smiled, speaking quietly. “Lance Turnip married our daughter, Rain Jubilee. We need money and they needed fresh blood. All five of us Homesteads here have had to marry other Homesteads. It is how we keep things running.”

“There are 48 Homesteads and we have stayed strong together. Supporting each other when we need to. Be it finances, blood, or sweat; we support each other. Despite our differences. We do what needs to be done in our community. Be it focusing on the community growing a variety of food that can support itself, or leading by example on how to farm one crop. The Enclave is the way it is because of it and we are forging ahead, shaping it by how we handling farming. More so than their distribution system.”

“Damn Pit Haven,” Lance spat sitting down.

“Fuck Blood!” Cherry Virtue declared. “Your daughter can’t use her brother to bare foals! Who will she get? We won’t give it! Holly Bell can’t!”

“HEY!” Early Blossom yelled. “We have that taken care of. It isn’t something you need to worry about.”

“Your kids could marry each other!”

“Tart, hold Shadow Heart.” Early Blossom said passing their foal to Cherry Tart and standing up. “My donor is a highly respected Enclave officer, respected by Shadow so much that he asked. We couldn't ask for a better donor, even if you were the last Homestead standing! I know you have heard the rumors about Shadow.”

Cherry Virtue rolled his eyes and sat down.

“Now that things are quiet,” Lance announced, taking charge. They were the head table for a reason.

Lanced turned to the Council and opened the satchel Buck was keeping safe. “I present the Turnip Homestead’s book. In it’s entirety.”

The book was larger than most books. They were only halfway through it after thirteen generations. It was well worn, but built to be durable. The edges of the pages had seen better days. It was in good shape otherwise.

Red stood up as Lance sat down. “I present Cherry Homestead’s book. Book one. The book that was passed down to Star Harvest and Divine Cherry, the first born in the Cherry Family when the farm was split into it’s quarters. They were the successors. And our family is from it.”

Their book wasn’t as big, but it was as thick. It had weathered the ages almost as well as Turnip Homestead’s book.

Early Blossom stood, holding up their new book. “I present the Cherry Homestead’s fifth book, West Cherry Homestead: Filly Fooler Farm’s Homestead book.”

Their book was designed like the others, but fresh. The face had their farm’s symbol embossed in it. It was clear that a lot of money went into making their book.

“I present Holly Bell’s Homestead humble book,” Grape Wing announced as he stood up. Their book was hurting, obviously patched a few times.

Lawful Measure stood up. “I present the Council with the seven Homestead books for King Homestead. Book One, Two, Four and Six are the Pure Succession Line. Book Three is the Book for Subsidiary One, King Homestead: Wool. Book Five is Subsidiary Two, King Homestead: South. Book Seven is our newest Subsidiary Homestead founded a year ago, King Homestead: Cotton.”

Cherry Virtue stood up. His Homestead book was only slightly worn. “Pit Haven’s Recovery Homestead book. The original is in storage, falling apart. This Recovery Homestead book is a direct copy of the original and now contains the several generations after.”

“Another reason not to trust them,” Red jabbed.

“I will let that slide,” Cherry Virtue said through a clenched jaw. “They have no idea what is happening.”

“Yes,” Lance said, addressing the Council. “This is natural. We each have our heritages and ideologies about farming and the community. How we conduct our job varies. Turnip Homestead and King Homestead have no feuds or competitors, but many of the others started with the same crops or soon began to farm crops other Homesteads specialized in, and it gets complicated from there.”

“But!” Grandma Cherry Tart interjected. “We do not always let them get in the way of our duty. My sister sits behind me, with Pit Heaven. They needed a skilled cherry farmer, so it fell to my sister. She was the oldest. And it was at an age that would scare you. But she saved the farm. Duty first.”

Cherry Jam was grinning. “And it is a very good marriage. Very necessary for the Homestead. I love my husband. It was a joy raising the foals together. Even if one of them ran off to join the Enclave and captain a damn Cloudship.”

The Chief Counselor spoke up. “Our records on your marriages and interactions are spotty. We are not trying to fix that. We called you together because you five are the top when it comes to being a Homestead and remembering what your Duty is. We wish Wingspan Homestead, New Beginnings, and Raspberry Homestead could join us, but they are leading the reclouding of the Northern Farming District.”

“The truth is, we are having trouble in District Two, South Cloudsdale. Worse than Turnip Homestead’s assistance in Apple District. Thank you for that.”

“You almost had us branded and banished,” Black spat.

“And we are aggressively rectifying that,” Third Counselor stated. “However, reteaching them irrigation is simple compared to this issue.”

“Why are we needed?” Lance asked. “South Cloudsdale District has Savory Homestead, the first Homestead founded. It also has Pumpkin Homestead, Rainbow Homestead and New Life Homestead. Nearby is another twelve Homesteads that are leagues closer than even Holly Bell or King is!”

“You still remember what a Homestead’s Duty is,” Third Counselor stated.

“Why are we talking to you, wasting time?” Lawful Measure asked. “Lets go.”

The Chief Counselor was disturbed. “Its a complicated matter. We need to discuss it.”

“What is there to discuss?” Lex piped up. “We have our duty to aid them and the community however they need it. I am ready to do my duty, even if any of them need an experienced farmer.”

“What do you mean?” Seventh Counselor asked Lex.

“I’m fifth in the family. Diamond Dawn is finally married. I have always known I could be married to another Homestead. I won’t be staying at home, that is clear. There is more than enough at my home. You see my older siblings at this table. I will always be welcomed, but I will be leaving. And probably pretty soon”

“I question what you teach your foals,” Sixth Counselor stated, very concerned about what is proper and politically correct.

“It’s life,” Lex huffed. “Its duty. Honor. My job, even as young as I am.”

“It isn’t bad,” Rain Jubilee added. She still hadn’t acknowledged her family. “Many of us live good, happy lives. Full of joy and happiness, loved by our spouse and loving our spouse. I couldn’t of asked for a better partner than Lance. It was the best thing to happen to me.”

“That is pretty easy when you gained financial security,” Fifth Counselor stated. “I have those records. In your bank account, you have.”

Lance slammed his hooves on the metal table, silencing him. “Our finances are none of your business. Or anypony else!”

“That is a horrible thing to think,” Rain Jubilee chided the Counselor. “Holly Bell Homestead had financial problems. But it was unforeseen and unavoidable. Up until that year, we were financially stable and there was no gained security or anything. The marriage was being looked at beforehand.”

“Was your family sniping me?” Lance asked her.

“A little,” Rain Jubilee smiled at Lance. “But it was better than I ever could of hoped for.”

They stole a kiss.

“This has been painful,” The Second Counselor groaned. “And we had to listen to the Pillars of the Community.”

Second Counselor regretted his words immediately and the others were glaring at him.

“He has a point,” Chief Counselor stated. “This isn’t getting us to the heart of the issue.”

Lawful Measure snorted. “They are failing as a farming community with no strong Homestead to rally them. I know they didn’t have a good harvest and I assume it looks worse for this year because they lost control of themselves. What do you expect from a central, city district?”

“Go in, restart the farms and what it means to farm. If the Homesteads fails, so be it.”

“You will let a Homestead die!” Third Counselor objected.

“It might be too late,” Red stated. “It has been over two hundred years for all of the Homesteads. It has been a miracle we all are still here. The five of us have had our close calls. You can find them in our books.”

“We got this,” Lemon Burst the Tenth stated. “We will head there immediately and get started.”

“You won’t be flying there,” Fourth Counselor stated. “We have a Sky-tank on standby. You will be housed in it And two others will be there for housing as well.”

“It’s that bad?” Grape Wing asked.

“If we could take a bit and go over it,” Chief Counselor said, frustrated.

“No need,” Grape Wing replied. “Just didn’t expect to not be able to stay at the farms. But we won’t cause undo stress.”

“Alongside housing and food, you will be paid handsomely,” The Chief Counselor informed them.

“We are not doing this for bits,” Grape Wing spat. “Yes, compensation will be needed, but we are talking about our duty. The only reason you need to pay us is so we can help compensate from being away from our farms where our primary duty is. It takes a lot to help out a farm that can’t be there.”

They all agreed except Lance. It was a shock to the others.

“One condition,” Lance said stoically. “I want to see Shadow Flare’s records. All of them. Everything. Included the scraps of paper.”

“That is asking a lot,” Fourth Counselor stated. “His files are classified because of his job.”

Lance raised his eyebrow. None of them said anything else.

“Afraid to inform me my son is officially missing in action?”

“It is much more than that,” Fourth Counselor stated.

“Somepony fucked up,” Lance followed up.

“The investigation was closed,” The Chief Counselor stated, trying to get control of the room. “Nothing was found. Their mission was not mismanaged.”

“I trust you,” Lance shrugged. “I want to see it all. Everything. No matter how classified it is. I want to know what my son was doing before he disappeared without a trace.”

“You wouldn't dare walk,” Seventh Counselor said. “What about your duty?”

Black laughed loudly. “Our duty is first to our farms. If they are not stable, we can not help another farm. We will walk.”

“So will we,” Cherry Tart stated. “Shadow Flare is going to retire at our Homestead. He is the reason why we went with Filly Fooler Farm. He has a room waiting for him and his wife. Whoever she will be.”

“He married...”

Lance’s hooves came down on the table again, silencing the Council.

“Shadow Flare will make that introduction when the time comes,” Lance stated firmly. “Do we have a deal?”

“We will all walk,” Grape Wing stated. “Is this worth it for some simple records?”

“It’s not that simple,” Fourth Counselor stated. “The Command Sergeant Major was on a high profile mission. Few outside this room know what was happening. Fewer need to know. We are taking the appropriate actions to protect the Grand Pegasus Race. That is what matters.”

“King Homestead is out,” Lawful Measure said, packing up their books.

“Fine!” The Chief Counselor barked. “Fine. But they have to be read here. We can not let them outside of special, secure terminals.”

Lance just gave a silent nod. He turned to Black. “If we do not want to delay things, we should get reading immediately.”

“Right,” Black said standing up.

The Council had not seen how big Black was. They would have approached the situation differently if that had seen him walk in and matched that with his confidence. They hadn’t believed him when he said they would walk. It was now evident he only spoke when needed.

“It shouldn't take long,” Lance said to everypony. “Black and I will tackle it and then we will be on our way.”

“Do what you need to do,” Cherry Virtue said, smiling at Lance.

A sergeant was immediately there as they exited the Council Chambers to lead Black and Lance to terminals they could use.

“Rain,” Lance said. “Black and I will not leave until we have read everything. For the time being, stay with your family. Let the soldiers take care of us.”

Lance turned around and walked away. Black followed after him. There was no discussing the matter.

Rain Jubilee looked at her father for the first time in years. She wasn’t sure if she should smile or not. Or what to do. Grape Wing embraced her fully, even with his wings.

“It is good to see you,” Grape Wing said through watery eyes. “We are so proud of you. You are strong and have raised good, strong foals who have made a huge difference.”

The Council Chamber door’s closed.

Sixth Counselor spoke up. “Why do I feel like we got swindled? For the second time?”

“Because they twisted our wing,” Fifth Counselor growled.

“They didn’t mean to,” Third Counselor stated, defending them. “They shoot straight. They didn’t want to walk. They are ready to put everything into rebuilding the district.”

“It is a small thing they asked,” Fourth Counselor said. “We shouldn’t have hesitated to let a father read what his son was doing. Lance Turnip has already proven the caliber of a Pegasus he is, and that he won’t talk. I will be getting them a set of the Command Sergeant Major’s medals to take. A small pittance for their sacrifice.”

“They really believe he will come back,” Second Counselor said, amazed.

“I don’t get why they haven’t,” Fourth Counselor replied. “But the Lieutenant Commander believes he will. She has no doubt he will come back. I can’t believe she held off from killing Lieutenant Honey Bee. Twice.”

“Lieutenant Commander?” Sixth Counselor asked.

“Right,” Fourth Counselor nodded. “You don’t know. Its not a secret. But the Fleets are opening up some ranks and such. Same with the Aerial Combat Battalion. They go from Lieutenant to Captain. And for both, Captain is the head of the ship or Unit. So they are adding a few more ranks in between to reflect skill and better organize their soldiers. It makes their organization structure just like regular units, with some new rank names. Not a big deal.”

Lance and Black didn’t leave the terminals except to go to the bathroom for two days. They poured over every report. Every action made. They learned it all. The information would stay with them.

Lance saw a current photo of Cardinal Spitfire. He had seen her from when Shadow had visited and showed off the pictures. But Lance hadn’t committed them to memory. He knew she had married him from the letter, but He was unable to avoid the pictures because she was in too many of the early reports. He still looked forward to Shadow introducing her to the family.

When they were done reading, Lance had one more thing to do. He picked up the phone and called the Squad Barracks. He requested to speak to Marble Falls.

“Hello?” Marble Falls asked when she got to the phone.

“This is Lance, Shadow Flare’s father.”

“Sir, I wish I could get out and visit you.”

“It’s okay,” Lance replied calmly. “Do your duty. The letter was appreciated. Deeply appreciated. I have one question. When was Shadow and the other three declared MIA?”

“Uh,” Marble Falls groaned. “I am in the middle of training an Aerial Combat School, so my mind is slow outside of training stuff. We are in week...”

“Let me put it this way,” Lance said. “When did you find out the Inquisitors were MIA compared to the Pillars of the Community?”

“Uh,” Marble Falls stumbled. “Well, it was still fresh. Two days? No more than three.”

“I was afraid of that,” Lance replied.

“What do you mean?” Marble Falls asked. “And you said Inquisitors? I didn’t give you their team or operation name.”

“The Council needs us and four other Homesteads for a farming crisis,” Lance explained. “Part of the deal was to get to read all of their reports. Everything on Shadow.”

Marble Falls chuckled. “I guess you are this rumored Fifth Conclave. Although, that isn’t a conclave. I am surpassed they let you see it all.”

“One Homestead had declared they were walking out. Some of them may not of even heard his name, but they understood the importance. And we won’t be sharing this information outside of the immediate family that needs to know. The Council knows it. This is my burden to shoulder with my best friend Black, who was looking at everything with me. My family understands that. It is closure that I know, even if they do not.”

“Do you have any other questions?” Marble Falls asked.

“Wait,” Marble Falls said. “No, I read that list. Dream Catcher was one of the names. That was your daughter, Shadow's younger sister who looked up to him.”

“Yes,” Lance blankly stated. “It was.”

“I am so sorry. Losing both of them like that so close,” Marble Falls almost dropped the phone as the question lined up with everything and clicked in her mind. “Fuck. The case is closed. We can’t do anything. Nothing was found, but that explains why they never came back.”

Marble Falls was trying to not hyperventilate. “Shadow must be torn apart. He must be in so much pain. Finding her must have destroyed him. He won’t come back until he can figure out who is for him and who is against them.”

“I am certain they would be welcomed back, no questions asked. The Council would not charge them. They would bury it. The Council would never have given that order. That was a lower rank who didn’t see the scope of things.”

“No, the Council didn’t like the Pillars, but they conceded. They must have decided it was worth the risk. That perhaps they were wrong. Or it would at least get them more information below, not wiped out before they were even fully set up.”

“I can’t tell Cardinal Spitfire. She can never know. Not while Shadow is gone. When he comes back and confirms it, then okay.”

“You need to go back to training,” Lance stated calmly. “Make them better than Shadow so that we are safe. We need it. There are legitimate threats. I think I know you know that first hoofed.”

“Yes, there are real threats,” Marble Falls replied. “But you saw the full reports. You know the medals your son earned. It will be hard for me to forge any of these trainees or any others into the caliber of a soldier and Pegasus your son is. He didn’t set out to earn those.”

Lance cut her off with a chuckle. “When he was home, right before going below, I told him he could take a bullet and walk away, just like any of the strong farming pegasi in our community. He did it twice. At least!”

They laughed a bit.

Marble Falls sighed contently. “I really want to hear the full story on both of those. You can’t put that in the reports. It just isn’t needed. But I really want to know the raw details of what he did in Fillydelphia and Baltimare. And I doubt he walked away from Kifopiga without some injure that went unreported.”

“He will be back to tell those tales and more,” Lance assured her. “But they did give me his medals.”

“I am glad you got a set,” Marble Falls replied. “Cardinal Spitfire got the ones they were to present him with, but you having a full set is wonderful. Amazing. Special.”

“You have pegasi to train,” Lance stated. “And I have a bed on a Cloudship to find while we travel to our destination. We haven’t slept for three days. The past two have been combing through these records. Reading and rereading, committing it all to memory. We could only do it at two specific terminals, for understandable reasons.”

“You do not sound that sleep deprived,” Marble Falls stated. “I go downhill fast after 52 hours.”

“I have been forged into an expert on long days from many years of harvests, when there was no quitting. And you were not trying to understand what your son had been doing and why he disappeared. You will be able to go longer when you really need to.”

“Thanks,” Marble Falls replied. “I wish I could bear a foal. It’s not from lack of trying. When I took Shadow to Las Pegasus, I checked everything out. Thanks to your family, we will be heading there as soon as possible. It brought us hope. And then life pushed it further away.”

“I wish the best for you,” Lance yawned.

“Goodbye Lance. Thank you for all you do.”

“And thank you for all that you have done for Shadow, and Cardinal Spitfire.”

Lance hung up and nodded to Black. They were led out to a sky chariot which took them directly to the Cloudship. It was the one that had been circling over the city. They wasted no time in getting underway.

Rain Jubilee joined Lance in their room. She would lay down with him for a while. She had missed him. Catching up with family was amazing, but she missed Lance. He was her other half.

“I know that body language,” Rain Jubilee said as they laid down together. “There is something great weighing on your mind. More than just finding out about specifics in the records.”

“You don’t want to know,” Lance quietly said.

“Black isn’t going to be enough for this,” Rain Jubilee said cuddling up to Lance. “Its the plow situation all over again. Except this is worse. More pressing. We need to shoulder this together.”

Lance sighed. “I fear you are correct. I called Marble Falls, Shadow's trainer and friend, to confirm what I already guessed. She hadn’t guessed and she was so close to everything as it happened around her.”

“There is a good chance that the team Shadow was on was secretly sent, by their commanding officer and only him, to kill the Pillars of the Community.”

Rain Jubilee hugged closer to Lance.

“It,” Lance said slowly. “It explains why he hasn’t come back up. They don’t know who they can trust.”

Rain Jubilee lovingly wiped the tears from Lance’s eyes. “We know our son. If it happened, it was blind. He will figure things out. Just like your obstacle courses. Shadow will out think what that fucker did and come back. He is strong and tough. It is why they chose him. Dream Catcher would never blame him, neither will we. What matters is that we only lose one child, not two.”

Rain Jubilee shifted around and pulled Lance in tight, so he was in her full embrace, wings shielding him.

“You have done enough,” She whispered to him. “Protecting us. Rest in my wings. It’s time for me to care for you like you care for us all.”

Chapter 82 - Deke Being Deke

Cardinal Spitfire put the breaks on hard and practically back flapped to slow down until she gingerly touched down on the flight deck. She exited with a hobble. It was lunch time and she needed food badly. She was in pain, still. It was only 24 hours since her leg had been broken.

They had done the direct steroid injections all night, but despite the pain, she was barely on her hooves. There was no break. The needed her to run the formation flying for Unit 0. Her break would be the day after tomorrow, when weather training began.

“They are looking spectacular,” Nova smiled at her as she hobbled up the stairs. “I am thinking that we need to tighten up all Aerial Combat Units in formation flying. Especially seven pegasi formations.”

Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “When I could sneak a peak, yeah, they could use it. By the end of tomorrow, Unit 0 will have combat formation flying down to my approval. They don’t know it, but I have been preparing them for weather.”

“How does Marble feel about that?”

“They still have to pass that with her approval. But most Units learn combat formation flying, or tight formation flying as its also known as, after weather. When they get a real feel for needing things to be adjusted. This will give Unit 0 a nice moral boost.”

“Good,” Nova nodded. “I need them ready to go. To pass.”

“They will. All that matters is that they meet the standards. Its pass or fail, no grades. Combat can’t tell the difference.”

“That is very true,” Nova replied.

“Cardinal Spitfire!” Olive Pit called. “I have meds for you. And we have a table.”

“Have a table?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

“Lets get you in and eating,” Olive Pit smiled. “The staff set it up since the others are still around. Deke had to do another showcase this morning, and apparently he has another tomorrow too. A brutal few hours standing there in front of everypony as a model. And being judged. But that means they will finally leave and we get peace.”

“Let’s get me there,” Cardinal Spitfire groaned. “I need to get off my hooves. And a warmer jacket.”

Cardinal Spitfire made it on her own and sat down. She took her time eating. Deke slid up, with only a bowl and spoon. Cardinal Spitfire had no idea what he was eating, but it was not what they were serving.

“How you feeling?” Deke grinned, not touching his food.

“Like shit,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “No time to break. Not today or tomorrow. After, I’m crashing. No doubt about that. But, in the clinic.”

Golden Dawn dropped her tray onto the table, joining them. She looked at Deke’s bowl before shaking her head and sitting next to him.

“Do you really have to push it?” Golden Dawn asked. “I know, I’m no expert and I was not anywhere near here when the fight happened, but are the others that bad?”

“They are great at formation flying,” Cardinal Spitfire replied slowly. “And they can teach it, but Unit 0 needs to know this perfectly for their job. They need me. I was the one who tightened up Pony Patrol. We have the best combat formation flying in the Enclave. That is the thing. This is combat formation flying. You didn’t really learn combat formation flying, because you didn’t need it. I didn’t really get most of it until later, after Basic Training.”

Golden Dawn looked at Deke. He still hadn’t eaten anything. The stress of everypony judging him was obviously pushing hard on him.

“Well, tomorrow I head back. After breakfast. Finally. To be officially transferred back in time for the Officer School. We get to fuck with my idiot Lieutenant, forcing him do everything officially. I get to show them that I was wanted, despite his hatred. They didn’t need him, just little newbie me.”

The four of them chuckled. They all knew how bad it was for Golden Dawn.

Cardinal Spitfire groaned painfully. “I have to get back out there. It’s not too bad when I am in the air.”

“Same,” Oliver Pit said standing. “About the leaving. Not the pain. We are not at weather yet.”

“We have to pass weather training?” Golden Dawn groaned. “I…”

“You are going to be a pain,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “I feel bad for whoever will be your ACS trainer. They are going to hate you. You will outshine the rest of your Unit, but you will be whining the whole time, sass on every thought. Even worse when you speak.”

“That is what they get,” Golden Dawn huffed. “Fucking General Shielded Vengeance. One more move. No personal shit again as I get settled. And these Units, how are you supposed to be married in them?”

“That is being worked out,” Olive Pit stated. “This is the first time in the history of the ACUs are being primarily stationed here. By the time your OS is done, things will be different.”

Golden Dawn just nodded, trusting him, and departed as well. Deke just sat there alone with his bowl and spoon, a smile on his face.

“Are you okay?” Admiral Purple Breeze asked sitting down at the table.

“Yeah,” Deke sighed. “I’m okay.”

“You don’t look it,” The Admiral stated.

“I’m with friends,” Deke said, smiling through her.

“Nopegasus is here,” The Admiral said looking around.

“Yeah, they just left. I have friends here though. It makes everything better.”

“I can’t believe I am saying this, but I think we need to get you back on a Cloudship. You have a bowl of nothing.”

“Not true. It has water in it.”

“For?”

“Sipping on with my spoon.”

“Are you sure you are okay? I’m about to call for a medic. I know its tough for you guys to model.”

“I’m fine,” Deke said, meeting her gaze. “Honestly, I don’t know what I will do when the inevitable happens. Little and I have fun. But we won’t always be on the same ship, causing terror in the sky. Known or unknown.”

“I know I’ll make it, but its a concern.”

“You two are more than a dynamic duo,” Admiral Purple Breeze stated.

“Yeah,” Deke said getting serious. “But… is that it?”

“Aren’t you her date to her sister’s wedding?”

Deke snorted. “Who else can she get? Options were beyond limited. And then there is Second Lieutenant Sunny Swirl.”

“She is cute,” Admiral Purple Breeze stated. “And she will be on the bridge of the Buttercup. Her verbal request was immediately approved. I was there and I readily accepted. I am happy she is going to be a member of the bridge crew. She could have gone anywhere and she knows how to think big. Admiral big. She was taught well.”

“But apparently it was you who told her to seize the moment and ask.”

“Bah,” Deke said batting it away with a wing. “I pointed it out. And she is cute. But she already knew my name and the Buttercup. Not hard when there are four of us, but still, she knew the secret. She wanted to go there before I brought it up.”

The Admiral raised her eyebrow. “I got the feeling you put a little more into that.”

“Okay,” Deke shrugged. “A bit. But everything is neutral. At least right now.”

“Are you sure of that?” The Admiral poked. “For both.”

Deke opened his mouth to answer and then closed. He ate a few bites before he admitted he had no idea.

“I do know this,” Deke grinned. “Whoever she is, she will have to deal with my swagger and handle my antics. Has the Vice Admiral departed yet?”

“Not yet,” Admiral Purple Breeze said shaking her head. “She gave her crew some time off in New Heaven. Even being ready to depart, she is keeping to her schedule. She has always been good at that. Plus, she would not leave me alone with the army fucks. I guess you missed her sitting in the back.”

“That is going to be weird,” Deke said switching topics. “Having the admiral on board and the Buttercup actually being the full flagship.”

Admiral Purple Breeze chuckled. “I know you all will handle it. Even addressing Ruby as Admiral. You will have no problem with that. You will also not have a problem dealing with some of the bridge changes we had to do. A first officer will need a legitimate station to take.”

“I can live with staying at nav,” Deke said with a small shrug. “Most first officers stay at their posts, in second seat usually.”

“I think you will like the new layout better,” The Admiral grinned. “You need a dedicated navigator and we need you to train them. But I have to go. I need to catch up on the Second Fleet more.”

“That would be wise,” Deke replied. “From the little I have heard, its not going to allow you to get your hooves wet. An all out jump into deep water.”

Deke sat there for a few minutes before putting the bowl to his lips and drinking it all. He had an idea. It would probably take him the rest of the day to set up.

Cardinal Spitfire pulled in Unit 17 and 63 to work on the formation flying from a different angle. Neither Unit was prepared to take on a seventh member. It was unacceptable. Cardinal Spitfire was forced to work with all three Units.

Cardinal Spitfire crashed right after dinner. Marble Falls had planned to take over the agility training until she was fully back on her hooves. Cardinal Spitfire didn’t need to push herself to teach them agility. Not even without demonstrating.

Like lunch and dinner the day before, the staff had a spot ready for Cardinal Spitfire to relieve the stress on her. Golden Dawn and Olive pit quickly joined her and Pony Patrol. Deke was absent. Just like he was at dinner.

“HEY!” Deke called over the PA system of the Squad Barracks. He was not supposed to be in the PA room.

Since it was breakfast, almost everypegasus was in the mess hall and barracks, many of the Admirals and Generals who had not gone home yet were there. Deke was projecting outside as well, to be safe.

“I was digging through old music yesterday to brighten your day and I found this gem, deep in the archives. It’s perfect for Pony Patrol. Sorry. I mean Wonderbolt Squad 12. It’s from the war, but about the pegasi who were doing what the Aerial Combat Battalion does!”

It started off with a strong marching drum line that never wavered. At the end, trumpets would join the last verse and chores as accents.

Original Song

Fighting soldiers from the sky

Fearless Pegasi who fly and die

Pegasi who mean just what they say

The brave Pegasi of the Blue Beret

Silver wings upon their chest

These are Pegasi, Equestria's best

One hundred Pegasi will test today

But only three win the Blue Beret

Trained to live off nature's land

Trained in combat, hoof-to-hoof

Pegasi who fight by night and day

Courage peak from the Blue Berets

Silver wings upon their chest

These are Pegasi, Equestria's best

One hundred Pegasi will test today

But only three win the Blue Beret

Back at home a young wife waits

Her Blue Beret has met his fate

He has died for those oppressed

Leaving her his last request

Put silver wings on my son's chest

Make him one of Equestria's best

He'll be a stallion they'll test one day

Have him win the Blue Beret.

“And that would be the ‘Ballad of the Blue Berets’ sung by ‘Staff Sergeant Berry Saddle.’ The ACUs should totally own it again. Maybe with a minor update, but you might really want to own the long and illustrious heritage that comes with it. With the time stamp on the song, that’s over two hundred years of glory!”

“Huh,” Marble Falls chuckled. “He actually did something useful during his stay. I have no idea how he got into the archives, or why. But we will need to look into what he found.”

“A bit of a sadder one,” Deke continued. “Okay, much sadder. Same dude, but this is ‘Trooper’s Lament.”

Trooper's Lament

This song had a base of light strings to carry the tune. An almost beachy tune.

Come all ye young mares

And hear my sad tale

'Bout a brave young trooper, who's wings did fail

As he went up into the cloudy sky

He sang a sad song on his way to die

He sang, "My love, is far-far from me. Far above the Equestrian ground,"

"I left her there, with a tear in her eye, for I must go where brave pegasi die."

Whoa-whoa-oh, yes I must go where brave pegasi die

As he went out of the ship into the stormy night

I saw the young trooper in a burst of fiery light

As he fell through the night, his armor all in flame

A smile on his lips, he cried out his girl's name

We found the young trooper

No longer will he be sore

From the great cloud bird, he'll jump no more

His face was pale, as pure as milk

And we wrapped him 'round in a soft cloud’s silk

Whoa-whoa-oh, yes we wrapped him 'round in a soft cloud’s silk

So all ye young maidens, come listen to me, never love a Pegasus trooper

You'll never be free

For some dark night when he falls through the sky

His wings will not open; your love will die

Whoa-whoa-oh, his wings will not open; your love will die

Deke immediately went into another one founded on brass trumpets and a base guitar line.

A-Team Song

12 pegasi strong and true

12 pegasi fight for you

On their heads a beret of blue

12 pegasi, invincible

The A-team

12 pegasi heard the call

Ready to give their all

They bring hope where they are seen

12 pegasi invincible the A-team

From Equestria's tropical jungle rains

All the way to The Zebra’s burning plains

Where ever there's trouble

Night or day

Go the pegasi of the Blue Beret

To fan the fire of freedoms dream

12 pegasi invincible the A-team

12 pegasi invincible the A-team

“That was ‘The A-team.’ Maybe that one will work better for the Wonderbolts, but when that song was written, the Wonderbolts didn’t exist. It was the Shadowbolts and nopony knew any real thing about them. I got the feeling that the 6 pegasi units started as 12 pegasi units.”

“But that is the best I found for you to enjoy. The ones that pertained to you. Lieutenant Commander Deke signing out to go get some breakfast!”

Marble Falls didn’t have to stand up. Nova and the Wonderbolts’ Colonel were already by their side. Deke had called Pony Patrol out and they thought they knew what was going on.

“Hey,” Marble Falls said wings out in innocence. “No idea he was doing something.”

Marble Falls shrugged. “But, he found some good stuff. Some useful war propaganda that we kept around for a reason. The Wonderbolts could switch to Blue Berets and own the song. Or the other two. The whole ACUs could. Their jackets are impossible to earn, but berets would be a nice visual boost with a similar idea.”

“It also might be what we need to help reclaim some of the lost control. Bring the pride of the ACUs back into the focal point of the average citizen. They could put on demonstrations of their skills all across the Enclave. Running in teams or two or three units. The veteran teams of course. They could do more shows than the Wonderbolts have time to keep up with.”

Nova silently looked at the Wonderbolts’ Colonel.

After a minute, the Colonel spoke. “I will bring it up with General Shielded Vengeance. But the Aerial Combat Battalion might be able to use this to our advantage.”

“But another matter,” The Colonel said. “How did he get into those sealed records?”

Cardinal Spitfire snickered. “Probably because of the new ranking system. The system didn’t know what to do with a Lieutenant Commander and opened up instead of locking down. I highly doubt he was purposefully trying to get into them. Since he stumbled upon music, my guess is that he was looking for music.”

“YO DEKE!” Raspberry Lemonade called out and waved as Deke entered the mess hall.

Deke trotted over, ignoring the fact that the colonels were there.

“So, yesterday I was bored and decided to go dig for some older music I had never heard of. The stuff that was classics before our classics. It was just there for me to find. And a lot of other patriotic music. Both Enclave and Equestrian. I wanted to brighten the morning. You know, before I had to go prance around to be ogled like the eye candy I am.”

Deke acknowledged the colonels by looking at them. “And no, they were not sealed records I broke into. But there are some real beauties. Not always the best quality sound, but good enough. Like ‘This is worth fighting for,’ and ‘Swing out to victory.’ If you want full patriotism, ‘This is my country’ is a good song.”

“Not all recordings are equal. ‘This our land’ is spotty. And ‘Beloved comrade’ is really for soldiers. And a pure, unhindered patriotic song from Equestria is ‘Over there.’ It is purely inspiring. But it won’t make the best song to hype the Enclave up. At least without some strong preparations, which would probably kill it.”

“Perhaps,” Nova said turning to the Wonderbolts’ Colonel. “A renaissance is in order. A reminder why we are the Enclave. Why we do what we do and protect them as such.”

“A risky move,” The Wonderbolts Colonel replied. “Let’s drag Deke into his office and chat. I know you and I have plans.”

“I am busy,” Deke smirked. “I have to stand and look pretty for the last presentation. I am free after lunch. Unless, well, I am sure Admiral Purple Breeze could delay the last lecture shit thing until tomorrow or the day after.”

The Wonderbolt Colonel growled. They all wanted them gone. “1300, at his office. U0O5.”

“U0O5,” Deke nodded sharply.

“Both Nova and I have shit to take care of, so we can’t babysit.”

“Be on time,” Deke said professionally.

They walked off and Lemon Lime, the closest, slugged Deke in the shoulder. Deke grimaced but held in a scream. He had just been punched by a Wonderbolt. It was a lot stronger than what Little could dish out.

“You had to tag our name?” Marble Falls growled.

“Eh,” Deke said sitting down. A bowl and spoon was promptly put in front of him.

“Look,” Deke said getting serious. “I didn’t go looking for it. I went looking for music. I needed inspiration after staring like I was dead all morning. I wanted to share that music the next morning, for all.”

“I stumbled upon a shit ton of amazing stuff. I heard that first one, Ballad of the Blue Berets, and thought of you. Then A-Team was another absolutely you. And the other was sad, but good. It highlights the risk you take in the ACB. I had to share, so that all these top dudes got to see you in a better light.”

“Idiot,” Marble Falls said standing up. “We have real shit to do.”

“Yeah,” Deke sighed. “I have to finish eating so I can be paraded around again.”

“Who is demoing the ACB?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

Deke chuckled. “Second Lieutenant Sunny Swirl was roped into it. She doesn’t have the build you guys do, but it does fit her quite well. Its the best that could be done in such a pinch. Cardinal is needed dealing with formations and can’t be pulled. An now she can’t even stand.”

“Who is she?” Cardinal Spitfire asked, offended they put some random Pegasus in a flight suit, in place of her. Even if she couldn’t stand.

“Second Fleet’s Vice Admiral Breezy Sky’s assistant. Like legit assistant since the Vice Admiral is going blind and is about to retire. The Vice Admiral has been at every session. She was the Pegasus we were waiting for to arrive.”

“Well, we can’t worry about it,” Raspberry Lemonade stated. “The Admirals know what they are doing.”

They filed out to get Unit 0 into the sky. Golden Dawn had to leave to head out with Gunmetal and Deke was left alone to eat his bowl of water.

“You ready?” Little asked him as he reached the front of the room.

“Yep,” Deke said, focused. “Lets do this.”

“You are enthusiastic,” Little said, surprised. “You are looking forward to this?”

“I just want it done.”

“And then you have to go explain yourself,” Little reminded him.

“This is worse,” Deke said, facing the settling crowd. “Much worse. I can make a defense, not like smiling and standing here. I am prepared for them. Kind of.”

Deke faced the crowd and boringness with new tunes in his head. At lunch, he ate food, not water. He no longer had to worry about throwing up in front of the crowd. He was at U0O5 before anypony else. He didn’t sit down when they entered. He leaned against the wall, cover still on his head, even though they were inside.

“The ACU’s are amazing,” Deke declared before anypony else could speak. “What they did in the war, especially their Sky Force, it was beyond incredible. This place should be owning that heritage. Whether you think we should have been in the war or not, the Pegasus Race was engaged and they brought it! Out shining every other Race out there, on both sides, as they kept things simple and real.”

“I got to see the risks that they were taking. Or used to take. They have combat footage! Live action, rolling film of tons of shit. The Zebras were shooting them out of the sky with enchanted rounds, burning them. The round didn’t have to pierce all the way to burn them. That is what you are born from. All of the Aerial Combat Battalion was built off of it.”

“And with all the top brass here, I wanted them to fucking know it. You have a history. A good one. The Pegasus Race changed warfare when they fielded their Sky Force, affectionately known as the Blue Berets.”

“They died, a lot, flying in. But when they made it to the ground, the Zebras were the ones who died. And the rest of the military, including the regular pegasi units, were right behind them to support the assault. Then the Zebras got their fire guns and things evened out again. The Sky Force was fully pegasi, from the clouds and only the clouds, and they stayed that way when the clouds were sealed up.”

“How do you know all of that?” General Shielded Vengeance asked. “The history part. I was told you only looked at music.”

“Oh,” Deke chuckled. “I started at music. The rest I learned from digging around in the history records. That did have security clearance, but the system let me in. Apparently, my Third Fleet standing is enough clearance for a lot of shit. I was focused on their early history though, so its good. You don’t have to worry about me seeing anything relevant. I’m not stupid.”

“I believe him on that,” The Wonderbolt Colonel stated. “I believe he stayed in music and the history records pertaining to those songs.”

“So,” General Shield Vengeance said, gathering his thoughts. “What should we do with him for his broadcast?”

“Thank him,” Nova said without thinking. “Those bastards are annoying me and I can no longer hide. I have shit to do and they need to learn to fear us. I may be grounded, but I can still kick ass. And they need to be reminded of that after stomping all over my Squad Barracks when they did not belong.”

General Shielded Vengeance looked at Deke. “I am going to need to see what you found.”

Deke smiled turned to a grin of victory. “Check your inbox.”

General Shielded Vengeance turned to his terminal. He got a lot of messages every day. He had skipped it when he looked in the morning. He thought it was spam. It was labeled ‘HISTORY YOU WERE NEVER TAUGHT BUT NEED TO KNOW!’ Everything was there. Every song had an external link, every news article, paper, story, and record needed had a link.

“I don’t half do anything,” Deke stated. “And I was saving it for myself so I could learn more. The Enclave isn’t taking the opportunities it should after the Pillars of the Community disaster.”

The General raised his eyebrow. “And what do you think we should do?”

“I am no expert,” Deke said getting serious. “But I have been watching you train. I have been poking at Olive Pit to make sure he pushed to be the best. Unit 0 isn’t going to just get an officer. They will be getting a fucking legend. A huge boost is because his is their first officer in years.”

“But that isn’t the point. My point is I have been watching your expansion. I have been watching you train them, seeing what they are supposed to be and becoming. And remember, Captain Marble Falls trained me in Basic Training, alongside Filly Fooler and Cardinal Spitfire. And we stayed here to continue after the basic segment as we put it all together. That urban area was put in for us. You need to capitalize on your expansion. I know you have at least one more big ACS being planned.”

“I can’t outright use some of this on the general populace,” General Shielded Vengeance stated.

Deke smirked. “I know. But you can use it to advertise to the military. You are working to up your numbers. It will bring attention to the ACBs and help recruitment from within, which is where you almost exclusively recruit from. And from there, it can get pushed out. They will eat it up. And you can back a commercial for the ACU’s doing a touring showcase with the right music.”

“A history showcase. Where we came from and why we matter. Walk those in attendance through the history, from wartime, to sealing the sky up and lead them up to now. Put on a real show with current units. Let them fight each other with the vests on.”

“Maybe top it off with the Wonderbolts. A single team touring with them. A strafing run, blasting apart the ACUs. Dazzle the crowd with a few passes and then they can lead a three unit fly over. They won’t even have to do anything with the crowd. Let the ACU squads handle it. They are the real stars of the show. I’m thinking it will only take 5 squads, plus the Wonderbolt, if costume changes are done right.”

None of them knew what to say. A few seconds later, Nova chuckled. “How much have you worked out?”

Deke shrugged. “It was another boring session this morning. I have some ideas, for the whole thing. I have seen a lot of tricks and tactics you guys use. You can use the songs to bolster the whole thing. And once you put down a solid five shows, then you can put out the commercials to the populace with bits of the songs.”

“Picture it, two Units flying side by side: 12 pegasi strong and true. They dive on enemy soldiers: 12 pegasi fight for you. Another flies at the camera in dress uniforms: On their heads a beret of blue. Back to the two Units: 12 pegasi, invincible, The A-team.”

“Seriously,” Deke chuckled. “It was horrible standing in front of them. The generals had a mountain of questions. Like they didn’t understand anything. The Admirals barely had any. They showed intelligence. The generals made things worse. What else was I supposed to do to survive?”

General Shielded Vengeance sighed. He wasn’t sure what to do.

“Deke,” Nova stated. “You get 14, 39, 43, 88 and 94. Build me a show. Build me a commercial. Better take 52 as well, so you can have a camera crew. You can get cameras from the Quartermaster at HQ. This is no guarantee.”

“I will make sure that the whole Squad Barracks knows that,” Deke said, jumping ahead of Nova. “100 percent exploratory. Entertaining my crazy mind. Because my crazy mind might have a half baked good idea.”

Deke tipped his cover at them and stepped out.

“How screwed are we?” The Wonderbolt Colonel asked.

“I am going to look into things,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “But he is right about one thing, the military isn’t asserting itself like it should be after the Pillars of the Community tragedy. This won’t require the Counsel’s permission but may very well assert it.”

“It will be creative,” Nova chuckled. “But it will be pointed and on target. Especially to build our recruitment from the other units. We need them to want to join us. He said he doesn’t do anything half assed. It will be all assed. Spot on assed.”

“You better go notify those Units,” The Wonderbolt Colonel advised. “Or else they are going to look at him all crazy if he tries to command them. At the very least.”

“That is the fun part,” Nova smiled. “Let them heckle him. Knock him down a peg or two.”

“He isn’t standing that high up,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “I want him up another peg. Up. At least one. Get him rolling out on this with his flair and cocky confidence. Flying is 90% confidence. Same with this task.”

“Damn,” Nova swore. “You are right. This has to be confident almost to a fault to work.”

“I like the Blue Berets idea,” The Wonderbolt Colonel stated. She was asking for a trial without asking for it.

“I will put in for it,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “We are already transitioning our uniforms, now is the time. From covers to berets.”

“Shield,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said. “It was mention, by Marble Falls, that these berets might be the solution to the ACU jackets. Since they are supposed to earn them after 7 missions, but can’t, getting berets to wear at all times, even in dress uniform, it would be amazing. It would solve that conundrum.”

General Shielded Vengeance nodded, scrolling through the Deke’s message to him.

“This will be interesting. Deke gave me colored photographs of their berets. Its a pretty, sky blue. Our badge would be easy to swap out with theirs. I will get one on Cardinal Spitfire’s head by the end of the day.”

“I’m not convinced,” Nova stated. “I want to see scouts and regular ACU’s in them, with the new uniform. This will be their badge of honor like the jackets are supposed to be. I still want that amended for years served or missions deployed on, but this works for now.”

“Okay,” General Shielded Vengeance nodded. “I will put 17 and 63 in the new stuff to demo it.”

“Why them?” Nova asked, cautiously.

“Because I know Unit 17, and they have a Unit 0 member who can demo it. As well as Unit 63. I saw them with 17, and their officer, a Lieutenant Flags, was in the same ACS Unit with Lieutenant Arrow and Lieutenant Lieutenant Commander Cardinal Spitfire. As well as Command Sergeant Major Shadow Flare. A very strong group. And the other two as well. And it was Marble Falls who pulled it out of them.”

“They were a strong team,” Nova admitted. “And sergeant Dipper is with recruits for a few more days. Sergeant Chocolate is still unplaced in wide open 41, working to help train recruits, and waiting patiently for the Officer School. But both are as strong as Lieutenant Arrow and Lieutenant Flags.”

“I have no doubt about that,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “I just haven’t had the opportunity to see either in action. And since both are working with recruits, I can’t add them to the trials. Otherwise, I would reward all of Unit 41 for their amazing skill.”

“Come on Colonel,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said. “We have Units to evaluate for combat formation flying. We need a count for Cardinal Spitfire.”

“When is that planned for?” General Shielded Vengeance asked.

“During the Officer School,” Nova answered.

“She won’t be teaching in the Officer School?” General Shielded Vengeance asked shocked.

“She is good, but inexperienced,” The Wonderbolt Colonel stated. “She still has much to learn with command before she can begin to teach it from experience. Plus, we need her on combat formation duty. But she won’t know that until the day before. We will have a boot camp for the Units that need it. Many of them won’t be doing anything anyway. And, it also preps her to teach others to be officers.”

“Captain Marble Falls will be a teacher. Lieutenant Raspberry Lemonade will be with Cardinal Spitfire. The others are in the school to be officers. Arrow and Flags will be helping with the combat formations for sure. She has the three of them tight knit on formation and they are learning to really teach it right now with Unit 0.”

General Shielded Vengeance just nodded and they all split.

Chapter 83 - Message Received

Cardinal Spitfire stood there in her dress uniform and wearing the new Blue Beret. It was dashing with the Wonderbolts’ new unit patch on it. The Aerial Combat School was graduating. They also were getting Blue Berets along with their silver wings. What was left of Unit Zero had graduated, even Sergeant Major Willow.

They new wings were amazing. The Medical Silver Wings had a cross at the center, signifying they were medical. The others had a sword in the center of them, signifying they were combat wings. They still had the old plain wings with nothing in the center, but that was for veterans before the change. It was surprise when the sword wings were unveiled at the start of the ceremony.

Cardinal Spitfire was itching to go. She hated standing there as the ceremony dragged on. It wasn’t long, but it felt it. She had four days off. And she was going to get to that cave. She would track it down and she would check it out.

General Shielded Vengeance personally pinned Olive Pit’s Silver Cross Wings on. General Shielded Vengeance moved right into promoting Olive Pit. They were expect Olive Pit to be promoted, but not during the ceremony. Olive Pit was promoted past First Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander, straight to Commander. Before the expansion, Captain would have been Olive Pit’s appointment. Captain couldn’t be too far behind.

General Shielded Vengeance made his finishing remarks. Cardinal Spitfire tensed up, resisting the urge to run. She wasn’t on break until he dismissed everypony. Standing there was agonizing. Poised to bolt as soon as he said ‘dismissed.’

With one final salute, General Shielded Vengeance said ‘Dismissed’ and Cardinal let loose all of her pent up energy. She was gone like a spring finally let loose. She flew into the now complete Wonderbolt Unit and into her room.

It all was ready for her. She tossed aside the dress uniform and strapped on her bags. Within a minute she was back out and off north, towards Shadow’s home. She was not going to his home. She was going to farm hop to the closest she could to Rainbow Dash’s cave and get in to see if Shadow had left her anything.

The only thing that had any ties to the Enclave was her flight jacket. The ponies there would not appreciate an Enclave officer heading to the cave. But it was still cold in the north, especially at a good cruising altitude.

Arrow found Marble Falls. “Captain!”

“Yes?” Marble Falls replied.

“Was that Cardinal Spitfire dashing away?”

“Not that I know of. Why?”

“She was out of the ceremony at lightning speed and then I swear I saw her heading out of here on her wings. And she was booking it with saddle bags.”

The Wonderbolt Colonel came up to them, looking for Marble Falls. “Captain, I am informing you that Cardinal Spitfire is taking these four days for leave of some kind. I wasn’t sure if she let you know.”

“Leave!” Arrow exclaimed. “What about my wedding!”

Arrow was hurt deeply. After all this waiting and finally the wedding was happening. But Cardinal Spitfire wasn’t going to be there.”

“I am sure there is an explanation,” Marble Falls said, looking at the Colonel.

“She wouldn’t divulge it,” The Wonderbolt Colonel shrugged. “There was no prying it out of her. But she isn’t heading home, or to meet Shadow Flare’s parents.”

Marble Falls was visibly confused. “I have no idea what would be more important to her than Arrow’s wedding. Unless it had something to do with Filly Fooler. But I have no idea what that would be. This is a great mystery.”

“She has four days,” The Wonderbolt Colonel stated. “And she knows it. I could tell she was chomping at the bit to get out of here during the ceremony.”

“I didn’t notice,” Marble Falls said. “I was pinning wings on.”

“And what am I supposed to do?” Arrow whined.

“Go on without her,” Marble Falls said, not even trying to cushion the blow. “And trust her that its important. Very important.”

Arrow was understandably distraught. After all this time, Cardinal Spitfire disappeared the day before the wedding. And she hadn’t given Arrow even a hint that she might not be there.

Cardinal Spitfire was distracted with both her trip and getting Unit 0 to pass. She knew the wedding was coming up, but she never connected them conflicting. She let it slip from balancing her life, despite it’s importance being so high. But she wasn’t even aware she was missing it as she flew at her top sustainable speed.

Cardinal Spitfire just kept going, her mind focused on one thing as she flew. Making it to the cave in two days. That was a very difficult time frame to uphold. Especially since she had to find it first.

Cardinal Spitfire could feel the cold temperatures holding on through the north. She could see that the planting was done, and things were looking well despite it’s hold. Cardinal Spitfire was forced to land and put her coat on. It was a good moment for her to hydrate before she took off again.

As twilight peaked, Cardinal Spitfire picked her target and glided down towards a home. She was on a high and could easily continue going, but she knew she needed to get rest in order to successfully get there and back in time.

Cardinal Spitfire approached and knocked on the door. She was ready, with cold, hard bits to cover the cost of farm hopping. But she hadn’t done this before, and she was relying on old information Shadow had taught her on how they would get around.

The door was opened by a older stallion. He gave her a stern looking over.

“Can I help you?”

“I am traveling through the area,” Cardinal Spitfire nervously said. “I understand that often the pegasi out in the farms out here travel by farm hoping. They pay with bits to spend the night. I am hoping you can set me up for the night. I have bits, real bits.”

“What are you doing out this far?” He asked. “You are obviously military, but not with the group out east that is helping fix our clouds. No military personnel live out in this area.”

“You’re right,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “I do not live out this way. I was born in Apple District, outside of New Cloudsdale. I was an apple farmer before I joined. And I am not with the military who are working with the cloud stuff. I am on leave. Personal business.”

He stepped aside. “Come in. It is past dinner, but we have plenty of food if you are hungry.

Cardinal Spitfire smiled at him as she entered. “A meal would be appreciated. Very much. I have been flying all day with only one break. To put my jacket on. Its still cold out this way.”

The stallion called out to his wife, who was still in the kitchen.

“The kitchen is this way. I am Painted Sunrise, and Velvet Cloud is my wife. The kids are around, but lets get you food.”

“How did the planting go?” Cardinal Spitfire asked as they sat her down at the small table in the kitchen.

“Fine,” Painted Sunrise said sitting across from her. “I am concerned what it will mean when they make it over to us to work on the clouds below us. But we chose to plant, even if it means loosing the whole crop.”

“Its the wisest move,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “I only heard a little about the troubles in the clouds. I know its not good and its going to take a lot to fix the whole area.”

“Ice right under the surface,” Painted Sunrise said. “Poison ice. So they are trying to break it up without killing our crops and causing the ground to buckle or bubble.”

“That is problematic,” Cardinal Spitfire said shaking her head. “Last year we lost a row of apple trees. We had to fix irrigation problem. But before we could, a whole row just tumbled. Its not easy to loose your crops. It is even worse to set up your harvest, knowing its got a good chance of failing. What do you grow?”

“Carrots,” Painted Sunrise said. “We grow carrots. We planted them as soon as the ice on top broke, hoping to get an early harvest in. But that may not be an option. It would be a small crop if it is.”

“It still is a positive crop,” Cardinal Spitfire pointed out. “I know its tough, but any positive crop is a good crop.

“That is true,” Painted Sunrise said. “You certainly did grow up farming.”

They continued talking late into the night. Cardinal Spitfire was given a good bed to sleep in and slept well. She was up early, with them, and got a solid breakfast before she paid them and took off. She had her basic heading and had marked where she was before she left. Cardinal Spitfire wasn’t going to get lost.

As the day hit it’s zenith, Cardinal Spitfire dropped down and found a house with a mare working in the herb garden behind the house. She announced herself as she came around.

“Hello!” The Mare said, wiping her mane out of her face. “What can I help you with?”

“I am looking for a, place,” Cardinal Spitfire said. Now came the fun of finding the cave, without alarming anypony. “I know there is a cave in the north, that is visited by the fillies and colts. Inside might be something for me. Should be.”

The mare looked her over, noting the stripes on her shoulder. A clear mark for her being military.

“Its only for me,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “I am on leave. Its cold. I don’t have anything better to wear. I just have to check on something for myself. Nothing to do with anypony else.”

The mare relaxed when Cardinal Spitfire naturally used ‘anypony.’ She was given new directions. She was east of her mark, more north than she meant to be. Cardinal Spitfire put in a lot of effort to get herself on track. She had wasted a lot of time going further north.

She had to stop two more times. They gave her directions to a specific farm, staying out of the situation. Cardinal Spitfire circled over top and dove to where they were. She was running out of time. They were not happy having her come in so aggressively.

“Sorry,” Cardinal Spitfire immediately said. “I’m running out of daylight here and I can’t stop now. I know there is a cave out this way that the fillies and colts go to for a coming of age trip. I never got to go.”

“We don’t know what you are talking about,” The oldest stallion said firmly.

Cardinal Spitfire sighed in frustration. “I know that isn’t true. I had pretty good instructions on how to get here from a friend. Just point me in the right direction so I can get this over with.”

All three shook there heads, lips sealed.

“I’m here to get there. I have to check on something. I’m not here to mess anything up for anypony. I know you see the rank on my collar. But its just my jacket to stay warm out here. The north doesn’t want to let go this year and I am cruising even higher up. A lot higher.”

“I don’t care who you are,” The one her age said. “Nopony goes to that cave.”

Cardinal Spitfire rolled her eyes. “Now I know that isn’t true. Unless something drastic caused that to change in the last five years or so. Point me in the right direction so I can get there, poke my head in and get back. I’m here on my own. Nopony knows where I am, or what I am doing.”

“Nopony goes there,” He said again.

Cardinal Spitfire’s ears perked up. A lot of laughter from young ponies came over the near frozen clouds. It was crystal clear. They heard it as well.

Cardinal Spitfire walked over to see around the house. A group of ten were cruising into a landing on the road. For not going to flight school, they were excellent at handling themselves in a group. Naturals at it.

“Are you going to turn them away because I am here?” Cardinal Spitfire pressed. “I am here for the same reason they are. Just to look. I’m not here to mess anything up. Nopony will ever know where this place is from me.”

The one her age one hung his head as the fillies and colts came around the corner. He brought his eyes to Cardinal Spitfire’s and gave her a stern warning with them. They cut deeper than any words could. “We leave in the morning.”

“I can’t wait,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “Just tell me how to get there. I don’t have the time to wait.”

“Hey guys!” He said greeting the fillies and colts. “I’m Daytime Shower. What has you all the way out here? You know we are on the edge of the Enclave, right? Its not a place for little fillies and colts to be. Especially without their parents around.”

“Um,” A colt stuttered as he stepped forward to the front of the group. “We aren’t little anymore. We can take care of ourselves. Enough to come here. We left yesterday morning!”

“Well what has you all the way out to our farm?” Daytime Shower asked.

“Um,” The colt said. “We came… to see Rainbow Dash’s cave.”

“Oh?” Daytime Shower asked. “What makes you think that even exists, let alone we know where it is?”

“Because this is where my sister came last year,” A filly piped up.

“I see,” Daytime Shower said, thinking. “Well, I do know where it is. And I think you are old enough to visit. But its dangerous.”

“Can we stay here tonight?” Another asked. “Please!”

They all were asking “please,” dragging it out really long in an attempt to get what they want.

“Yes, you can. But we can’t go until the morning. It is too cold and its gotten too late.”

They began to jump around and cheer. Their hard work sneaking away had paid off.

“Now now now,” Daytime Shower said, calming them down. “Do any of you have cloaks or blankets?”

All of them pulled out winter jackets to show him. They were all very similar to the military ones issued to the soldiers, but foal sizes. There was no change in the color or material, not even the big buttons were changed.

“Come on kids,” A mare said coming out of the house. “Lets get you inside and all. It’s getting late, almost time for dinner. We need to find places for you to sleep.”

Their attention was turned to the matter at hoof.

“You enjoyed that,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “You enjoyed making them work for it.”

“Its part of the experience,” The older one said. “Its part of them becoming young adults. We get to make sure they are able to take care of themselves and navigate outside of their communities. As well as making sure they can inform others what they want and need.”

“And no, there really is no safe way to take you tonight. If we could, we would so you didn’t clash with them.”

Cardinal Spitfire shook her head. “I believe you. I was hoping I made better time. But it is as it is.”

“I’m Cinnamon Tulip. Daytime Shower is my oldest. Divine Sun is my youngest. My wife is Star Symphony. Berry Song, who got the foals inside, is Daytime Shower’s wife.”

“A pleasure to meet you all,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled. “Last night I was just called Traveler, by the family that put me up. But with a group of fillies and colts, that wont work. Knowing my name isn’t bad or dangerous, but it is probably left better left undisclosed.”

Cardinal Spitfire sat there thinking for a moment. Captain Fusion Pen was the Wonderbolt who wrote their history book. Or one of the most significant updates to the to history book. Fusion was a good name for her with her colors.

“Fusion will work perfectly,” Cardinal Spitfire said.

“And what does those bars on your shoulder mean?” Cinnamon Tulip asked.

“Lieutenant Commander,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “Its my current jacket. The old one was slightly different. I had to retire it sadly. It was getting worn out from a lot of use.”

“What does ‘pony patrol’ mean?” Daytime Shower asked.

“Oh,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “So, my current assignment is Squad 12, who’s nickname is Pony Patrol. Its a bit of an inside joke. I can’t really explain it further than that.”

“Can’t or wont?” Daytime Shower pushed.

“Can’t,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “Its moving on two years for two of us, and then the others came in several months ago. Its a joke that just keeps compounding on itself, but it has a good, strong meaning. We are here to protect everypony. Every pony. We actually get to say pony, not only Pegasus or Pegasi. Which has become a weird, honor within the military, just for us. All from a joke.”

“I didn’t follow any of that,” Divine Sun admitted.

“Yeah,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “Its really hard to follow. Even for us. The point is, we have the odd distinction to be able to say pony, where everypony else.”

Cardinal Spitfire shook her head as she chuckled. “Everypegasus. It go wrapped up in out vocabulary to use pony instead. Every Pegasus else still needs to use the proper Pegasus forms. We get away with it because of our unique roll in the military.”

Cardinal Spitfire leaned in and dropped her voice. “But, I know out here, you use pony instead of Pegasus. And I really don’t care. I know how loyal you are how little it matters. I’ve gotten to meet some truly amazing ponies from out this way. Some of the best pegasi I have ever met come from these northern farming reaches.”

“So that’s how you know about the cave,” Daytime Shower said quietly back.

“Yes. Although it was spoken about in private. I am here for a trip of my own, nothing to do with the military. I have to check on something. I am not going to disturb anything. You have my guarantee.”

“And just what kind of weight is that guarantee?” Cinnamon Tulip asked. “Out here your reputation means a lot.”

Cardinal Spitfire took a deep breath. “It… its the word of a Wonderbolt. The insignia may not be on the jacket, but only Wonderbolts get and can wear flight jackets.”

Cardinal Spitfire surveyed the area quickly, forcing the topic to switch. “Have you planted anything this year?”

“No,” Cinnamon Tulip sighed. “We… Well just look for yourself.”

Cinnamon Tulip took a nearby shovel and drove it into the clouds. It slammed to a audible halt half halfway into the clouds, stuck.

“We can’t get any of our fields to let the shovel go in past the metal in this condition. The storm worsened the problem for us. We sent word that we were not able to do any planting and had ice right beneath the surface, but I doubt they will get here any sooner.”

“I saw the ice,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “That storm was beautiful, but scary. I hear deaths stayed at a minimal.”

Cinnamon Tulip nodded. “I think there were five deaths across our district that can be related to the storm. No cold related deaths. I believe they were all accidents dealing with the storm or the ice after.”

“I was really hoping the kids wouldn’t come. We want the cave kept quiet. If they seize it…”

“First off, if anypony seizes it, it would be done by Wonderbolts. Second, if it isn’t, get to the closest place to send a message to me. It can be relayed to me through Fort Wind. If it is what it is, nopony should be touching it unless they are Wonderbolts. And if it is only what I understand that it is, not even the Wonderbolts care. There just isn’t enough too justify caring.”

“I will hold you to that,” Daytime Shadow said firmly. “That is not just your word, but the word of Wonderbolts that you will be able to get back out here to help settle it.”

“You have my word that I will get out here,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “Or, if there is a reason I can not, you will get a clear message from me and talk with somepony I trust inside the Wonderbolts. But it will be a clear answer from me to aid however I can.”

“Thank you,” Cinnamon Tulip said. “It is a treasure that we want to keep for generations to come and enjoy.”

“That is what I want for it too,” Cardinal Spitfire said.

“Lets get inside,” Cinnamon Tulip said. “We have a spare bedroom you can use. The foals will be camping out in the living room.”

Dinner was simple. There was no way to cook for all of them with the foals joining them. After was when the real fun began. The foals were on the floor in the living room, and the older ponies on the furniture, drinking tea. Daytime Shower began to tell stories.

“You guys know about Two Toned?” Daytime Shower asked them.

Cardinal Spitfire smiled. Their enthusiasm was infectious. They wanted a Two Toned story badly.

“Can we hear the full story of their first meeting?” A colt piped up. “All of the details?”

“Maybe,” Daytime Shower hesitated. “But I had another story in mind. Its one I just found out about. Locked away in the vault of stories, it was forgotten. This is the story of Rainbow Dash’s final tale, The Legend of Kifopiga.”

Cardinal Spitfire chocked on her tea, spilling the rest of the floor. She was in a coughing fit for a good minute, fighting for breath. Star Symphony helped Cardinal Spitfire by patting her on the back to break it up, along with coaching her through the fit until she regained her breath. By the time Cardinal Spitfire was able to focus on the spilled tea, Berry Song already had it cleaned up and her cup refilled. Cardinal Spitfire was only able to smile in thanks to Berry Song because Daytime Shower had already launched into the story.

Cardinal Spitfire had read the report, but she hadn’t heard the tale. Guns that shot dragon fire, a whole battle for the skies, and brand new weapons were exciting. Golden Dawn would probably know of the weapons. Cardinal Spitfire listened intently. Not just to ask Golden Dawn, but because this was Shadow. Somehow.

It was almost a positive guarantee that Shadow had gone to the cave. But it also was extremely odd that he had risked talking to any pony. Somehow he must have been found out. But why he shared the story was something else.

Daytime Shower didn’t spare details of the fight. The foals were disturbed, but enthralled. It was how the full stories got passed down. Somepony had to know all the details, even the dark ones. Daytime Shower then told them the full story of Rainbow Dash and Two Toned’s first meeting, in all the bloody details. And it was bloody.

Other, calmer stories were swapped until it was time for bed. There was no way they were going to sleep well. Divine Sun was going to stay with them, sleeping on the couch.

Cardinal Spitfire wasn’t going to sleep well. Her mind was filled with Shadow. Shadow had faced a lot and learned a lot in Kifopiga. And then he had made a mistake by naming it. Or did he?

The stress did knock Cardinal Spitfire out for a few solid hours before she had to be up. She got more sleep than the foals. They all had a quick breakfast and then it was out the door. Without any fieldwork to do, Cinnamon Tulip tagged along. He used to lead the foals in his younger days.

They were making a great pace for having little ones. Daytime Shower was leading, with Cinnamon Tulip taking up the rear. Although, they were not so little anymore. Their flying was fantastic. They were flipping and playing around while they kept pace. Cardinal Spitfire was flying above them.

It was mid morning when they approached the cave. It certainly was tucked away, and there was no way she could have gotten herself there, or even found it at night.

The fillies and colts pulled out flashlights at the entrance. Cardinal Spitfire didn’t think about the darkness a cave automatically meant.

“Here,” Cinnamon Tulip said, passing a flashlight to Cardinal Spitfire. “Always bring a spare.”

“Thanks,” Cardinal Spitfire said, blushing a bit. “I didn’t think this part through.”

“You are not from here, so you wouldn’t know,” Cinnamon Tulip replied kindly.

They were the last in. The fillies and colts were already “ooing” and “awing”. It all changed when the ceiling began to glow with a soft light.

“Again?” Daytime Shower said, annoyed.

He looked at Cardinal Spitfire, narrowing his eyes. The lights came on fully in clicking pops.

“What did you do?” Daytime Shower asked, accusing Cardinal Spitfire. “These lights only came on once before, for Rainbow Dash.”

Cardinal Spitfire was trying to take the accusation in. Her mind switch gears. “Wait! Are you saying a Pegasus came up from below? And you took her here?”

“Ugh,” Daytime Shower stumbled. “Yes. So what!”

“That,” Cardinal Spitfire stuttered. “That changes like everything!”

Cardinal Spitfire’s heart stopped beating as she realized the greater depth of this. “Fillies and Colts, you can not! I mean it, not, tell anypony that somepegasus came up from the clouds. Do you understand? Its very bad and will mean a lot of trouble for you, your families, and others in the area. The Enclave soldiers are here to protect us, but that becomes very complicated fast, and they may overprotect.”

They were shocked, but agreed to it. They knew, even at their age, the severity of things. It came with being farmers, and having to dig in the clouds.

Cardinal Spitfire turned to Cinnamon Tulip. She took her jacket off and passed it to him.

“Please, take this back out and count to two minutes once outside. I think I know what is happening.”

Cinnamon Tulip took it with a nod and headed out. Cardinal Spitfire counted his steps, gauging where he was. As expected, the lights clicked off to the ambient lights. A minute later, the last lights were off. Cardinal Spitfire almost vocally said when the lights would come on. They were right on her schedule.

Cinnamon Tulip trotted over and gave the jacket back to Cardinal Spitfire. It was cold, so she immediately wrapped it around her body, securing it tightly and enjoying it’s warmth. Then she focused on the question everypony was wanting to know.

Cardinal Spitfire took a deep breath in for an extra second of thought. “My jacket has a transmitter in it. A secure communication unit for Wonderbolts only. That’s what the lights are picking up. Probably.”

Cardinal Spitfire slipped the ear bud out and popped it in. She pressed the hidden button and spoke into her jacket’s mic. “Delta Gamma Beta, this is Wonderbolt Squad 12 Lieutenant Commander… Fusion. This is a secure channel, if anypony is on it please respond.”

Nothing came back, not even static. Cardinal Spitfire checked the radio. It was on. She chose to run a check. If it was connected, it would echo back.

“Echo Echo Echo Squad 12 Wonderbolt LC Fusion radio check.”

She got the message back on schedule.

“The radio is connected,” Cardinal Spitfire announced. “Let me explain. This Wonderbolt com system is old. Its wartime old. Back when the Wonderbolts were not around, and the Shadowbolts ruled the sky.”

Cardinal Spitfire pointed to the wall with the painted Zebras on then with her wing. “That is Shadowbolt. The Shadowbolts are what they say Rainbow Dash led during the war. The Enclave Wonderbolts got some carry over from the Shadowbolts. This is a unique place. Special.”

Cardinal Spitfire smiled at the foals. “You fillies and colts are lucky to have this. You get to do a really cool thing to show you are grown up. I didn’t get to do something like this.”

They were beaming. A Wonderbolt was before them, telling them they had something really special, and while they were in that special place. This was beyond a good day.

“You need to stay on this nice path though,” Cardinal Spitfire warned them. “Its not safe. That’s a lot of metal and other stuff that will cut you easily.”

“Come on kids,” Cinnamon Tulip said, skipping to the front. “I think Daytime Shower has something he needs to ask the Wonderbolt.”

Daytime Shower daintily maneuvered through the debris to Cardinal Spitfire’s side. “That wall is probably what you are looking for.”

Cardinal Spitfire looked where he was pointing. She was further ahead of it, so she couldn't see the face of the wall. It was odd how it jutted out. It definitely have been carved or built up. Cardinal Spitfire looked around her hooves. She picked up a folded newspaper that was a bit off of the path. It was in good condition. It had a marked date on it. The date alone would help solidify this place. For now, she pocketed it and moved off to where Daytime Shower was directing her.

The wall was unbelievable. She had asked Shadow for a message that he was alive, and here it was. A giant heart with the break line was undeniably Shadow. The CSF in the center was done with a steady hoof. There was his rank symbol and date were clearly beside it as well. ‘Vengeful Inquisition’ was a nice touch.

Cardinal Spitfire pulled out a camera and began taking pictures. She captured the whole wall and much closer, detailed pictures of each area. Cardinal Spitfire took several other shots of the whole area, trying to capture the context that the message was placed in.

Daytime Shower was nervous. “Rainbow Dash said it would begin a set of cascading events, that it would be answered.”

“And when was that?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

“Same as that date,” Daytime Shower replied.

“That’s during that ice storm we had. I was stationed in the northern area of the Enclave. I know how bad it was.”

“She showed up at our house, trying to borrow a blanket. She wasn’t ready for the cold. That was clear. We were out for a bit and came back to find her mid act.”

“What was she wearing?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

“You know what this means?” Daytime Shower asked.

“Absolutely,” Cardinal Spitfire replied confidently. “I’ll be carving a response in the wall in a moment.”

“What does it mean?” Daytime Shower asked.

“I’m here for a reason,” Cardinal Spitfire reminded him. “Alone. Its all personal stuff, between me, and... her. I can’t say anything more, outside of its all legal. That and I wish this was some training drill or something to test our skills. But stuff happens, and that is all I can say. Communication is key, and when you lose it, things can be very dangerous. Sometimes you have to move slowly and carefully.”

Daytime Shower gulped. “Below?”

Cardinal Spitfire gave a single chuckle with a smile to reassure him. “The Enclave military has always been paying attention below. And its done stuff from time to time below. Its part of our survival. We can’t be blind to what is below us. And sometimes, we can’t just poke our heads through the clouds. It means active actions have to be taken.”

“Wonderbolts?” Daytime Shower asked.

“No,” Cardinal Spitfire said shaking her head. “But we will stop this line of questioning. Safety. And I don’t want to ruin anything here.”

“Would you get in trouble for being here?” Daytime Shower pressed.

“Nope,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled. “Nothing is illegal, past, present and it won’t be in the future.”

Daytime Shower was still unsure. Cardinal Spitfire ended it by drawing her hold out knife to work on the wall next to it, in plain sight. She begun to cut a smaller heart with the CSF in it. It was shoddy work, especially compared to Shadow's, but it was a response. She continued to work on the message. She added “Recalled safely - Squad 12.”

There was so much more she wanted to write, but couldn't. It wasn’t safe to add more. That and her knife was wrecked. The stone had destroyed it’s already short, thin blade. For good measure, she did finish by taking a picture of it and then a wider picture with both messages.

The fillies and colts were exiting with Cinnamon Tulip.

“One last thing,” Daytime Shower whispered. “We didn’t just do this. She stumbled upon something.”

Daytime Shower led her around the corner. “This wall opens. She just walked up and pushed on it.”

“How did she see it?” Cardinal Spitfire asked. “I see nothing.”

“Memory? Or maybe her helmet? I don’t know. She just walked over and pushed on it.”

Cardinal Spitfire backed away. “Push on it.”

Daytime Shower pushed all along the wall. Nothing budged. Cardinal Spitfire moved forward to where he said the edge of the door was. She saw nothing, but pushed anyway. After a second the wall budged a bit and they heard it unlock.

The door swung in, revealing a squarish room with file cabinets. Cardinal Spitfire immediately saw the posters hanging on the wall and then the terminal. But the terminal was busted.

“What happened in here?” Cardinal Spitfire asked. “What was found?”

“Uh, the terminal was on, but the keyboard was deteriorated, like it is. She opened it up to pull the something storage things out. And then the drawers have orbs. I guess they store memories.”

Cardinal Spitfire opened a drawer and saw the orbs. She recognized them as the same as the one Shadow had been given by Nova. This was an answer to that mystery. Partially.

“So, how did you find that out?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

“She found a necklace in that drawer. And it fit around her neck, even with the armor. And it had this divot in one side that cradled the orb. I guess it worked by some magic otherwise, or with her armor? Like your radio?”

“What exactly was she wearing?” Cardinal Spitfire asked. “We never established that.”

“Umm,” Daytime Shower said, trying to describe it. “A dark blue. All metal shell. We never saw her face. She kept her helmet on. The only time she took it off was for two minutes to eat food, but that was out of sight, in the bedroom you stayed in. It was cold, and she needed to eat.”

“Can you confirm that she ate it?” Cardinal Spitfire asked. “Like actually ate it.”

“It was the emergency rations the military brought us, so we got the empty container back. Why?”

“Just following up on everything,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “There is always a chance that, what I see on that wall is not what I believe it is. Its why I took pictures. I grabbed the newspaper to establish a bit more context of everything around here.”

“This all could be something else. I really hope it isn’t, but like my radio is turning these lights on, we have to reuse things at times. That can mean IDs and codes. We can’t always alter our technology at this point, so we have to work around it. So knowing more about the individual is a key element. Anything else about the individual? Their armor? Insignia?”

“The chest and wings had silver circles with a cross in the center. And the shoulder had that, but with stripes around it. Like she put on the wall.”

“What did she use to cut into the stone like that?”

“Something that put out a red light that cut it.”

“Okay,” Cardinal Spitfire nodded.

Cardinal Spitfire took some pictures of the inside room and took two orbs with memories stored in them, and two clean ones. She marked what was stored on them and then headed to the collapsed back. It was blasted down well for being in a cave. There was no easy way to move it. Nothing behind even looked worth it.

As they got outside, Cardinal Spitfire began to panic. The sun was nearing noon. She was going to have to really push it to make it back in time. She dashed off without a word, giving it everything she had.

Chapter 84 - Operation Recovery

The Wonderbolt Colonel strode to the front of the hall. Spring Jade Hall had been build just for these things. The bulk of it was the auditorium, with another six small lecture halls. The second floor had 12 meeting rooms.

The hall was named for Nova’s second in command, and wife, who had died on their last mission below. He was quiet about her, so it was a fight to get it named after her. All of the new buildings had been named after those who had died below. The names had been drawn by lottery. There was talk about giving each Unit Building a name as well.

Nova walked over to the Wonderbolt Colonel.

“Are you ready? You seem distracted.”

“I am,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said surveying everypony.

The place was half full. The only ones in the room were the ones leading the Officer School and the ones helping lead the Combat Formations Practicums. Although, no one knew about the combat formations segment. The Units called to the combat formations segment were being informed as they were meeting.

For Squad 12, that meant that only Marble Falls, Cardinal Spitfire and Raspberry Lemonade were supposed to be there. The others were going to be in the Officer School.

But Cardinal Spitfire was missing. And it was time to start. Everypony else was early.

“Welcome,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said, starting things.

The door at the back banged open. Cardinal Spitfire stood halfway in gasping for breath. She was in her Wonderbolt Jacket, but that was as close to being ready as she could be. Her mane was a mess. Her face was ragged and showed signs of heavy exhaustion and sleep deprivation. She didn’t even take the time to put her bags in her room.

“You’re late,” The Wonderbolt Colonel sternly stated. “We already started.”

Cardinal Spitfire took a deep breath in, gathering herself into a strong stance. “So be it.”

“Why are you late? Was the time frame not clear?”

“I got unexpectedly held up,” Cardinal Spitfire shot back. She began to make her way down to the front, where the open seat was obviously for her.

“What held you up?”

“Does it matter?”

“Since you are late, yes.”

Cardinal Spitfire ignored it and sat down.

“What could possibly be so important that you miss a deadline to be back?” The Wonderbolt Colonel pushed. “Discipline is key. And you gave full agreement to allotted time.”

Cardinal Spitfire grinned and leaned onto the flip out note desktop. “I don’t even know exactly what I have. Until I get to see it all, I can’t even say for certain.”

“That’s where that camera is!” Marble Falls exclaimed. “They have been looking for it. Deke was getting blamed for it.”

Cardinal Spitfire shrugged in innocence. “I didn’t know they were looking for one. I just used the opportunity to practice my skills. I was going to return it within the next week.”

“Captain Marble Falls,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said sternly. “Grab it!”

Raspberry Lemonade grabbed Cardinal Spitfire in a tight lock and Marble Falls tore her saddlebags off of her. Cardinal Spitfire was too tired to put up a proper fight. The camera was passed to the Colonel. Cardinal Spitfire was fuming, but kept her mouth shut.

“Captain, get this developed immediately,” The Wonderbolt Colonel ordered.

Cardinal Spitfire’s spirit was obviously broken over the order.

“She disappeared for over four days, missed her time she promised to be in, and worse, I couldn't get a tracking on her general location. Along with stealing the camera, I want to make sure she didn’t do something stupid that would cause her security to be compromised.”

Marble Falls took the camera without looking at Cardinal Spitfire.

“Oh, and have them developed under strict security guidelines. This is for the Wonderbolts.”

Marble Falls just headed out, without a response. It was her way of resisting the position she was put in. Both of them knew why she had been chosen. Captain Marble Falls was the most prepared to be a teacher in the Officer School. She had done it several months before. The rest would need this orientation. Also, it was a way to keep it inside Pony Patrol.

“Now, Cardinal Spitfire,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said. “I needed you back on time because this is a two part operation. We are not just running an Officer School here. We also have Unit 0 training medical shit, and even worse, we will be having recruits using their flight decks, which really restricts us.”

“But you are not apart of any of those operations. You are in charge of the Combat Formations Practicums. You will be taking all available Units and personnel and making sure they can run combat formations properly. We saw with Unit 0’s training that we are not as ready as we should be.”

“Nova has your list. Lieutenant Raspberry Lemonade will be with you as well, but Captain Marble Falls is needed as an Officer School instructor. You do get Lieutenant Arrow and Lieutenant Flags. Along with several others we tested out.”

Cardinal Spitfire was given a list of her instructor and a list of everypony she would be running through the practicums.

“That’s it?” Cardinal Spitfire asked, annoyed. “I had a hard and fast deadline for this?”

“Yes,” Nova said. “Not for the sake of a deadline, but to give you the time you needed to prepare before starting the next day.”

Cardinal Spitfire did a quick flip through. “Easy. Randomize them into teams of seven for the practicums. Two days in classroom going over the formations and philosophy of each, one or two on the ground running speed drills, and then its into the sky for real drills and then mock combat.”

“Keep them in their units,” Nova ordered. “If they are entering as a full unit.”

“That’s a big mistake,” Cardinal Spitfire warned. “They have to learn to work with a seventh member. It is better to totally mix them up so that they can handle any formation and reading more pegasi. We don’t want them comfortable, we want them challenged. And with this time frame, I should be able to change groups up at least once more, three times if they pick it up quickly. They better since they are in the ACUs.”

Nova thought for a moment. “Alright, assign them as you see fit.”

Cardinal Spitfire stood up.

“Sit down!” The Wonderbolt Colonel ordered.

“I can’t shuffle everypony up and organize things from this chair. And all you are going to do is cover more on the Officer School. I know the timing of the Officer School and can work around it. My instructors on this list can be given their final run downs as we teach them in classroom. Most of them will need to be in them anyway to pick up on my approach. I don’t have time to give them the crash course before this starts. I would need a good week.”

“By dinner, on my desk,” Nova stated. “That isn’t a negotiable time. You can not be late.”

“Right,” Cardinal Spitfire yawned as she headed out of the auditorium.

Raspberry Lemonade was right behind her, to help her sort things out. It only took them an hour to have the teams set up. And another hour later their course was set down on paper and everything was on Nova desk. The others were not out of their Officer School orientation. It required a whole different level of professionalism as an officer than most performed at. They had to be the ultimate example.

Cardinal Spitfire set up an afternoon flying session with her instructors so that they could run through it all together, as their own orientation. It wouldn’t take long. Cardinal Spitfire crashed, while waiting for lunch. Raspberry Lemonade was going to make sure she was awake for lunch. Nopony could know she needed sleep. Cardinal Spitfire was late, they didn’t need to tag it on as another weakness for her.

Cardinal Spitfire's cover was blown right after she fell asleep. The Wonderbolt Colonel had to do more than just shake her. Water was splashed onto Cardinal Spitfire’s face. That woke her up.

“We have to talk,” The Wonderbolt Colonel growled.

Cardinal Spitfire stumbled after her in a fog. They didn’t go to an office. They went to one of the war rooms in the Wonderbolt Barracks. Inside was every picture Cardinal Spitfire had taken, many blown up to large poster sizes for better viewing. Marble Falls and Nova were inside, looking at the pictures and the stuff Cardinal Spitfire brought back.

“Where is this?” The Wonderbolt Colonel asked, setting a cup of coffee in front of Cardinal Spitfire. “I am assuming its north, which is why my attempt to track you failed. And based on the fact that its stone. But that could be anywhere.”

Cardinal Spitfire pushed the coffee away. “I’m swore not to tell. I swore to protect it’s location. It holds no value to the Enclave.”

“I’m not talking about fucking value!” The Wonderbolt Colonel erupted. “I’m talking about Shadow Flare! That is obvious communication with him! Time stamped! And unless you went below, that means he popped his head above! I want him back almost as badly as you do. All of us do!”

“No,” Cardinal Spitfire resisted. “I swore an oath, on my word, that it would not be divulged. And I left a response.”

The Wonderbolt Colonel got face to face with Cardinal Spitfire and growled. “We can do this two ways. One, you tell me and we can get to work, or two, I rip the north apart and force this information out of the very farmers you are trying to protect. And I will be going straight to Shadow Flare’s family first. And It won’t be a nice conversation because I will have to go straight into forcing it out of them.”

Nova shook his head, disappointed.

“Well?” The Wonderbolt Colonel growled.

“No,” Cardinal Spitfire spit. “My word will hold.”

“ARRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The Wonderbolt Colonel raged. “Why won’t you let me help you? I want to get Shadow Flare and the Inquisitors back! Is it that hard?”

Cardinal Spitfire narrowed her eyes at the Colonel. “This goes deeper than that. I want him back too, but that place needs to be protected.”

“Cardinal,” Marble Falls said. “We need to visit the sight. We need to verify it is Filly Fooler. So we can get him and the team home. You did a good job, but there is more we need to do. Filly Fooler did his job. He knew you would go there. He set it up so that you, and we, could fix this problem and get him home. He is reaching out. He knows the risk that he took placing that message on that wall. He trusts us all, not just you.”

Cardinal Spitfire looked at them. Nova was hurting. He was feeling the same pain he felt for every soldier who died below on his watch. Marble Falls was frustrated. Her anger was nearly boiling over. She was ready to kill to get the Inquisitors home. Even more, she was ready to go to the nightmare of below to get him back. The Colonel was fuming that Cardinal Spitfire wasn’t giving in, but Cardinal Spitfire couldn't read anything else. It was most likely striking the Colonel deeply because it was still run out of the Colonel’s fort, Fort Griffin’s Gate.

“Fine,” Cardinal Spitfire sighed. “I won’t draw you a map, but I will take you there.”

“Perfect,” The Wonderbolt Colonel smiled. “Go back to sleep. We will leave soon. I am sure Lieutenant Raspberry Lemonade can stand in for you.”

“She can,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “When do we leave?”

“I have to do something to cover for us leaving during the start of Officer School. Give us a few hours. You obviously got no sleep and we have little time for rest.”

Cardinal Spitfire stood up. “The cave soaks up more time than you would expect.”

“We won’t have much time to sleep,” The Wonderbolt Colonel stated. “So you are going to have to push it. You will be maxed out.”

“I pushed it getting there and got little sleep,” Cardinal Spitfire shot back. “I can handle some more.”

Cardinal Spitfire headed out. She almost collided with General Shielded Vengeance at the corner. She didn’t know he was still here. She thought he left since the other generals and admirals were gone. He no longer had to screen them and protect his units.

It took Cardinal Spitfire no time at all to fall asleep. When they woke her up a few hours later, they had everything she needed in her bags. Mostly food.

“You will take the lead,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said. “Give it your best sustainable speed. We will be tight on you to run a lower profile. We have the real bits for the overnight stays.”

Cardinal Spitfire nodded and launched. They were right on her side in a very tight formation. They couldn’t even draft with their positions. At least Cardinal Spitfire knew her exact heading and wouldn’t spend extra time finding it.

Marble Falls forced them to land after dinner. It wasn’t just for Cardinal Spitfire. If they were going to be spending the night, they needed to be courteous to the farmers and their earlier bedtimes.

They didn’t need to pay for food. They were carrying plenty of K rations. They just needed refills on their water.

They pushed hard all day. As hard as they pushed, it didn’t matter, they were a few hours shy of Cinnamon Tulip’s farm. The late start on the first day threw that off.

Cardinal Spitfire groaned in pain in the morning. She had a headache and her whole body was sore. She was running on empty and still had a solid two days to go. The Wonderbolt Colonel and Marble Falls were well rested heading in. They took the time to actually eat a cooked breakfast with the family.

“How long?” The Wonderbolt Colonel asked.

“Two, hours to the farm,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “I think its close to an hour from there.”

“We better get going,” Marble Falls said. “We will spend a lot more time than planned in the cave.”

They took off properly from the road and Cardinal Spitfire immediately turned them to the north. Cardinal Spitfire could rest on the flight back when she didn’t have to navigate. She put them into a very fast push. They flew right over the house and continued up into the mountains.

“We are no longer in the Enclave,” The Wonderbolt Colonel stated a little later. “Or Equestria proper. Damn, this is cold.”

“I know,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “You could feel where the weather teams lost full control over the weather. And there was really no control over it this far out. But that was on their lazy asses, nothing more.”

Cardinal Spitfire dropped them until they were skimming along the ground at blazing speeds. They were almost there, and she didn’t want to miss it because they were too high. Cardinal Spitfire's wings flipped out to break. Marble Falls broke at the same time, reading the nonverbal cues. The Wonderbolt Colonel zipped past, breaking a second later.

“Fuck you two and your perfect symmetry,” The Wonderbolt Colonel spat.

They all laughed and came into a walking stop at the mouth of the cave.

“Inside,” Cardinal Spitfire said, unsure what else to say.

“Easy to miss,” Marble Falls stated. “Very easy to miss tucked in here like this.”

Cardinal Spitfire was in first. They heard the lights pop on as the got in deeper and the screams from fillies and colts. As they came into the first chamber, they were met by a very pissed off Daytime Shower. Cinnamon Tulip was guarding the kids, a bit deeper in. They had just arrived as well.

“You gave your word!” Daytime Shower growled.

“Yeah, yeah,” Marble Falls said gently pushing him aside. “And its not broken. We have to verify this on our own. Quick in and out, nothing more. There were no maps or coordinates involved.”

“Damn,” The Wonderbolt Colonel swore as she marveled over it all. “I never dreamed of walking in the very halls of…”

“The lights are on because of our radios,” Cardinal Spitfire explained.

“Shit!” The Wonderbolt Colonel swore, pulling it out.

The Colonel began to run through a long list of codes, seeking to pick up any chatter on the other end. It proved to be online, but a dead end. There was nopony to work it.

The Wonderbolt Colonel had stepped off the path and stopped at the paintings of the Zebras. The Colonel’s hoof came up carefully pet the painted wall. The Colonel’s eyes lit up at closer inspection of the dart in the wall.

“They are not bullets! They are not even crossbow darts! They’re flechettes! That makes so much more sense! If only we could get a hold of their actual foreleg launcher they wore!”

The Colonel spotted several on the ground and picked them up, holding one up for a revered, close inspection. The foals watched in awe as Wonderbolts reverently inspected various things. Marble Falls held up a piece of red metal, a blown out corner of a small box.

“What is this?” Marble Falls asked.

The Wonderbolt Colonel’s eyes widened even more. Pure, foal joy. Like seeing snow for the first time.

“That’s, there is only one red metal thing they had. Their hot line phone! I’m not surprised it was in that front area, but they certainly blasted the whole front area to pieces. Not much left. Pocket it. That’s a museum piece, and its not taking away anything from here. Not with this debris field. And nopegasus should be leaving the path, for safety reasons.”

The Wonderbolt Colonel pocketed some flechettes.

“Now, where is this hidden room?”

Cardinal Spitfire pushed on the wall she was leaning against to open the door. The Colonel stepped in.

“Well I’ll be,” The Colonel marveled. “Prewar Wonderbolt posters. And in near perfect condition. I have to have these and preserve them.”

“They are stuck in a room that only we can unlock,” Cardinal Spitfire grinned. “But the orbs are also in there, in the filing cabinets.”

“Yeah, we will take the rest to preserve them. But we don’t have a necklace or device. Not even in storage. Not that we know of. I’ll be hitting the archives when we get back to see, but its a long shot. I know those archives pretty well. I might even get to add in a chapter in our history books from these finds.”

“You’ve got to see back there,” Marble Falls yelled from the back. “Its incredible to see. Its amazing to think of how they brought this down. It had to take hours to set it up, and it was so well calculated.”

“They may of had it ready to blow,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said while carefully rolling the posters up. The Colonel had brought protective tubes to slide the posters in. The Colonel had seen them in the photos and was planning on taking them back. “They rigged most everything, and then worked around the hidden and secured charges. Do what you have to do in wartime, especially one full of spies.”

Marble Falls used the time to let the fillies and colts get a better view into the back. It was an opportunity few others would every have. They had already been instructed by Cinnamon Tulip to keep the visit secret, or face consequences none of them wanted to think about.

After that, the three of them looked at the wall. The fillies and colts had left, but Daytime Shower was there to oversee the changes and prepare to come up with a story about it.

“I was hoping being here would help make the heart make sense,” Marble Falls stated.

Cardinal Spitfire was so tired she giggled instead of chuckled. “We have necklaces, to seal our union. Cheap things, flat so they don’t get in the way of our gear. Together, they make that heart. And we had them engraved. So you can’t replicate them.”

“That makes sense,” Marble Falls sighed. “So it’s definitely Filly Fooler.”

“Oh yeah,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “And it must have been some laser cutter, because my knife is destroyed from the little I did.”

“You only knew so much,” The Wonderbolt Colonel stated. “I can leave a better message.”

The Wonderbolt Colonel pulled out a can of spray paint. Wonderbolt Yellow.

“Inquisition recalled by order of General Shielded Vengeance. Report immediately to the General or Nova. Enter by any means necessary. All gates notified of your sign, names and ranks. It’s safe to come home.”

The date was put at the bottom and the Wonderbolt’s symbol was painted on either side. The Colonel used stencils for the symbol. Marble Falls grabbed the spray can for a better signature. “Card Falls” was painted just above Cardinal Spitfire’s original message. They wanted the original to be seen, to give more weight to the validity of the message. Shadow Flare would be looking for validity and familiarity in every way possible.

They took a few more minutes to carefully poke their heads into everything, gather any last little pieces to take back for historical keepsakes, and departed, leaving the places the fillies and colts visited almost the same way they had always known it. Even the flechettes were still in the wall. The Colonel had only kept three of the five on the floor.

It was later than planned. Lunch had come and gone. Daytime Shower invited them back to the farmhouse. The Colonel took up the invitation, deciding that Cardinal Spitfire could use the break. Cardinal Spitfire had done better than good. And Cardinal Spitfire would go right back to working as hard as possible, leading the practicums.

Cardinal Spitfire made one request. That they hear the tale of Rainbow Dash’s final tale, the Legend of Kifopiga. Daytime Shower was more than happy to oblige. The Colonel and Marble Falls were in for a big surprise.

Chapter 85 - Message Below

Deke bolted down Terminal D’s walkway. There were 24 bays on D. The Buttercup was in bay 14, in between two Raptors. It was easy to spot the ship, since the top of her bow was lower than the bottom of theirs.

It was very easy to see their discrepancies from this angle. It was also easy to see that the Buttercup packed half the guns of a Raptor in a quarter of the size. And that the engines were the same size, meaning they would propel her faster than any Raptor could reach.

On top of that, there was a group of naval soldiers in front of the bay, getting a lecture from Bronze Valve. It was his job to take them under his wing and integrate them into being a Third Fleet officer.

Deke slid to a stop in front of the ramp, but behind Bronze Valve. He took a deep breath to restore the air lost on his long sprint to the ship. His uniform had to be a bit disoriented.

“Have the others arrived?” Deke panted.

“No,” Bronze Valve replied, confused.

“Skeleton crew aboard?” Deke asked.

“Of course,” Bronze Valve nodded.

Deke took a solid breath in and composed himself in front of everypony. “Emergency calling for us. Launch with what crew we need immediately. So Warrant Chief, take the new crew members in for some more classroom work. Maybe get them started on ship profile identification? And make sure they learn the advantages of the Corvette Class. Backwards and forwards. They will need them immediatly. Same with the downsides and how to compensate for them.”

“Yes Sir!” Bronze Valve replied, saluting with his wing.

Deke shot a salute back and scrambled up the ramp. He clamored through the ship to the bridge. It was his first time back on the Buttercup since they had taken her in for some work. He could see some immediate changes like the seats, but he had a ship to launch.

Deke jumped into the pilots seat, which had been moved to the very front of the bridge for an unobstructed view, and immediately put the ship on full alert. He sounded the ship’s whistle to alert the crew, before coming over the ship’s communication speakers.

“All crew to your stations. This is not a drill. This is Lieutenant Commander Deke. We have been requested for emergency take off and rendezvous. I know we only have a skeleton crew aboard, but that is all we want. I have no other details at this time. Prepare for a quick launch. We will launch as soon as Admicaptain, oh fuck it. As soon as Ruby and Little get here we are launching. I still have to solidify all these proper procedures for the new wings.”

Deke leaned over to the other pilot terminal beside him and opened it up in admin setting. He switched it to a communications terminal and then called out to the air traffic control tower.

“Tower this is The Buttercup, ID CV-001. Acting XO, Lieutenant Commander Deke. Do you have orders for our departure?”

“CV-001, this is Tower. We received immediate, emergency departure orders for you. All air traffic has been grounded. You are clear to take off as soon as possible.”

“Roger that. Waiting on the other XOs. As soon as they are secured, we will depart. Prepare to be amazed.”

Deke began to plot their path out of the terminal and Nellie Air Force Base. This was the hub of all hubs for Cloudships. Las Pegasus was where they laid down the new Cloudships. To halt the air traffic was a big deal. It showed the importance of their departure and that the tower had no idea what was going on, so they cleared it all to allow a departure to any direction.

Little plopped into the Navigators Seat, across from the Pilot’s Seat. She nodded to Deke and both of them looked back at Ruby Snow, who was standing besides the Captain’s chair. He gave a silent nod.

Deke put full power to the engines and pulled the ship back into a rearward lean nearing 30 degrees as he took the Buttercup straight out backwards. He used that 30 degree lean to give them the lift they needed to get into the sky, clear of the base. It was a good thing they were at emergency stations because of the angle. Deke expertly slipped the Buttercup around and transferred cleanly to full power forward, without losing any momentum.

Ruby Snow gave the coordinates to Little. She laid them in and gave Deke the heading change. She was not happy with being the navigator. Little saw Deke as a navigator, not a pilot. And only because he had first joined the Buttercup as a navigator. And she believed she was the better pilot.

But she wasn’t stupid or vein. They stayed at their stations as they pushed the limits of their engines. There was nothing to talk about. Only Ruby Snow knew what was going on, and even then, it was only the next step.

“Hmph,” Little snorted. “The new wings are going to have to recalibrate these engines.”

“Not if they did things right,” Deke shot back, only watching his terminals and out the windows. “Assuming they did things right. They did do the chairs right.”

Little snorted a chuckle. “Hard to fuck up chairs with what we had.”

“I’m afraid to look at what else they did to the bridge,” Deke stated.

“Look later,” Little said as she checked on the beeping terminal. “We are on an intercept with a Cloudship. Raptor by the look at it.”

Little gave Deke the coordinates. The Raptor was slowing down. She gauged it’s stopping point. Deke kept them on pace. The ship held its position as Deke brought the Buttercup screaming towards it. This high priority mission required the utmost speed.

Deke pulled the breaks, opening all flaps and reversing the engines for a high speed stop. It was a lot of force. The engines were screaming in agony. Little helped out by lowering the ramp.

They stopped perfectly, bow to bow, separated by only a pony length or two. There was no adjustments needed. Deke was that good. Little looked over at Deke. Deke saw her wonder in his peripherals. He had to fight hard to suppress even a smile at the stunt he just pulled off.

Deke had to give credit to the other captain who held his ground. Moving would have been more problematic, but it had to be hard to stay so still. The Hurricane was captained by a very good Captain.

Their ramps were both down, matching the same plain. A Pegasus hopped off of the Hurricane and onto the Buttercup. Ruby Snow had headed below to meet him. As the ramp began to move up, Deke coaxed the Buttercup to rise up so that the two bridges were face to face, since the Corvette’s design had the bridge below the top guns, not in the middle like the other classes.

Deke stepped to the front to be clearly seen. He gave a salute to the Captain, who had also stepped to the front. The Captain saluted back.

Deke sat back down and pulled the Buttercup up and away in a smooth, but fast maneuver. Deke put them into a southeast heading. The Hurricane didn’t move until after they were well away.

Ruby Snow came back with General Shielded Vengeance by his side. “Little, lay in a course for...”

“Already in,” Little said, cutting him off. “There is only one place we have to head to in secret. But Deke, you need to adjust your heading by 30 degrees north.”

“Not yet,” Deke replied. “We are still in sight. Over the next hour we will maintain course. I’ll make that final adjustment then. I know, in seven and a half minutes, they won’t be able to see us, but we will give them no indication of our destination, while maintaining a strong course.”

“You know the distances of the radar?” General Shielded Vengeance asked, impressed.

“Absolutely,” Deke replied, flipping through weather reports. “Both Little and I do. We have a longer range than any other Cloudship, even the Solar doesn’t have the range we do.”

Little chuckled and explained it. “They fucked themselves up on that. They developed a better radar for the Corvettes. We need it for the patrolling the ship is designed to do. But when they scrapped it all, they didn’t take key improvements, like the radar, and use them in any new ships, or even to upgrade others. They just scrapped it as one whole thing. At least this ship and it’s systems survived so we can confirm the superiority of it. They just make carbon copies of the Sky-tanks and Raptors, rather than create something totally new. You know, with minor improvements every few decades so they are not exact copies. Still.”

“What is the max speed of this Cloudship?” General Shielded Vengeance asked.

“We can max out at 500 Knots,” Little replied. “Currently we are cruising at 478 Knots. Atmosphere plays a key role in the speed. The Lord Clove maxes at 300 Knots. The Net Layers beat the Lord Clove by a solid 35 Knots, about 335 Knots, max. A Sky-tank will hit 375 and a Raptor 450. In optimal settings. They usually won’t go past 400. Thunderheads sit about 325 top cruising speed.”

“And the Red Dawn?” General Shielded Vengeance asked.

“550 Knots,” Little replied with a smile. “That is sustainable speed. The top recorded speed was 582 Knots. Less than 100 Knots to go for her and she breaks the sound barrier.”

“The Red Dawn is a Battle Cruiser, we need more of her,” General Shielded Vengeance said.

“Nope!” Ruby Snow shot back. “The Battle Cruiser is a bad class. Its a lucky shot, converting an early war troop transport to carry big guns. Its a lot slimmer than the later Cloudships, so she cuts through the air very efficiently with her retrofitted engines. But she isn’t a good design.”

“We have Unit 731 stationed on her,” General Shielded Vengeance said, trying to understand.

Little turned the seat around to face them. “Because the Red Dawn is a carrier. A Fairy Class carrier. So stationing troops on her is natural. They were trying to update her as a carrier to compete with the others, rather than scrap her. For a ship of the line, you need more. Which is why they came out with the Monitor Class and the Corvette Class.”

“You need more ships,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “Your prestige went up from the work you did with the North’s Ice Emergency. But you won’t get them on your own. The Second Fleet’s new Vice Admiral is now Purple Breeze, who was Fleet Admiral of the Third. Strong. And Ruby Snow, you are a long time Third Fleet Officer and now the Fleet Admiral. That move is a powerful one for you.”

“What are you getting at?” Ruby Snow asked.

Beeping on the Navigation Terminal caused them to all turn as Little checked it out.

“A group of ships just entered our radar,” Little said. “Nothing big. Probably the First Fleet’s Ninth Task Force from what I recall on troop movements.”

“Changing direction now,” Deke said, turning them to their final heading. “That way we only are seen by them on one heading, not changing headings. That is the safest.”

“They will see us,” Little said, finishing rough calculations. “Only on Radar. I’ll relay our position so they do not break to pursue something moving faster than they thought a Cloudship could fly.”

Little popped back to the Communication Terminals. “This is CV-001, the Buttercup, Third Fleet. Is that the First Fleet’s Ninth Task Force we see on our Radar?”

“CV-001, this is RR-126, lead ship on the Ninth Task Force of the First Fleet. That’s a good radar you have, we still can’t see you. But we have no other radio chatter.”

“RR-126, We are moving at top speed for a high priority call. You will see us clip through your forward Radar in about 45 minutes. We are currently moving about 475 Knots in an east by south east direction.”

“475 Knots?”

“That’s the CV class for you,” Little replied.

“We are sustaining a 330 Knot speed at our heading.”

“Roger that. I have the same. You won’t be a problem. The only reason I am even having to contact you is so that you are not confused by a 475 Knot speeding object on your radar for those seven minutes.”

“You are really good at those numbers.”

“It’s just part of the job, knowing them. Making sure you won’t hit anything.”

“Yeah, but you know radar distances.”

Little gave a chuckle. “You can learn them too. It would separate you from the others if you can do it. Give you an advantage for promotion.”

“I don’t think I can keep it in my head.”

“Please, I have a cheat sheet set to give me my formulas. Its more than anypegasus else will have. At least it shows you care.”

“And I am a com officer, not navigation.”

“Do you like com?”

“Yeah. Its not weapons or pilot, but its better than weather.”

“All officers should be able to function at all positions, not star. So learn, and maybe you can shift. Or jump ship in a transfer to get it done.”

“I should get off the line, since this is not longer important or relevant, but thanks.”

The line was hung up and Little turned around to face Ruby Snow and General Shielded Vengeance.

“You were saying?” Little asked General Shielded Vengeance.

“Ah, yes. I was saying that, you need more ships, but don’t have the leverage to expand your fleet. I could back the expansion, if we were to place some Units on rotation in your holds. The corvettes and monitors can hold troops, correct?”

“They can,” Little nodded, letting Ruby Snow listen and think. “Monitors kind of go against the ACU ideology being so slow, but combining the Corvette with an ACB unit would work well. We know it works well with 731 being stationed on the Red Dawn.”

“Get me a fleet design,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “We can start there.”

“I’ll get it written down,” Ruby Snow said. “But I know what we need. Five Monitors to make six in the fleet. Two per city, Las Pegasus, New Cloudsdale, and Twin Clouds. That will give us a direct defensive cover around the cities. Add in another nine Corvettes and we could take on the entire First Fleet and probably win. Assuming its fielded correctly. Strategically.”

“I don’t know if I can get you that,” General Shielded Vengeance replied. “But I bet we can get half of that.”

Ruby Snow nodded. “I’ll draw up a Fleet Strategy Plan for it. We can keep the corvettes running the cities and critical points like they are designed, with the Monitors playing defense on each city. We are the odd balls. The Council should like the plan.”

Deke sighed, still watching his terminal screens. “We will have to train a lot of officers, fast. We can’t let any new Cloudships get tainted with the wrong philosophy.”

“We have enough in play,” Ruby Snow said. “We can pull from them to Captain and First those ships, so we stay true.”

Deke silently nodded and they settled into an uneventful trip. They were not far off from their mark, coasting into a careful stop by Deke, close to midnight.

They should be on a rotation, since it was a skeleton crew. But none of the officers were going to sleep right now. The crew was probably on rotation, but none of the officers on the bridge could sleep, even if they wanted too.

The navigation terminal beeped and Little leaned in to read it.

“Two Pegasi coming in fast off our rear from north northwest.”

“Two Pegasi?” General Shielded Vengeance asked concerned. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Little said, taking a closer look. “This system is good, and I am great at reading it. Its small, but no way its more than three. And they fly in pairs. Is that a problem?”

“No,” General Shielded Vengeance replied. “I am surprised you can pick them up at that range.”

Little chuckled. “And that is why the Enclave shot themselves in the wing when they scrapped the whole project and didn’t keep the systems updates. They will be here in 43 minutes by their speed. I say hour and a half because they will cruise in with us in sight.”

Little was right on the nose with her projections. The ramp was lower and General Shielded Vengeance met them below. He returned a little while later alone.

“Lieutenant Commander Deke, make a hole!” General Shielded Vengeance ordered.

Deke stepped over to the right wall of the bridge where the terminals were set up for fire control. It was odd not giving them a view out the bridge, but part of the new design.

Deke blew the ship’s whistle to signal a message. “Team to Turret 5 for fire control. I need a team to Turret 5 for fire control.”

Little was concerned. “Turret 5? That's the funky turret!”

“And if they did their job, it should have been fixed,” Deke fired back.

“Ruby?” Little asked.

“No idea,” Ruby shrugged. “But it was on the detailed log. So it should have been fixed.”

Deke chose his point, the turret’s movement groaning audible in the quiet ship, and gave the team final orders for the turret. It would be off to their right side since Turret 5 was on the bow’s starboard point. Just in view of the bridge. When the light went from yellow to green, he pulled the trigger, firing the round.

“You missed!” Little shouted when the round disappeared into the clouds without exploding.

Deke spun around to look at her, wing out, counting down with his feathers. “Three, two, one, BOOM!”

Deke’s count was spot on and he was grinning. Little turned to navigation.

“Clouds breached,” Little said a second later. “500 yards out. Deke slipped it between them to nestle in the center of the layers, rather than blow them from the top down. Your team is clear to move.”

Nothing was said, but the two pegasi soon slipped out of the bay and down along the clouds. They lazily flipped up and straight down through the center of the hole.

Deke turned to face the others, for the first time since they had picked up General Shielded Vengeance. “24 hours? Same thing?”

“Yes,” General Shielded Vengeance nodded. “24 hours.”

“Then,” Deke said standing up. “I shall step down for the next 18 and start the rotation. After I check out what was exactly done to our bridge.”

“Good call,” Ruby Snow said. “And in 8 hours Little will step down and I will take control.”

As Deke had already noticed, things were set up with the standard center isle, with the forward section set down two steps. The Captain's Chair had been moved forward several feet and given a left sided console, but it was still on the upper floor, to look down on things. There was two feet of space in front of the Pilot’s seat on the right, and two in front of the Navigator’s Seat. Both had primary and secondary seats. The space in front of the glass was there for forward visual inspection by the captain.

Along the walls was everything else. Fire Control for the guns on the right, with Systems next to it. The left had Weather’s position right behind the Navigation, and Communication after that. Behind the Captain's Chair was where everything had really changed.

The bridge was small, but it was rammed in quite comfortably. They had to move the Captain's Chair forward because behind it was two more stations. The entrance to the bridge was on the right back corner and couldn't be changed. But immediately to the left was a station with several terminals, two along the back wall and two on a central unit they had added. It looked like a center half wall. The seat might be located in the back, but it had a good view of the bridge. It was set up for the Admiral to work at, while overseeing it all.

The left corner had one terminal on the rear wall by the center unit, the center unit had two terminals on the other side from the admiral’s chair and two terminals were on a front unit that boxed everything in, except for it’s entrance on the far left. On the back wall, above the seat, was two slide boards. The top had “Commander” slid into it, and below had “Deke.”

Deke sat in his corner. It was a step up, so he could see everything better. It had it all. Weather and systems monitoring was on the back wall’s screen, communication and Fire Control shared the center console. Navigation and full piloting control was on the forward console. Deke had more than enough desk space on both to work as well. He might have full controls for all stations, but he knew it wouldn't come to it. They were only giving themselves redundancy for safety reasons. Still, it was all his.

“Like it?” Ruby Snow asked.

“Oh yeah,” Deke said, grinning. He wiped drool from the corner of his mouth. “This is built for me. It’s built for a real first officer. Everything you need to watch over the ship. Especially when you are training new wings.”

“Well,” Ruby Snow shrugged. “You did inspire a good amount of the design. Both of you. You know how to pay attention to it all, without crowding. But you need to see it for yourself, along with receiving updates. I look forward to seeing how you mold the crew.”

“I’ll miss navigation,” Deke said leaning back, lounging in the chair. “Mostly for sitting in a forward position. But I will enjoy it here, where I don’t have to piss them off as they do their job.”

“Cross information is key,” Ruby Snow stated. “All stations have that terminal in between seats. Its designed to be there for them to flip through the other readouts to double check without having to ask for simple information.”

Deke chuckled. “In other words, to make it so I wasn’t pissing the other bridge officers off by asking for simple info to make sure I was navigating the ship correctly.”

“Exactly,” Ruby Snow chuckled. “I get a kick out of reading those reports about you. Especially after having you serving under me. Now it makes them funnier. You do your job, and its pisses everypegasus else off.”

“Alright, I am out,” Deke said standing back up. “While I could sleep in that chair. I won’t to keep it sharp. They will know if I am there, I am watching. Always watching.”

“You are going to be a terror on my crew,” Little groaned, trying to not laugh. She would be doing the same thing. But both would be approachable. An officer always had to be approachable to ensure that the ship got things done right.

Chapter 86 - Sword And Shield

Sword and Shield cruised overhead, cutting back and forth along the mountain range. They were looking for a positive ID on Outpost Rosemary. Their mission: Contact the outpost and hoof deliver the recall.

It was a risk since the recon team was a closed mission and marked missing. But because they had gotten a message from Shadow in the cave, General Shielded Vengeance had decided to send Sword and Shield below. Contact message only. Nothing more than leaving a direct message. It was a risk, but they had been contacted first. This was about getting them home, not past management of the team.

The Wonderbolt Colonel was on a mission with Cardinal Spitfire and Marble Falls double checking the validity of the message. But they didn’t have time to wait. The pictures were enough of a lead. Enough for General Shielded Vengeance to make a strong stance.

They were running out of dark. The sun would be rising soon. All they had been able to see was a cobbled together town in and through the neighborhood ruins. The plateau was visible, but there was no way to tell if it was isolated from the settlement below.

They landed on a ridge above the plateau and hunkered down. The opening to Rosemary was obvious, despite the fledgling light. Their hopes were shattered when the cobbled together elevator came up and brought a Unicorn and Earth Pony to the surface.

“Come on Shield,” Sword whispered, pulling him down to stop him from leaving. “Those are not raiders. Those are ponies making a living off the land. We know they were leaving them alone, to grow a settlement below, to cover their tracks. I don’t think those ponies would be able to physically take Rosemary. Its a stable after all.”

“What are you saying, that they gave them Rosemary?”

“Or combined with them. They had to be getting desperate. They needed support. If they were going to have to hold their own, it looks like the perfect place to hold.”

Shield let out a low growl, conflicted. “Fine. You are right. Shadow Flare would have made the move to save them by integrating into a calm community with family feeling.”

“Lets go,” Sword said, moving down the ridge. The light was still low enough that they had time to move with good cover.

They got below and changed out of their blackout flight suits into clothes recovered by the teams sent below several years. It hid their wings perfectly. They were armed with just their side arms, but Sword kept hers tucked away from sight. She was fast on the draw and it brought their threat level down.

The morning was in full swing by the time they came up trotting up the road and over the bridge.

“HALT!” A guard called from an elevated wooden post.

They halted in plain sight, never hiding their arrival. Two more guards approached them, sporting very clean and new rifles. One was wearing a battle saddle, the other was a Unicorn and didn’t need a saddle.

“What brings you here?” The Unicorn asked.

“Information,” Sword replied. “We come to find out if somepony came through here. A friend of ours.”

“Many people call ponies their friends, but seek to do them harm,” The Unicorn warned. “Pea Gravel is our leader, he will decide.”

They followed the Unicorn. The Earth Pony took of the rear, covering them with the battle saddle. In the center of the houses was where the settlement had been founded and where Pea Gravel was. They had to wait further back, so they couldn't hear the discussion that was happening. They were very protective of the settlement. Having a stable was something that many would stop at nothing to get.

Pea Gravel settled something and then trotted over to them. They had peaked the attention of many, drawing a crowd.

“You are looking for somepony?” Pea Gravel asked, looking them over.

“Yes,” Sword said with a soft smile. “One named Shadow Flare, and three others. Shadow Flare is a small, white and black pony. You can miss his size, but not his stark contrast.”

Pea Gravel was concerned. He gave a quick glance with his eyes towards the plateau.

“Four total?” Pea Gravel asked.

“A bigger pony, Thunder Clap. Grey with a tealish mane. Nor is blue and Apple Slice is like an apple slice, with a green mane.”

“Four ponies by that description were never here,” Pea Gravel asserted, giving the plateau another glance.

“We were sure they had at the very least come through here,” Shield replied. “We have an important message for them. Their friends are looking for them. We got separated.”

A gold coated, silver and pink maned Unicorn stepped over to Pea Gravel and whispered into his ear.

Pea Gravel cleared his throat. “Are you sure it was four?”

“When we got separated, there were eight of us,” Sword said confidently. “They had six, but we know that two died. It seems that we were presumed dead by them, as we should have been.”

“What Cutie Mark?” The mare asked.

“Three arrowheads,” Sword said with a nod. “And swords crossed with lightning bolts inside each.”

“And what meaning does that have?” She immediately followed up with.

Sword stuttered, finally admitting to not knowing. She whispered into Pea Gravel’s ear again. They exchanged whispers for a few minutes. She stared at Sword and Shield for a moment, finally telling them to follow her. They headed into a building, out of sight and sound of the others.

“We might know of who you speak of,” She said. “And if it is them, then we knew you might come. But I have kept their secret, even from the others. Unless you can verify that this, Shadow Flare, is the one we know of, you can’t know. You either already know, or you do not know. It isn’t something you just stumble upon.”

“And how would you know?” Shield asked, a bit rough.

“If it is the same pony, then we ran together for a bit. Ran together is putting it lightly. I know their secret. For it was they who got me here, to live free and safe. But it was three, not four.”

Sword and Shield exchanged glances.

“I am Sword, and my companion is Shield. This secret has been killed over. We know they were here. Whether you know that or not…”

The mare was adamant. “Do you want to do this or not? I keep their true secret. Not even the others know. It happened in our little group, and it wasn’t until the shit hit the fan that we would accidentally learn their secret. Their full secret. I am one of the only two alive who know it. And it goes to our graves with us. They did more than you can easily comprehend.”

Shield shook his head at Sword. She defiantly replied with a nod and shifted so that a wing slipped out from under her clothes. The mare flashed a smile and gave a nod. Sword put her wing away.

“Shadow Flare left,” She definitively stated. “My name is Ornate Charm. But he left Rosemary in our charge. Are you here to retrieve things from it?”

“No,” Sword replied. “If he locked things away, we have no idea how.”

“Well… you are supposed to know. Only I and another know him as Shadow Flare. The others know him as the watcher. He would spend time watching from the Plateau. He didn’t know he had been spotted on several occasions over the months.”

“He rescued me, and the other. So I got to piece together things more. He gifted us Rosemary. He had some debts to settle. He didn’t know if he would return. He left some things protected, data in a terminal and some rooms locked. He said you would know how to open them. I guess you never got that information.”

“Debts to settle?” Shield asked, still defensive.

“What I have been able to piece together is that the other two died. I was here, safe, for a good while before he came out and gave us Rosemary. He sounded more like a mare with a raspy voice than a stallion. And he wore clothing I had never seen him in. I never got a look at his cutie mark. There was no evidence of anypony else living there. And he was the only one to leave. He was in pain. Clear agony.”

“When they rescued me and the other, it was three of them. Shadow Flare, Thunder and Slice.”

“Fuck,” Sword swore. “That means Nor died before then. How much did we miss?”

“What timing was this?” Shield demanded.

Ornate Charm had to think. “Its been at least two months. I don’t know a direct date. I don’t know if any of us know a direct date. Its not something we broadcast. Having a stable is dangerous business. Tending it for him is another thing on top of it. Few know about it and only certain ponies are allowed inside of it.”

“Have you been inside?” Shield asked.

“My room is in 13,” Ornate Charm said with a nod. “I knew some things about him, that answered some questions about our watcher and who gifted it to us. Like it was a male, not a female. So I was granted access. Some here don’t even know we have a stable.”

“Tell us your tale,” Sword asked. “It sounds interesting.”

“I want him to be able to go home,” Ornate Charm said, her compassion clear. “I saw how much pain they were in. It wasn’t until after he left that I better understood what the importance of their mission that I ended up with them was. The other mare and I were left a ways out of Sanctuary and pointed in the right direction, while they walked east. They had to flip around to make it to there. And they had enough cover to get back. Forgive me jumping around a bit.”

“I know they have been hunted. Dahlia has been here three times since they dropped me off. A very persistent Steel Ranger, she is hunting them for their wings and something they did between them and the Steel Rangers. He said the Steel Rangers killed one in cold blood, and Dahlia killed another. I am guessing the fourth you mentioned was the one Dahlia’s dragoons killed.”

“We got to speak a bit. Its burned into my memory. That whole time is. I was quite smitten by being saved. Which Shadow Flare pointed out and helped point out how normal it was.”

“I know they were cut off, unable to go home. I know they were not told to come home and waiting for that coveted order. I know they felt left, abandoned, and had no idea what to do. I know they believed they would be shot if they returned without permission.”

“But I also know they knew the importance of the system. That it had kept them safe, so that what we face down here, was only horrible nightmares. They didn’t face bullets back home. They didn’t face death daily. They were safe back home because of the system. And that was important to keep strong.”

“Still, they were holding onto their hope. Shadow Flare has a wife. She will find the story hilarious. He gets mistaken for a mare quite a bit, and its probably saving his ass while he settles those debts. His Cutie Mark means Speed, Power, and Agility. One for each. He is a kind soul, who will not hesitate to crush you if forced, but hates it. His size hides a lot.”

Ornate Charm took a moment to gather her thoughts. “I think I said Shadow Flare’s wife will find this story funny.”

She launched into it all. Every detail she could remember. From the moment Shadow met them and how; until they had been left to find Sanctuary. It included highlights like their talks, how bad the K Rations were, and the lows like stitching Shadow up and the fight after the bank.”

Sword and Shield soaked up each and every word. They also were wearing audio recorders to make sure they recovered everything. A lot of information was coming at them quickly. They also learned that they had changed symbols.

Sword and Shield followed Ornate Charm out of the house to where Pea Gravel was working something out. It looked to be building plans.

“Thank you,” Sword said with a tip of her head. “Ornate Charm answered our question. It was indeed him. Unfortunately, it does appear to mean that three more died. Enough details were given to secure some solid evidence of that.”

Sword took a deep breath in. There was no smiling. “We will be heading home. We know about the information left. We know about that small gift he couldn’t carry with him. Home will learn of it. And if the time comes, home will send a group to retrieve it. But we hope he comes home before that happens.”

“We want to leave a message. Can we?”

“Yes,” Pea Gravel nodded. “Come, let us gather the ones who can be trusted with the full information.”

Pea Gravel led them down the path toward Rosemary. He was obviously hoping they would stop in. It was a lot to carry on his shoulders. But he was holding it well. It didn’t take long for them all to gather. Ornate Charm was there and the other mare she had identified as being in their party.

Sword spoke. “If Shadow Flare comes back, let him know he is clear to go home. As quickly and directly as possible. The gates know he is clear to come back. They all are. They are to report to General Shielded Vengeance. They probably were not aware that he was their superior. He is wanted back home. I hope the others did make it, for they all are welcomed, but it is important that he returns. The communication problem is just that. They all are deeply missed. I don’t think I can stress enough that he has to come home, no matter what happened from the time we lost communication. Fuck, tell him we last knew it was four. Nor, Slice, Thunder and Shadow.”

“I think we can get that across,” a purple mare smiled. “At least Ornate Charm and I can. The others should be able to as well. Be they will send him immediately to us two. They know we know their deeper secret.”

A stallion nodded in agreement. “We have enough to worry about keeping Rosemary safe for his return. They can keep that secret. We all can convey it back to him. We all saw his pain. We know he didn’t leave it lightly. Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Shield said definitively. “We don’t need to see. We need to get going back home. To carry the news of the others home. Besides, we don’t know how to access what he left. The communication failure didn’t get us that information, yet.”

“Safe travels,” Pea Gravel said with a smile. “In the end, we are routing for you. Friends of his are friends of ours. He left us with life. You are always welcome here.”

Sword and Shield wordlessly nodded. They trotted back to Sanctuary and then out, over the bridge. Out of sight and in the trees, they stripped out of the rags and pulled out their flight suits from their saddlebags. They put them on, reversed their saddlebags so they were the blackout bags, stuffed them with the clothes and hunkered down to wait out the other half of the afternoon and evening.

They were sleep deprived, but neither could sleep. They had stumbled upon more than just leaving a message. They had learned a lot more about the Inquisitors actions, and the land below. There was a chance they had learned enough to be able to drag the computer back out of the archive it had been sealed away in.

Sword and Shield disagreed on what to do with below, but they both wanted to get into Rosemary. They both wanted to bring the Inquisitors home. They had been the chosen ones to sort out the mishandling accusation. They had been robbed from the truth by time. They had a score to settle as well.

But this was probably their only chance to go below the clouds. And it wasn’t going to be public knowledge outside of a few individuals. They may have committed treason. But they stood proudly knowing that it was for a damn good reason. Even before they had gone below on this mission, when it was an order, they were ready to commit treason to leave a message.

They stood behind the Inquisitors.

Chapter 87 - Lead Ins

Cardinal Spitfire was flying alongside Team 6. They were doing well in their snub nose formation. At the moment, Team 6 was the most receptive to all of the changes and flying in the combat formations.

It was their first day in the air. Raspberry Lemonade had covered the classroom and ground portion perfectly. Arrow and Flags had instrumental in getting them ready without Cardinal Spitfire. Arrow wasn’t talking to Cardinal Spitfire yet, even acknowledging her existence.

The warning siren went off, indicating they needed to be grounded. Cardinal Spitfire radioed the Squad Barracks for the situation. A Cloudship was coming in, straight to the Squad Barracks.

Cardinal Spitfire had all teams for up on her. They were floating around her, waiting for her instruction.

“We have an incoming Cloudship,” Cardinal Spitfire said, both out loud and over the radio. “We are not landing. Lieutenant Raspberry Lemonade with be taking Second Wing and leading from the right. First wing will be with me. We are going to lead the Cloudship in.”

Several hooves were immediately raised. Cardinal Spitfire pointed to a Pegasus.

“What do you mean lead in?”

“I mean that. We will be leading the Cloudship in. They will be taking all of their cues from us. We have a few more teams than you normally would field to lead a Cloudship in, but we will be leading them in. All the way to the stop, following our speed.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Are we here to sniff the flowers, or are we here to be soldiers? Soldiers in the Aerial Combat Battalion! What will happen if a Cloudship loses it’s navigation systems during a battle? What happens in they have to land in fog, and care barely see in front of their ship?”

“I have been studying up on those tactics and they have real application. And since its coming in, we are taking advantage of the opportunity.”

“So you have never done this before?”

“Oh come on!” Raspberry Lemonade yelled. “This is the Wonderbolt who made Unit 0 better formation fliers than all of you combined! We never had a Cloudship to practice on before. But she knows this stuff and loves it.”

“But it’s dangerous!”

Cardinal Spitfire groaned, he hoof massaging her head. Raspberry Lemonade kept up the fight.

“Are you expert fliers or not! I’ve seen you adapting to new teammates and new flight patterns all morning. If you can handle that, you can handle this. And I know what you meant. If the ship can’t handle it, then they had a dumb captain who will look even dumber. And you better be able to dodge, because I know captains who will expect us to move in combat. The Cloudships have right of way! But I know Officers bright enough to realize we are giving them information. And they will listen."

“Who wouldn't plow us over?” A Captain asked.

“Fuck you!” Cardinal Spitfire shot back. “Lieutenant Commander Deke, who modeled that rank. Commander Little who modeled that rank. They should be promoted now so that Little is Captain. And then Admiral, then Captain, Ruby Snow. All three would. And worse case if they have something that doesn't need us, or don't get it, we can move.”

“We’ve got this!” Team 6 proclaimed. “We need to try at least. They will pick up what we are trying to do.”

“Thank you,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled. “Now everypony shape up. Move out on your Wing Commander. They will be giving you orders. Expect them to ask you question and work it out on your own.”

Cardinal Spitfire pulled her wings in, dropping. She turned so she was in a dive. The others were following after her, Team 6 on point. She pulled up and they fanned out to get organized.

“We will be acting on the port side of the ship,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “Flags, you have B group and the rear.”

“Right,” Flags said to Cardinal Spitfire over their private channel. “Keep them away from the engines, by the ports so they can be seen. High and low, checkered pattern.”

“See, its not hard,” Cardinal Spitfire replied.

“I know,” Flags chuckled.

“You are missing one thing,” Cardinal Spitfire stated. “The rear needs to signal the front for sliding or movement in the aft that will change direction. Missing flaps, damaged engines, etc..”

“Roger!”

“Alright Team 6,” Cardinal Spitfire said sliding up next to them. The conversation would be heard by every team. “If you are leading a ship in, what do you need to do?”

“Get in front of the bridge.”

“And what does that look like?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

“Cloudship in sight!” Raspberry Lemonade said over all of the coms.

“We need to be visible, but not obstruct their view.”

Cardinal Spitfire smiled at them. At least she had one Team that was smart and not fighting the chain of command. “And that looks like?”

It took them a second before an answer came. “If there was six, we would put a bottom row of three, fanned out. At the corners and at the center. A baseline. And two high, spread out to mark the bridge into thirds. The leader of the formation would be dead center.”

“Good! Now for 7?”

“Similar, but a big change up. We could go three high, three low with a center guide. But I think we need to run a two high, three mid, two low. Fan then out like they were in one row of five, but seven, doubling up on positions 2 and 4.”

“Yeah!” Cardinal Spitfire exclaimed. “That’s it, but I would describe it as two triangles, with points at the wide edge, and then top and bottom. Those cover the outside thirds of the bridge’s view, and then the center guide. That way the center can get real time info on the top, bottom and sides.”

“Make it so!” Cardinal Spitfire ordered.

Cardinal Spitfire began to question the rest of her Wing. She got them talking it through until they had a good coverage on all that the ship was doing, and teams further out to make sure nothing was hit as they guided it in.

Little was at the helm as the seven soldier teams came around the Buttercup. Team 6 slipped into it’s forward position. Even with the small bridge, she could see. But it was nice having them lined up in a target.

Little had never been instructed in lead ins before, or been apart of one. But it was a simple idea. Ruby Snow didn’t say a word. He let her pilot the Buttercup. Deke was below with General Shielded Vengeance. They were going to be at the bottom of the ramp as they came to a halt.

Cardinal Spitfire watched as Team Six led the Buttercup in. She didn’t know why it was back, especially so soon, but she focused on her job of teaching them to lead it in. And she felt better with their officers at the hem. She trusted the Buttercup to not plow them over just because they were in front of them.

Cardinal Spitfire moved around a lot, giving praise and suggestions where due, but always working in positive reinforcement as a whole. Most of the teams were stiff and tense.

When the ramp was lowered, two teams were moved under the ship to be guides to the ramp. They had to heavily rely on their fellow teams for any changes since they were extremely limited in their sight. When Cardinal Spitfire checked below, General Shielded Vengeance and Deke were side by side at the end of the ramp, enjoying the moment to defy regulations, look cool, and taste death.

All in all, the teams did an excellent job guiding the Buttercup in to a smooth, perfect set down. Team 6 chose right behind Spring Jade Hall. There still was room there.

“Great job!” Cardinal Spitfire praised. “Go hit the mess hall for an early start to lunch. Start, not finish. We reassemble at 1300 as scheduled.”

Cardinal Spitfire touched down in front of the ramp.

Deke spoke first. “I got the evening off! We leave in the morning to finally take on the new wings. See you tonight, I’m going to go find Olive Pit.”

“He’s in training seminars,” Cardinal Spitfire yelled after Deke. “As in learning, not leading.”

“Fine!” Deke shouted back. “I’ll wait in his office. I might have copied his office key.”

Cardinal Spitfire rolled her eyes, suppressing a laugh.

“He is really good at what he does,” General Shielded Vengeance commented. “His skill far exceeds his expected abilities from the way he jumps around and his… fragmented professionalism.”

“Yeah,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “Arrogant, a bit distracted, but he brings it hard and perfect every time. You learn to expect nothing less, no matter what his demeanor. When he knows it, he knows it. You know he knows it, even if you don’t feel he knows it.”

“But, who was at the helm?”

“Commander Little was at the helm,” General Shielded Vengeance replied. “If I had known you decided to do a lead in, I would have stayed up there to watch. I also was not aware lead ins were apart of the curriculum.”

Cardinal Spitfire looked at the ground ashamed and chuckled. “They were not, until the siren went off. Then I decided to do it.”

General Shielded Vengeance nodded. “How bad did they fight you?”

“I would have had better results with a barracks on their first day on the flight deck. A lot of them resent such a young individual teaching them something they are already supposed to know. They hate it. Team 6 led them in on point, and they are the most receptive. Despite it being two captains in their team.”

Cardinal Spitfire looked the General in the eyes. “They will get over it though. I will break their spirits with a demonstration if they force me too. I will enjoy breaking them if they force me to do it.”

General Shielded Vengeance's lips slipped into a slight smile. “I can tell. And if it gets near that point, let me know. I want to see the demonstration. I want them to be embarrassed. It will only serve to snap them even easier. Then they can be rebuilt.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said joining them. Marble Falls was there as well. “Crushing and breaking?”

“I did a lead in,” Cardinal Spitfire explained. “It was resisted due to ‘danger’ and shit.”

“Ah,” The Wonderbolt Colonel replied with a nod. “Crush and break away then. But let me know if it comes to that. We might get to make an example out of it for the Officer School.”

Cardinal Spitfire rolled her eyes. “I’m not supposed to want to crush or break them. Now I do.”

All four of them laughed.

The Wonderbolt Colonel didn’t waste anymore time. “Its legit. The site and the message. No doubt.”

“Hmm,” General Shielded Vengeance replied. “Well Sword and Shield went to drop a message off. The… situation gained complexity immediately. No Shadow, no team. But it was solid enough to leave a message with them.”

“You went below?” Marble Falls said shocked. “You actually sent them below?”

“And a message was left,” General Shielded Vengeance replied.

“Great,” Cardinal Spitfire smiled happily.

It was some really proactive, good news for the recovery of the Inquisitors. The first time they have actually done something.

“You went below, and only left a message?” Marble Falls said, soaked with accusation.

“Yes,” General Shielded Vengeance replied. “And we will tell you the full tale later. I need to finish some things with that report. All that actually matters is that we left a recall message. A good one.”

“What about… more!” Marble Falls pressed, getting agitated. “You got your hoof wet, and said it was enough.? It was wet! Why didn’t you actually go in and get them?”

“Uh,” General Shielded Vengeance stalled, unsure how else to respond. “We got a message left for them at Rosemary. What else could we do?”

“Find them!” Marble Falls fired back. “You didn’t even send out a search party?”

“Look Captain, that was a questionable enough move. Only a few outside of us and the skeleton crew on the Buttercup know about. And nopegasus else can know about it! It was a black op task, left for Sword and Shield for a reason.”

“Who is Sword and Shield! Should I even trust them?”

“That’s their secret cover!” General Shielded Vengeance snapped. “You can’t know who they are. That’s why our Black Ops teams are always named Sword and Shield!”

“Falls!” Cardinal Spitfire shouted at her before Marble Falls could speak again. “Drop it. We got messages left. We got so far the past week that we never dreamed were possible after we lost them.”

“I am his wife! I am thrilled we got to do even that. This is a game of messages. Communication in short bursts as we both try and figure out what is happening. He now has a place to check. Shadow doesn’t give up. He will check. Trust him. He reached out first.”

Marble Falls wanted to fight, but Cardinal Spitfire had put her in her place. If anypony should be erupting, it should be Cardinal Spitfire. Cardinal Spitfire rolling with it and Marble Falls not was an embarrassment to her.

“Go do your jobs,” General Shielded Vengeance told them. “I have stuff to do. We need to discuss things with Nova and Admiral Ruby Snow, fleet things. And you Cardinal Spitfire, have Deke and Little for the evening. I don’t know if you hang out with them Marble Falls, since you did train Deke, but they are not leaving until the morning. I will tell you, hopefully tomorrow evening, a tale we learned about the Inquisitors. I warn you now, none of it can be made 100% official. That’s the nature of the way we found out.”

“Eh,” Cardinal Spitfire shrugged. “Its not like they need anymore awards. All four of them must have stacked up a few nice ones since we lost contact.”

General Shielded Vengeance sighed. He decided to not keep their hopes up too much. “The contact never met Nor’easter. He had died before then. And as of the last contact with them, it was just Shadow. And that was at least two months ago. She had a stunning story about them and running in their group for a bit. One that you will love. Typical Filly Fooler situation.”

Cardinal Spitfire gave a sad chuckle. “Well, I can’t wait to hear it. I wish family could be notified that the others didn’t make it, but like you said, it can’t be official official. Even if we know its true. They can’t be relied on as a solid source.”

“You can’t tell us now?” Marble Falls pressed.

“No, I need to speak with Nova,” General Shielded Vengeance stated.

“We have a story to tell you too,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said. “The pegasi there have a tale known as the Legend of Kifopiga.”

“This will be interesting,” General Shielded Vengeance chuckled. “But first, Nova!”

“Hey,” Cardinal Spitfire said turning back to them. “You also said Admiral Ruby Snow too, right?”

“Yes,” General Shielded Vengeance nodded.

“And Deke is here, and Little is as well...”

“Little is finding Colonel Nova,” Ruby Snow said interrupting. “What do you need.”

“You have a crew right?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

“We can’t fly her without one,” Ruby Snow smiled back.

“Can I borrow the Buttercup for the afternoon?”

“Lead ins?” Ruby Snow asked.

“Yep,” Cardinal Spitfire nodded. “That was unplanned, and the first I have ever done. Any of us have ever done. We never get to work so close-”

“Yes,” Ruby Snow said cutting her off. “Go get Deke out of whatever trouble he is finding and I’ll get Little back on board and make sure they play nice together and switch off who is piloting. But, for first time, you guys did amazing work. I know you studied up on it. Otherwise you never would have put them into it.”

Cardinal Spitfire shrugged. “You can’t master the sky without knowing it, at least in theory. I just haven’t had time to ever do it. I should probably have the instructors form up on me and do the next set of lead ins. Think Deke can keep up?”

Ruby Snow chuckled. “I am more afraid of if the crew can keep the Buttercup up with you leading them. Keep away from things and she can’t flip or roll.”

“Right,” Cardinal Spitfire said smiling. “I will. Thanks.”

The Wonderbolt Colonel looked at Marble Falls. “Captain, get Pony Patrol back together to kick start it at 1300. I want your Squad to perform that first run. I want the rest of the afternoon to be spend observing them doing the lead ins. This is a perfect example of leadership available in raw, real life observation while we are in the middle of an Officer School.”

“There are a lot of moving parts to lead ins, which is why we never train it. We will train it more. But we need naval support to do it, and multiple teams. Its full, multi-battalion training. And you know how often they do those.”

“If things go right, we certainly will be,” General Shielded Vengeance added. “But we need to go work that out!”

They broke apart to go do their jobs. Marble Falls didn’t get a chance to talk more with Cardinal Spitfire as she dashed off after Deke. Cardinal Spitfire was making sure of it.

Marble Falls was acting rashly and Cardinal Spitfire was working hard to keep it together. The news was positive. It would have been better if Shadow hadn’t left. But Cardinal Spitfire trusted him. She knew he left for a good reason and that he would be back to check for messages.

The story would be a welcome relief. And they could tell General Shielded Vengeance the tale of Rainbow Dash’s Last Tale, Kifopiga. He would be very interested in that.

After lunch brought a new challenge. Four out of six of Pony Patrol was in Officer School. Teaching it in Marble Falls case. Not many were qualified to teach Officer School. It was going to grind it all to a halt. That was before the order to observe was given.

Cardinal Spitfire found herself in front of almost everypony at the Squad Barracks, assembled on the flight deck. Cardinal Spitfire took off a bit to hover so she could be seen. It was all on her shoulders to kick start it.

“Listen up!” Cardinal Spitfire ordered as loud as she could while maintaining her authority. “Officer candidates, you will be observing. I will need to you organized into a total of, six groups. You will observe in that group at the designated time.”

“Combat Formation Practicum participants. We will be in groups of 7 teams. Its going to take time. I know. Working in formation flying leading in a Cloudship, isn’t easy. Its basically a slower, much less agile unit you are working with who can’t verbally communicate with you.”

“Tactics include using other teams to see what the ship is doing so they can communicate it to the forward, leading team. We will work to do this more often, with more ships and crews. Combat may force us to lead in ships, and we are the best fliers, so it falls on our wings. Ships taking off and landing usually have Traffic Controllers giving those orders, typically high up in a tower. Combat, that isn’t an option. So we will have to be that.”

A hoof was raised. It was a young, peppy mare who had corporal stripes on her uniform. Her uniform was marked for heavy troopers. A low rank to be moving to Officer School and an odd place to be coming from.

“Yes?” Cardinal Spitfire asked, pointing to her.

“I’m in the Officer School, so what am I supposed to be looking for?” It was a high, peppy voice to match her peppy look.

“Great question!” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “Officer Candidates should be looking for how we are communicating and leading in the team and in between teams. The team in front of the Cloudship has the lead, but the others will be working within themselves to make sure they are functioning safely. The way these teams should be working together is the same way inside your unit should be working. Each team is like an individual member.”

“On top of that, as I said, lead ins are done when there are no Air Traffic Controllers able to do the job. We will have to do that communication on our own, between Units. Because the Cloudship can’t directly connect up with us easily. Its a lot to go through syncing the two different types of com lines, something we will not have the luxury of.”

“So if they are coming in to drop troops off, take off, or, even coming in to provide fire support, the only ones in the sky outside of the Cloudships, is Aerial Combat Units. And although Cloudships get the right of way, they can’t just fly anywhere they want on the front lines of combat. So all the leading comes down to our ability to communication and function in our units. There doesn’t get any better chance to see leadership in action than what we are doing right here and now.”

“I know we have a lot of new faces here for the Officer School. To start things off, its going to be us six here, Wonderbolt Squad 12, known as Pony Patrol. Our Captain is teaching OS, and three are in OS. Me and our other Lieutenant are leading the Practicums. So we know what we are doing.”

“But we are only half of the exercise. The Cloudship is Third Fleet’s Flagship, the Buttercup. She is a Corvette Class Cloudship, designed for patrolling. A great design, but it never got put into production outside of the Buttercup. Its got the fastest acceleration for a Cloudship and second fastest top speed. She can outrun and certainly can out maneuver a Raptor.”

“At the helm is Lieutenant Commander Deke. We know each other well. The LC and I were in the same Barrack in Basic Training and we were taught by Captain Marble Falls. So we can already read each other. Commander Little is also one of the top pilots the Enclave has. They will be performing all of the maneuvers with us.”

“And I want to be very clear, I do not expect you to do what I am going to do. I’m going to push the LC’s skills and the ship. But I will still be limited by them and have to bring them around and through safely. So when its your turn, don’t try to do all that we do. It’s a crash course today, one that we will be working to follow up on to make sure we are ready to do that duty.”

“We have amazing technicians here, and over lunch, that short time, they have stations set up for us to do the leading to and around. We will be landing here on the flight deck, so we will have to move slowly and with great caution around here. No collisions.”

“Get with your appointed leaders and we will get these trials underway.”

Cardinal Spitfire did a back flip in the air which she used to spring herself into a launch. The others in Pony Patrol quickly followed suit. They all landed in front of the Buttercup. They were working with four other teams, two on either side. The rest of the runs would have more teams, but they were running low for the Squad 12 test.

Cardinal Spitfire had the side units set up in a simple pattern. One team along the top, one team along the bottom. Each team would send a member out wide and they would pair up to make sure they had the side clearance.

“Captain, how do you want us set up?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

Marble Falls turned to face the Buttercup, away from the watching eyes. “I’m not here enough to take the lead. Its all yours.”

“Come on,” Cardinal Spitfire said, smiling at her. “You are Marble Falls. I know you can handle this.”

“I’m sure I could,” Marble Falls sighed. “But I don’t want to test it right now. Since we do not need to, its on you.”

Cardinal Spitfire let out a low growl. The others were understandably confused and concerned, but didn’t want to ask.

“General Shielded Vengeance came back on the Buttercup,” Cardinal Spitfire quietly said to them. “New info on Shadow Flare. Nothing of consequence.”

“That’s where you went,” Lemon Lime stated. “Something to do with him.”

“Yeah, and its dealt with. Nothing else matters.”

“Please don’t push it,” Marble Falls asked.

“Alright, on me,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “Falls, you take top in the center. We need to watch the bottom because of the design, so Twist and Fountain, bottom. Choke in a bit from the corners. Rasp and Lemon, center row, play it wide, just inside their field of view. We will be taking tight turns, so I need to see the sides. And watch the buildings since we are close to the barracks.”

They all confirmed and set themselves. Cardinal Spitfire took a deep breath in and slowly ascended. She faced the Buttercup’s bridge. Cardinal Spitfire brought her hooves up slowly and the Buttercup fired her engines. It rose with her until Twist gave the all clear on the bottom.

Cardinal Spitfire rolled over and began to slowly turn them around. She was getting fed plenty of chatter from the teams.

“Keep up the communication,” Cardinal Spitfire said over their coms. “You are my eyes and ears. I have blinders on and can only look forward.”

They were finally out and clear. Cardinal Spitfire picked up her pace, doing two slow bobs, signaling speed increase. The Buttercup matched her and Cardinal Spitfire began to turn them. After a while she pulled them back into long S curves.

As soon as Cardinal Spitfire felt they were synced up, she did two deliberate rolls and gunned it. The Buttercup had expected it and was hot on her trail. Cardinal Spitfire pulled up and was followed. She dove down at a strong angle as if she was leading them in and around fire or obstacles.

They were keeping with her perfectly. Cardinal Spitfire decided to have some fun. Deke was handling it fine, and so was the Buttercup. Cardinal Spitfire couldn’t put the ship through rolls or flips, but the Buttercup had better turning and responsiveness than any other ship in the Enclave and Cardinal Spitfire wasn’t going to let the opportunity go to waste.

They were moving at an unknown speed as Cardinal Spitfire put them into a very tight turn until they have made a full 90 degree turn. Then she went the other way, but climbing. The Buttercup followed fine. Cardinal Spitfire dove, with a slight turn. The Buttercup kept up. It felt like she was pulling a wagon with a string. It was a trailer attached to her.

Cardinal Spitfire was unmerciful in the turns and angles. Fast weaves and everything she could think of. She hard to pull back at bit as she made the hardest turn yet and the sides warned the ship was about to skip.

A ship could skip just like they could while flying. The same principle as skating on ice and losing traction, or slicing your hoof along the top of pool of water in an arc. It bounces and doesn’t turn. And a skip would mean her side would be physically wiped out.

But it gave Cardinal Spitfire the breaking point. She kept the pressure up, but softening the angles by 15%. After a good 45 minutes she brought them in to land. Her bottom and sides were very important as the closed in on the buildings.

Cardinal Spitfire knew from the chatter they were expecting to land past the Squad Barrack at the end. But she knew how fast the Buttercup could break. Two quick wing flutters and Cardinal Spitfire called “emergency break” over her coms and pulled hers.

Pony Patrol slid wide, out of the way, since they were the closest to the Buttercup’s nose. As Deke slammed on the breaks, the Buttercup came within a foot of Cardinal Spitfire. She knew it was right there.

Deke did his job perfectly by putting it down softly. They had already gotten him within three feet of the ground. Deke had the ramp dropped.

Cardinal Spitfire flipped around to look into the bridge. Deke was standing right at the front by the glass, wing up with a few feathers flipped out to say “Fuck you.”

Cardinal Spitfire dropped to the ground. The teams in her practicums were already swarming the area in front of the ship.

“LIKE I SAID!” Cardinal Spitfire shouted to quiet them down. “I don’t expect you to do anywhere near to that. I was purposefully pushing the limits. No Sky-tank or Raptor can pull off those turns. And we don’t want to do that on a normal lead in.”

“LC Deke and I know and trust each other. We flew together. So me pushing the limits, it wasn’t unexpected.”

A heavy hoof came down around Cardinal Spitfire and pulled her into the Pegasus’ side.

“Didn’t we say to not flip the Buttercup?” General Shielded Vengeance asked.

Cardinal Spitfire gulped. She hadn’t planned on anypony but Little and Deke being on the bridge. Everypony was listening in. It was a completely public conversation.

“Deke was at the helm, right?” Cardinal Spitfire asked nervously.

“Does it matter?” General Shielded Vengeance followed up.

“Yes,” Cardinal Spitfire slowly replied.

“Why?” General Shielded Vengeance asked.

“Because Deke and I know each other. We both learned from Marble Falls. We know how to communicate strongly with nonverbals and read each other. I trust him and know how he thinks. He knows how I think.”

“And no other pilot can do that?” General Shielded Vengeance prodded.

“Deke is daring, bold, and plainly put, dumb and reckless. He is a fucking good pilot. He knows how to push the limit and will. Little is a smarter pilot. She can do the same thing as Deke, but is smart enough not to. Deke takes it one step too far, even though its still something he can handle. Little can handle it, but doesn’t push her luck.”

General Shielded Vengeance gave Cardinal Spitfire a good squeeze and then let go. “Deke was at the helm. The whole time.”

“Was that a compliment or an insult?” Little asked Deke, loudly.

“I’m taking it as a Compliment,” Deke replied.

Cardinal Spitfire sheepishly turned around to face Deke and Little, and also found herself looking at Nova, the Wonderbolt Colonel and Ruby Snow. She flashed a grin.

“Stupid and daring,” Ruby Snow smiled. “I’m glad we joined and watched. We realized, if we are talking about Third Fleet and ACU pairing up on training and such, we should get a first hoof look at it, while the best was taking a run.”

“I haven’t had to sit down during maneuvers in a long time. And we got reports from the crew on being roughed up, but safe. They learned some lessons on how to handle themselves in combat action maneuvers at their posts. So all in all, a good thing.”

“Well,” Cardinal Spitfire stuttered. “No other teams will be allowed to push it like that. So, they won’t have to worry about being roughed up again.”

“Please,” Deke chuckled. “Its a seasoned crew of veterans. I mean, yeah, its a skeleton crew so we can’t afford an injury, even a minor one, but they have it. Or else I wouldn’t of run things so fast. I would have backed off.”

“More importantly,” Ruby Snow said, taking over the conversation. “We need to address further trainings. Pony Patrol won’t be with us for the rest of the discussion. And I have to get my ship out of here in the morning. We have new wings we can’t put off training anymore. Not for something like this.”

“The Buttercup is perfect for training,” Cardinal Spitfire confidently replied. “She is small. We can run teams on her before we have to tackle the big ones like the Raptors.”

“Okay,” Ruby Snow nodded. “What about deploying on and off her?”

“Yeah, we can work on that. Its easier on her than a Sky-Tank.”

“In what way?” Nova immediately asked.

“The corvette’s design has a heavy battery of guns on the top. The top is flat. Ramp deployment has to be done carefully, which is part of the reason why we do not have them dropped until the ship is set down. Once you leave that ship, you are falling, not flowing with the ship. So if something is behind it, you hit it as it passes overhead.”

“Normal troops never need to bail, or at least at high speeds. Aerial Combat Units would need to deploy at a moment’s notice. Off the top is the best way. Safest way. We can speed board from the ramp easily. But leaving, should mostly be done off the top. If guns are blazing, that does complicate things. No other ships have a top deck, so there is no solid access out that way or side decks.”

“We can be back in 6 weeks,” Ruby Snow stated. “Get units ready, that are regular ACUs, not Wonderbolts. There is little doubt in my mind that the Council will not want to see a demonstration. So bring your A game, but have a varied amount of teams.”

“Unit 0 will deploy with them,” Nova said. “That will show them something new. Lieutenant Commander, we are still revamping the ACUs and now exploring options for partnering them with ships like Corvettes.”

“Wise choice,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “I will make sure we have units that are ready, at least in philosophy, to deploy in experimental tactics. Safely.”

“I’ll get Vice Admiral Purple Breeze to send us a task force to add numbers,” Ruby Snow added. “So have plenty ready to roll with a variety of ships.”

“Six weeks?” Cardinal Spitfire asked to clarify.

“Is that a problem?” Ruby Snow asked her.

“No,” Cardinal Spitfire said shaking her head. “I can do that. We should only need four more weeks, tops, for the practicums. I can choose teams for it after that. The Officer School will be done as well, so all Units can be worked with. And there won’t be any Basic Training recruits on the flight decks for a while.”

“Sir!” Arrow said. “Unit 17 will be ready.”

“You won’t get Commander Olive Pit as your seventh member,” Nova warned them.

“Don’t need him,” Arrow smiled. “We can take any of them.”

“Unit 63 will also be ready,” Flags said. “As a Scout Unit we will be a very good mix up to show all different types of deployments and interactions from active Cloudships.”

“Good,” Ruby Snow said with a nod. “Now we have to go solidify all of it, but that is the idea. Get the Buttercup up in the air and your teams training. You have limited time.”

“Right!” Cardinal Spitfire shot back.

After leading it herself, she was much more prepared to get all of her teams experienced in lead ins.

It was a tough afternoon. The teams were pushed to adapt and think differently than they were planning on. And the Officer Candidates were bored, but had to stay active and out of the way. Little and Deke were excellent at their job. Cardinal Spitfire was glad she could really trust the pilots when neither side had ever done it before.

After dinner, Cardinal Spitfire joined up with Deke, Little, and Olive Pit in his office. To her surprise, Arrow, Dipper, Chocolate, and Flags joined them. They were more than welcome, but Arrow hadn’t spoken to Cardinal Spitfire since she had missed the wedding. Dipper had his head buried in Officer School and they hadn’t even caught a solid glimpse of each other.

“Like I said, I am sorry,” Cardinal Spitfire immediately stated, wings open in innocence.

“I know,” Arrow said, stopping Cardinal Spitfire from saying anything else. “It hurt, but I know there was a very good reason for it. I’m assuming it was Shadow Flare business?”

“Of a sort,” Cardinal Spitfire replied, sitting down and sighing. “I can’t speak on it. But little has changed with the situation. The entire focus with the team is recovery. Nothing more. Just getting them back. It doesn’t matter what may or may not of happened, only that they get back safely.”

“Something came up,” Olive Pit stated.

Cardinal Spitfire ignored the words.

“Come on!” Olive Pit said. “I may have been in a seminar all day, learning new field trauma tactics, but I heard that General Shielded Vengeance came back,on the Buttercup. You don’t charter the Buttercup after some of the top ponies leave and expect it not to coincide.”

Little snorted. “You have no idea what we do. We do a lot of random shit. And we only brought him back here. We picked him up from another Cloudship. We are the fastest free Cloudship. We get calls all the time.”

“Enough,” Deke said. “We are here to enjoy each other’s company, not try and figure out what the top brass are thinking. The answer is ‘shiny.’ It is always ‘shiny.’ Shiny is all they have in mind.”

Everypony laughed and settled into a fun evening.

Chapter 88 - New Wings

Bronze Valve brought the new wings onto the bridge. This was the last place of the tour. 23 Ensigns, fresh out of Basic Training and then Officer School. They were doing their practicum on the Buttercup.

And then there was Sunny Swirl. She had been promoted on schedule to First Lieutenant. That was soon after she had been at the Squad Barracks, serving as Vice Admiral Breezy Sky’s assistant. She had also served a short time with Vice Admiral Purple Breeze to help jump start her in her new role. She was critical to the smooth change. For all of her critical work, she proved to be more of an asset than a First Lieutenant, and had been promoted to Lieutenant Commander. And now she was finally on a bridge to be an officer, but just as new to it as the others.

Bronze Valve was almost done covering the each piece of equipment on the bridge when he heard clamoring down the hall. Deke, Little and Ruby Snow were in a conference of some kind with an unknown arrival time. The only ponies who came down that hall without calling over the com first was officers. The officer quarters were along the hall that lead to the bridge.

Bronze Valve readied himself. As the pony scrambled in he gave the order.

“Captain on deck!”

Every single new wing snapped to attention.

“Oh, its just you,” Bronze Valve said as Deke careened in and dashed to his corner.

“Ignore me,” Deke said, rushed and distracted. “I’m not here. Officially. I need multiple screen. One terminal wasn’t cutting it. Fuckers.”

Bronze Valve took a deep breath in, turning back to the new wings. “I have no idea what he is doing. We will do proper introduction soon enough.”

Little silently jumped into the bridge.

“Captain on deck!” Bronze Valve order, snapping everypony to attention.

“What the fuck Deke!” Little shouted, ignore the others. “You can’t just get up and bolt out of a meeting like that! And then go halfway across Nellie Air Force Base to the ship you are posted on!”

“I needed more screens,” Deke shot back, not looking up. “Nowhere else has what I need! I have to prove me telling him to fuck off is right. Give me 40 minutes. I swear, I will be back by then.”

“I’m not sure we can hold that long!”

“Show them that lightning you have,” Deke said waving her off with wing. “I need to do this. I can’t look at multiple reports at once with one fucking screen.”

“Alright,” Little growled. “40 minutes. If you are late, you are toast.”

“As long as they have butter, I’m good.”

“Fuck you,” Little spat, leaving.

Bronze Valve sighed, unsure what to do with this interruption. The Com line beeped.

“CV-001, This is tower. I am relaying a message.”

Bronze Valve opened the channel. “This is Chief Warrant Officer Bronze Valve on CV-001, what is the message?”

“I’m quoting this. ‘What the fuck is going on?’”

Deke was paying attention enough to shout his response. “Tell them to fuck off! I am checking to make sure they don’t fuck us over. Tell them to trust me like normal. I needed multiple screens to sort all of this shit out.”

“Roger that. Tower out.”

Bronze Valve shook his head. “You are going to lose a stripe.”

Deke chuckled. “If I am wrong, yeah. But I’m never wrong.”

Deke opened and then slammed a drawer under his terminals.

“Where is my paper and pens?” Deke demanded.

“I don’t know,” Bronze Valve calmly replied. “I wasn’t here when they redid the bridge.”

“No, I got those back,” Deke said, rifling through another drawer. “And put them in that drawer.”

“Aha!” Deke shouted jumping up. “I was at Navigation last!”

Deke jumped through the new boots to get at the drawer under the Navigation terminal.

“I was calculating if we would roll or skip first on extreme turns. We had some great maneuvers going on two days ago.”

“And?” Bronze Valve asked, forgetting about the new wings around him. This was an exciting thing. None of them had calculated that.

Deke chuckled. “We will be fucked. Its a skip and then when we hit, we will roll in the direction we lost control at. We won’t roll into the turn. And it will tear this ship apart. That’s isassuming if we are over 40% on our speed.”

“We are always over 40%,” Bronze Valve shot back.

“Exactly,” Deke smiled as he got back to work.

Bronze Valve recovered, figuring out how to proceed with the new wings. “I know we discussed that the Buttercup is for patrolling, her speeds and such. We have to watch out. This design comes with less mass. Our roll factor is high. Our skip factor is higher.”

“Motherfuckers!” Deke exclaimed. “They are going to get us killed!”

Deke scrambled to pack all of the papers into a file folder and jumped over the center console. He was gone as fast as he came.

Bronze Valve sighed. “I have no idea where I was. Obviously we operate a bit differently. Our missions require it. And so do our officers. But they are top notch for a reason. And a lot of jokes get thrown around.”

“Is he actually going to lose a rank?” Ensign White Snow asked.

“We joke about it,” Bronze Valve replied. “He started the jokes about it. No, he won’t. It doesn’t matter what meeting they are in, he won’t. Because he was right about one thing. He is never wrong. If Deke puts his hoof down, he can back it up. Even if it means walking out on an important meeting to prove it. I have no idea what he is up to.”

Bronze Valve finished up and let them go. They just had to stay on the ship for the meeting so they could be right on hoof for introductions and appointments. Their Captain and First Officer had to meet them before they were put in charge of stations. They had to assign them stations.They probably would be launching soon after assignments were given out.

Deke got back to the stalled meeting. Admiral Ruby Snow, Captain Little, Vice Admiral Purple Breeze and several other captains were in attendance. The Chief Meteorologist of the Science Department had called the meeting and had a group of his own.

Deke dropped the folder on the table. “That’s why. We can’t handle the storm. You fucked up making it. We don’t have the mass to be that close for an escort. Learn how Cloudships function.And don’t make the storms so big that you piss off the ponies you put in the way.”

“I know how Cloudships function. You don’t get to be an Admiral and Chief Meteorologist without knowing that.”

“Then why?” Deke growled. “Am I doing your job?”

The Chief Meteorologist picked up Deke’s calculation.

“You have too much atmospheric change. The dew point is off. Same with the atmospheric pressure. You think you know what you are talking about, but your schooling, you never went to a science school. You never learned it correctly.”

Deke leaned on the table, getting face to face with the Chief Meteorologist. “No, I did not. But, you don’t need to go to some fancy school in order to learn this shit. Your blind reliance on those schools is just that, blind. We would not be riding the storm, we would be escorting it. Its a completely different game.”

“So, let me reiterate. Your reliance on a single program to teach something doesn’t automatically disqualify any other program. I can learn the same shit you had to learn. And I have.”

Deke leaned in a bit closer. “Fuck. OFF!”

Deke pushed off the table as Ruby Snow asked for a summary.

“The side bands will roll us. They can’t keep the storm contained enough to not have radiating fronts that will slam into us. Its deadly if we try and escort it. That goes for all classes. Even the Thunderheads and Monitor would have trouble staying steady as the waves bashed into them.”

“Guns will get damages and torn from their placements. That is at minimum for the damage. It doesn’t account for tossing the crew around, things breaking loose and other flying shit. And that isn’t even touching on the perception of the citizens. Ships escorting a powerful storm will cause problems.”

“I believe you,” Vice Admiral Purple Breeze stated. “No Cloudships from the Second Fleet will be released to escort that nightmarish storm.”

“The Third is standing with Commander Deke,” Ruby Snow declared. “Kindly fuck off.”

The Chief Meteorologist growled at Deke. “If any of the weather crews are injured because of this-”

“Its on your head!” Deke shot back, cutting him off. “I didn’t make the storm. The Weather Factory going to shit isn’t because of me. That’s not something I am involved in, or ever have been involved in. Tell them to fix it.”

“The storm is already built,” The Chief Meteorologist stated. “Nothing we can do.”

“You mean nothing you want to do,” Deke corrected him. “You would rather unleash it than properly dispose of it because unleashing it is faster and less hassle. If I know how to fix it, you can figure it out too.”

“Please Leave,” Ruby Snow kindly said. “You have our answer.”

“I’m writing a formal complaint!” The Chief Meteorologist warned Deke.

“Good,” Deke smirked. “We need some more reading material to laugh at. While you are writing it, why don’t you actually enroll in Basic Training and earn those Admiral Stars.”

The room was silent. Deke had just gone further than any of them expected. It was a personal attack. Deke never went after the individual, always the logic or facts. Tangible aspects. He never stooped so low. The Chief Meteorologist had hit a personal nerve.

The Chief Meteorologist stepped back from the table and straightened his uniform, looking as tall as he could. He calmly departed, with the other meteorologists quietly in tow.

Deke turned around to find himself face to face with a dangerously angry Little. She pushed him hard onto the table, pinning him on it. His back was arched as much as possible. It was easy for her to pin him.

“I have never pushed the topic,” Little growled. “But now I have to ask. Where the fuck did you come from?”

“I don’t have to answer that,” Deke growled back. “I have proven my worth. That is what matters.”

“Worth!” Little spat. “You now have a high ranking admiral gunning for you. Basic Training or not, he is an admiral. I don’t know if I can project you. If any of us can. You would be a shitty Second Lieutenant if it wasn’t for Ruby. If you would even be an officer. Where did you come from?”

“Let it go,” Ruby Snow ordered it Little. “It doesn’t matter.”

Little kept Deke on the table, but glared with everything she had at Ruby Snow.

“Let him go,” Ruby Snow said again.

Little gave one last shove and let Deke go. “I’m getting a hold of your record. I deserve to know as your Captain.”

“It’s redacted,” Ruby Snow stated.

“You redacted it?” Little asked, shocked, but still very angry.

“No,” Ruby Snow chuckled. “I don’t have that power. But his backing, well it was impressive. At least one General backed him. But most of it was blacked out.”

“No military background?” Little spat.

“Do I need it?” Deke growled. “If you say yes, I will have you removed from your chair, even if it means ruining my career.”

“You wouldn't dare try,” Little growled.

“Guys!” Vice Admiral Purple Breeze shouted. “You said you could work together!”

They ignored her.

“Yours must be pretty thin,” Deke spat. “Or did you forget that ADMIRAL Ruby Snow has none.”

Ruby Snow groaned. “Let them do it. They are going to have to get it out now that its been opened.”

“The Admiral doesn’t give a shit about backgrounds,” Deke continued. “He looks at potential and skill. I have it. You have it. We know he has it. The Ensigns we just took on no doubt have it. You have to believe in them and say fuck it to blood.”

“How do you know weather so well?” Little asked, not giving up yet.

Deke sighed a growl. “I took the time to learn. As a hobby. Because I decided to care.”

“And you didn’t go to school for it?” Little pressed.

“I was a year or two too late,” Deke hissed. “And even if I got in, I didn’t care that much. I don’t want a career in weather. I just enjoy it. A hobby.”

“You don’t have hobbies,” Little shot back. “It always means something to you.”

“So?” Deke growled. “A hobby should mean something. Or else its not fun!”

A nasty grin came over Little’s face. “Little is a nickname. I don’t hide that my name is Lightning. What kind of name is Deke?”

“I go by Deke, and Deke is all that matters. I. AM. DEKE!”

The two of them stared at each other, anger billowing over.

“Well Lightning?” Deke asked a minute later. “Care to divulge your background?”

“Fuck you!” Little snorted.

Little walked out without a word. Deke sat on the table, facing everypony else. His entire demeanor was lighter, like the argument hadn’t happened.

“The First Mate is still here. And the Admiral is still using the Buttercup as his flagship. This started as a discussion about the Second Fleet Seventh Task Force and the Third Fleet getting together to work on some things with the Aerial Combat Units. Before we were interrupted.”

“Commander,” Purple Breeze said. “Can you handle three ships?”

“Which would I be on?” Deke asked.

“The Raptor Derecho.” Vice Admiral Purple Breeze smiled. “Plus two Sky-tanks.”

“Derecho?” Deke asked, raising an eyebrow. “What kind of name is that?”

“I’m surprised,” Purple Breeze batted back. “Its a weather formation. Didn’t you just claim to know weather as a hobby? Its when the clouds stack up on the front, in a long line.”

“I know,” Deke said confused. “I just never expected that would be a ship name. I don't recall it on my list. It’s kind of a dumb name.”

“Not if you like weather,” Purple Breeze smiled. “Its a unique, but formidable weather pattern. Its rarely seen and nopegasus knows its name. But the power behind that line is immense.”

"As to the list, the Derecho was recently overhauled, so it's been out of commission for a good decade. It's a solid Raptor with a bold name and true for her might."

Deke sighed. “I know. We saw it up north. It was my first and only time I have seen one. The strength and power. Oh boy. Its immense. Not something to be dealt with. It makes its own way. It brought that ice.”

“Well, do you feel comfortable to handle three ships? As a commandant for the training?”

Deke almost said yes, but thought for a second.

“I can. But we have brand new wings. 23 Ensigns and a Lieutenant that has never been a bridge officer before. So, I will probably have my wings full on the Buttercup. If it’s secure, sure. But I doubt it will be. We are talking 6 weeks.”

“Respectable,” Purple Breeze said with a nod. “We shall see how it goes.”

“Is there anything actually important to discuss right now?” Deke asked. “Its the Seventh Task force joining the Buttercup and maybe the Red Dawn. The biggest thing is operation area. We should stay by the Squad Barracks, and that means we have to get permission to set up there and slow the area down. Its just trying some new tactics. I can organize this in my sleep.”

“Then go sleep,” Ruby Snow said, shooing him out with his wing. “Let the adults talk.”

“Alright, alright!” Deke said walking out with a smile.

Deke headed to the mess haul. It was almost lunch time. He would grab an early lunch and make it back to the ship before the introductions happened. As Deke ate he couldn't help but feel bad for the ponies that were going to be getting that nasty storm. He would warn them if he could. But he couldn't. Not all of them. But maybe there were some who needed the extra warning.

Deke immediately finished his food and dashed out of the mess hall. He had several near collisions on his way out. As soon as he was outside he took to the skies. Deke went above the safety ceiling and gunned it across Nellie Air Force Base.

Deke landed on top of the Buttercup and popped in through the nearest hatch. Deke scrambled back to the bridge. It was empty, to his relief. Deke jumped into his seat and began to work multiple terminals sifting through news reports. He was looking for anything that would be in direct danger from the storm, like building projects.

Deke was pulled out of his work by Ruby Snow calling his name.

“Where is Little?” Ruby Snow asked. “She isn’t aboard.”

“I don’t know,” Deke shrugged. “I got food and then came here. We have a problem.”

“You always have a problem you are working on. Figure out how big of a problem it is later. We have to find Little. Where does she hang out?”

“I don’t know,” Deke replied. “I don’t hang out with her here. Its too busy for me. I basically stay on the ship.”

“Of course you do,” Ruby Snow groaned. “And Bronze Valve doesn’t even know you are on board.”

Deke chuckled. “I came in a top hatch. I was cruising above the safety ceiling. I had to get here to work on this project.”

Deke went back to writing.

“You two are going to have to speak sooner, rather than later,” Ruby Snow warned Deke.

“I’m not hiding,” Deke said.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it!” Ruby Snow huffed.

“I have a bigger problem to solve,” Deke replied distracted.

“That’s what has me most concerned,” Ruby Snow mumbled.

Deke lost track of time. He just sat there, playing with everything in his head, round and round. He was expecting Ruby Snow and Little to arrive so he could talk to them. But they never came. He sat there all night, never moving except for some slight rocking in his chair.

Deke was pulled from his thoughts when Ruby Snow stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the empty bridge.

“You stayed here all night?” Ruby Snow asked, neither approving or disapproving.

Deke flashed a glance at the terminal for the time.

“I guess so,” Deke sighed. “I just kept waiting and thinking, and it all failed. You never showed and a solution eludes me. Little?”

“Waking up,” Ruby Snow replied. “Bronze Valve is taking care of her.”

“Where?” Deke asked.

“That’s not something I can share. Its between you two.”

Deke narrowed his eyes at Ruby Snow, but didn’t say anything.

“We will meet the new wings in two hours. But Deke, you have always had a solution. You have always known what to do. There are times when you can not win. No matter what you do. It is possible to commit no mistakes, and still lose. That is life, not a weakness.”

“Hmpf,” Deke huffed.

Ruby Snow stepped to the front of the bridge, so he was right in front of the glass. He watched things happening on the Cloudship terminal in front of them. They were still flanked by Raptors.

Little entered the bridge. Her uniform was freshly pressed. Deke did a double check and realized that it wasn’t freshly pressed, it was brand new. She had enough uniforms. Something must of happened to the one she had been wearing if she bought a new one.

She was stoic, but it was what Deke expected from her. He knew she was concerned about taking charge. It wasn’t about being a Captain, it was about the formalities of it. When it was just the four of them, informality wasn’t a hindrance. Now that she had a full crew, and as Captain, she couldn't get involved as best friends like she had been able to do with Deke. Ruby Snow was reserved and Bronze Valve was quiet when he was around.

Little sat down in the Captain's Chair for the first time. She was tense. Now was the moment of truth. Now was the moment Little defined herself as a Captain.

Ruby Snow stepped back to the Admiral’s station and called for them all to assemble. Bronze Valve got them all inside and in front of the Captain's Chair. It was crowded. Little took some time to look at them all.

Deke stood up and walked to her left side, the console in between them. He was using it as a barrier, while still presenting as if nothing was wrong.

“Welcome,” Deke said, not smiling. “Welcome officially to the Buttercup. Flagship. Corvette. The second fastest and the most agile ship in the Enclave. We are the Third Fleet. With quirky ships and no real structure comes a different style of command.”

“You all will have to learn each position on this bridge. Not to be perfect, but to be able to perform those duties. That is what is required. We should always have enough hooves, but no self respecting officer learns only one part of the bridge. Especially if you want to move up to command positions. If you have a problem, go first to Bronze Valve. He is our Warrant Chief for a very good reason.”

“Now, there are 24 of you, and six stations. They will have somepegasus at them at all times. Even sitting in port. That means that you will work for eight hours a day. You will alternate shift changes, so that they happen in the middle of the other’s shift. No shift changes will happen so that both at that station are fresh.”

“Now, who wants to be at the helm as a pilot?”

Deke held back a smile at their hesitation.

“Come on, lets see your hooves up.”

Thirteen of them raised their hooves.

“Who wants to be on weapons at Fire Control?”

Seventeen put their hooves up. Deke was happy to see some of them already wanted to do more than one role. He could tell the assertive ones from the quiet ones. But that only told them temperament, not skill.

“Alright, now Navigation?”

Twelve put their hooves up.

“Communication?”

Nine.

“Systems?”

Three.

“Weather?”

Nopony put their hooves up. Deke didn’t have a response fast enough before Ruby Snow began to chuckle like an old pony. Deke looked at him, sitting there watching. It wasn’t his show anymore, He just got to sit back and watch. Deke saw him for what he now was, an old Pegasus who had seen many years of service under his wing. A Pegasus who deserved the stars he now wore.

Deke looked back at them and thought. He realized Sunny Swirl was not only hiding in the back, but she hadn’t put her hoof up.

“Um, Lieutenant Sunny Swirl? You haven’t raised your hoof. Why?”

They parted so that Deke and Little had a perfect view of her.

“Sorry,” Deke said. “I didn’t know you had received a promotion, to Lieutenant Commander.”

“Its okay,” Sunny Swirl blushed. “It only happened six days ago.”

“But you still haven’t raised your hoof. Why?”

“Because… I have stood on plenty of bridges before, but I have never desired a specific job.”

“Explain,” Deke pressed.

“What matters is ship and crew. Not where you are. How you all work together is important. Naturally, you will put your crew to their strongest positions. I don’t know where I belong in that.”

Deke skipped back to his area and pulled a thick file out of the drawer.

“Answer as best as you can, but I want to check something. No pressure. There is no passing or failing this.”

Deke pulled out a card, with a black Cloudship profile on it.

“Easy,” Sunny Swirl said rolling her eyes. “I just came from the Glorious Dawn.”

Deke pulled out another card.

“Really? That’s obviously the Solar.”

Deke continued to pull out random cards. Sunny Swirl got most of them right. Deke couldn't stop the smile beginning to crest on the right corner of his mouth.

“That’s the Buttercup,” Sunny Swirl said annoyed.

Deke pulled out another card. They were not in any order at this point.

“Boring. That is the Red Dawn.”

Deke pulled out another card.

“That’s a Net Layer. They are exact copies of each other, so it could be either the Buffy, Willow or Xander. If you pull out the Lord Clove...”

“Its not in any particular order,” Deke shot back. “Seriously. But that is enough of that. Its mighty impressive. I could tell the others couldn't do it. But they will learn. You might have to help them.”

“We have the longest radar range of any Cloudship. We see them before they see us. The job of the navigator is not just to plot the course, but to work around incoming ships, objects, Pegasus teams, anything. As well as helping the pilot adjust for weather changes.”

“The Pilot has to pay attention to flying. Duh. It’s the job of the navigator to tell the pilot what is out there. The navigator should be looking to see what ship it is. Or at least what type and class, if possible. On a solid day, vision can beat radar. And often, vision can beat the communication lines.”

“Lieutenant Commander Sunny Swirl, you shall start at Navigation. I do believe that job is perfect for you and will be your main home.”

Deke flashed a smile at her. His peripheral vision caught Little’s eyes narrow as he flashed it. She didn’t like it. And Deke was pretty sure it wasn’t about the placement of Sunny Swirl, but the smile in the first place.

Deke gave Little a solid look. She gave her nod of approval and he continued to sort all of them out into their first positions. Little nodded in approval as she surveyed each station and the four pegasi in front of that station.

The communication terminal beeped. They didn’t know how to answer it so Deke just walked over and did it himself.

“This is the CV-001, Commander Deke speaking. How may you make or break my day?”

“Uhhh,” The Tower Controller stalled at the unconventional greeting. “CV-001, this is the Tower. We are sending out a general information warning. The First Fleet’s Ninth Task Force has just experienced an accident while on patrol. It is being handled. However, they suffered some casualties and injuries.”

Deke’s heart stopped beating as he began to panic. “WHERE THEY TRYING TO ESCORT A WEATHER TEAM!”

“Yes,” The Tower replied, confused.

“Fucking retards. I warned them! We are taking off NOW!”

“They don’t need rescuing!”

“I don’t intent to rescue their asses,” Deke yelled cutting the call off.

“Sit down on the floor,” Deke ordered the new wings. “On the floor on the steps facing the glass!”

Deke got to the pilot’s seat and hit the ships whistle.

“Commander Deke here. We are about to take off on an emergency run. Strap in. Its going to be a rough take off.”

Deke looked back at Little but the chair was empty. He found his notes in his face. Deke grabbed them and Little sat down at the navigation terminal across from him. She flashed a smile at Deke. Deke called the engines to life and took off like last time. A good 20 degree lift as they backed out and up.

“I need 12,000 more feet of clearance,” Little calmly said. “Or else we will run too close to a Sky-tank. Distance is one mile.”

“I only need three quarters of that,” Deke shot back. “Cause we need to go south.”

“Are we going to be beating that storm?” Little asked.

“Or die trying,” Deke replied as he rifled through his notes. He found the right page and passed it to Little to enter in.

“What’s the rush?” Little calmly asked.

“Remember that Fifth Conclave rumor?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t anything more than a rumor.”

“Well, it wasn’t a conclave. It was a meeting from some of the biggest farming hot shots in the Enclave. Turns out, right in the path of that storm, more of the end really, is where a bunch of the top farming homesteads are working to fix an entire district that just died out with their farming capabilities. Also, I think its where Olive Pit is from. Its the only place with Olives.”

“Focus,” Little said.

“Right! Well they are not going to be prepared for that storm. From the news reports about South Cloudsdale District I was reading, whole farms have been demolished, giant holes have been dug, and they are wiping large areas clean for a fresh start. It sounds like several homesteads may no longer exist.”

Little growled. “Fuckers. They are going to kill them with that storm. Plan?”

“Uhhh,” Deke stalled. “Get there and warn them so they can run. But we won’t have much time.”

“Yeah, like an hour or two,” Little said, flipping through his calculations. “If we are lucky.”

Deke hit the whistle. “I need all port side and center cannons armed with high explosives. Except for 9. Put nine as a flare.”

“WATCH THAT REAR!” Little shouted.

“Oh! Right,” Deke said shifting the Buttercup forward, but at that same angle so they were continuing in their ascent.

The new wings were thrown around a bit, but they stayed in their spots well. It was why Deke had them sitting down like they were.

“Deke?” Ruby Snow asked. He was now standing besides the Captain's Chair. “We will have to cross the storm, right?”

“The tale end,” Deke replied. “Which is why we are climbing.”

“And too fast,” Bronze Valve warned them as he sat down at systems. “Engine output has dropped 15%. We are moving too high too fast for it to compensate for the lower oxygen and pressure.”

“As long as we do not go below 60%,” Deke replied. “So, warn me when we hit 65.”

“When?” Little asked.

“Yes, I know. We will hit that. I am fully aware.”

“Same old Deke,” Little chuckled.

“72%,” Bronze Valve said.

Deke cut them engines clean off. The Cloudships didn’t drop out of the sky with their engines off. At least not right away.

Little groaned “Are we seriously-”

“Yep!” Deke cut Little off.

“Fine,” Little replied. “Recalculating. Where the fuck is our weather? How do you change the sharing terminals again?”

“I’ve got you,” Ruby Snow said sitting down at Weather.

Deke put the engines back on, slowly. In 15 seconds they were going to start falling. And they engines would need to be at 60% to notice them slowing down the fall. The engines would not be warmed up enough, but Deke had the flaps ready. The ship would more of float down, while moving south. It would not tumble.

Deke watched the altimeter begin to count down as they fell. He applied the engines slowly.

“Watch the balance,” Bronze Valve cautioned. “Loading the guns is shifting the weight.”

“I see it,” Deke said glancing at the attitude indicator.

It began to balance out the other way before Deke could adjust for it.

“They loaded the starboard side,” Bronze Valve said a minute later. “They have your back. 5 is loaded with a flare like 9.”

“Fuck I love her,” Deke said. “Tell Wingnut I love her.”

Bronze Valve chuckled as he relayed Deke’s thanks to Lieutenant Commander Wingnut, their Engineering Officer.

“Lets do this,” Deke smiled as the engine power moved over 70% and they stopped dropping.

Deke had them cruising at almost 40,000 feet. It was beyond pushing it for the Corvette class. The engine efficiency was at a steady 68%. The Corvette was meant for low altitude patrolling, not high altitude travel. They were burning fuel staying so high.

Deke put the ship on yellow alert. They were going to be dealing with some very nasty weather in the upcoming hours. The red battle alert would go on when they got up to it.

“What is the attack plan?” Little asked. “You had better have one.”

“Teach that mother fucking idiot sorry excuse for an admeerail a lesson on cloud busting.”

“Please tell me that means the guns, not ramming the storm.”

“Yep,” Deke grinned at Little. “Shoot the flare to scattered the remaining weather teams and then send in the High Explosives. And when I mean send in, I want them nestled in the center before they go off. We need to blow them clean apart.”

“We will gun the tail end, in an attempt to kill mass behind the storm, but then we have make it forward to sound the warning.”

Deke stopped. Little waited for his thought process to catch up.

“Yeah, we will sound the abandon ship. Send everypony packing with the alert. They will be safer cloud side. We will keep a bare hoof crew here to man the guns and we will open up with everything we have on that front.”

Little grinned. “I like it. Make a stand. For the safety of the ponies below! And to stick it up his ass about how wrong he is!”

“Damn this storm is bad,” Ruby Snow said. “I can see it on my terminals now.”

“Shit,” Little swore. “I can see the Ninth Task Force. All one giant ball on the radar.”

Little moved to the front of the bridge and gulped. “I can see smoke. And, an active fire. Its bad. At least a dozen ships. At least.”

“We have to catch up,” Deke reiterated. “Bronze, I need 5 to target the rear and fire that flare. Send three out. Fuck it, send one every 25 seconds on my mark.”

Deke hit the red alert alarm.

“All personnel, this is Commander Deke. We will begin to dive. Its going to get hairy. We are coming up on a really bad storm. The Weather Factory overcooked it. And worse, they are sending it towards an entire farming district that is being torn up and relaid. They had so many problems they are resetting it. They do not have sufficient anything to weather this storm.

“We will be giving the call to abandon ship. We will be arriving slightly ahead of it and we need to spread word quickly so the safe areas can be reached. Below is far safer than in the Buttercup. We are going to be pounding the front of the storm with everything we have to break it up and halt it in it’s tracks. So prepare who is staying and who is going. I want as few as possible on board when that front slam us.

“And Lieutenant Commander Wingnut, you are ordered the abandon ship. It is a nonnegotiable order.”

“Understood Deke,” Wingnut said back over the ship’s com system. “In five I’ll have those staying for you to approve.”

Deke looked at Little. He didn’t need to tell her he was going to need help on the bridge.

Little had an answer. “Deke, you have your control station.”

Deke’s grin neared it’s peak. “You’re right. I’ll take it as we abandon ship.”

“And why is Wingnut ordered to abandon ship?” Little asked.

“Because the Buttercup is going to get hammered,” Deke replied. “At minimum we will need repairs. I hope our actions can spur more Corvettes being produced, by showing their strength and worth. As to Wingnut, she was just a lowly Sergeant when she joined the Buttercup on it’s maiden voyage. She is one of the three original crew left.”

“And the others?” Little asked.

“Me,” Bronze Valve said. “Although I became a Warrant Officer and she went to Officer School.”

“That’s still only two,” Little replied.

Ruby Snow sighed. “I was a Second Lieutenant. At weather. I served under six captains until I was given the Buttercup by Admiral Purple Breeze. She was the Captain before me. She could fly the Buttercup. The previous five never had the right stuff.”

“I lost half of the bridge crew when I took over. Soon after, half of them were sent to the Lord Clove for her maiden voyage. A yearish late I acquired Little. As she joined, the rest quit. I transferred them out to other ships. They were solid officers, but not the right fit. They had backgrounds on Raptors, but the Buttercup isn’t a Raptor.”

“That is why we need brand new Ensigns, to mold them to a slightly different role. Be it on here or on one of the other Third Fleet Cloudships.”

“I had no idea,” Little stammered. “I thought the Buttercup and Lord Clove were older designs.”

“Everything else is old,” Deke stated. “I’m surprised by you. You know everything about all four classes. Lord Clove is an old design, but it never was built.”

“I guess now I do,” Little replied.

“Deke, look at this,” Ruby Snow said.

Deke picked his way over to the Weather Console. Little hopped over to the helm to hold them steady.

Deke chuckled as he sat down. “We are repeating things. I came onto the bridge after begin kicked off the Lenticular. You took off right away. Then when I got to the bridge, you pulled me here without introducing yourself. Little was right about there at the helm. And then we headed north, and dealt with that weather emergency.”

Little, Bronze Valve, and Ruby Snow laughed with Deke.

“Yeah, that is bad,” Deke stated. “Worse than my calculations. We need to break that tail up with a volley. It will also tell us how it reacts to our high explosive shells.”

Deke moved back to the helm but didn’t remove Little yet. He sat down at the second seat. Little was reading the other sheets Deke had scribbled on. The two of them whispered back and fourth for a bit.

Little stood up and moved back to Navigation. Deke took the primary helm seat.

“Assignments,” Deke announced. “While we get there, you will have several hours to observe and be at positions. So, I need Lieutenant Commander Sunny Swirl at Navigation. Ensigns Snow Song and Swift Concert, take the Com. Admiral Ruby Snow will watch over com. Silver Fire, observe Warrant Chief Bronze Valve at Fire Control. Bronze Valve will be running Fire Control and assisting Systems, who will have Prized Emerald and Crimson Rain working it. Weather needs Winter Wind to assist the Admiral. And I will take...”

Deke had to think carefully about who would be watching him. It was close up observation. It would set how that officer flew. He couldn't just toss any pilot on it. He needed one who would be daring and learn, but not dangerous.

“Divine Storm,” Little said. “Take the helm with Lieutenant Commander Deke.”

Deke stayed silent. It was a great choice. And it asserted Little’s rank. She had been following her First Officer into it all, but not because she was weak. Little knew he had the plan and trusted him. The new wings didn’t know that though. Not yet.

Deke blew the whistle. “45 Seconds to dive.”

“Deke, we are loosing ground flying so high,” Little warned. “We need a new plan after we dive.”

“I was afraid of that,” Deke replied. “We are going to run a parabolic flight path. It should help us not only save fuel, but give us the speed and a safe altitude to work with.”

Deke hit the ship’s whistle again. “Beginning parabolic flight path, watch your heads.”

Deke readied himself for the dive. When the seconds ran out he shifted the nose forward and backed off on the engines raw power, refining them to work with gravity.”

“Fire flares!”

“Firing!”

“Prepare to open fire with guns in 154 seconds.”

“Ready,” Bronze Valve replied.

It was a tense drop. Deke was antsy. He hated diving, especially like this. They were essentially falling. Deke backed off on the engines to prepare for the shift at the bottom. Deke readied the flaps as well.

Deke pulled the ship up as much as he could by the flaps, gunned the engines and then ordered the guns to fire two seconds early. The ship shifted a bit from the broadside. As it evened out and they began to pull up, the ship shook violently as the storm stuck.

Thunder cracked as the bridge was blinded.

“Fucker,” Deke spat.

“Is that a problem?” White Snow asked petrified.

“Nah." "Nope!" "Never.” Deke, Little and Ruby Snow all said at once.

“We are clouds,” Deke added. “We are like a thundercloud. We are flying a giant mass of water and shooting lightning.”

“Breakup looks nice,” Ruby Snow said. “But you are going to need a lot to stop this storm.”

“Pick up your altitude,” Little ordered. “We need more clearance for the Ninth Task Force.”

“Fine,” Deke groaned. “At least they got to see us issue some vengeance for their situation.”

“You guys planned that?” Divine Storm asked.

“Took advantage of,” Little corrected. “It just so happened to be, so we planned things around it.”

“But you didn’t even talk about it, right?” Swift Concert asked.

“They are that good together,” Ruby Snow said. “They know each other that well.”

Deke and Little discussed altitude factors and safe operating levels. Ruby Snow put his two bits in and Bronze Valve reminded them of several System factors.

“Bronze, do you have that report from Wingnut yet?” Deke asked.

“Passing it along,” Bronze Valve said, without opening it.

Deke and Little used the center terminals to review it.

“We have the final team,” Ruby Snow said. “So, where are they leaving at?”

“Working on that,” Little replied.

Ruby Snow sighed. “I have to leave.”

“You?” Little said socked. She even turned around to face him.

“Yes,” Ruby Snow said slowly. “Deke did a very good job researching. The Cherry Homestead is there. Along with several others. I can get them to follow us 100%. The entire district will listen to me and act exactly how we need them too.”

“Of course,” Little nodded. “We need them to listen. Besides, it is my ship now. You are the Fleet Admiral and we know we will be jumping ship because of the storm. You should be sent to safety, so you can continue to command the other ships in the Third Fleet. I know that sounds-”

“Its logic,” Ruby Snow finished. “I need to. But it sucks. Mostly the Buttercup no longer being mine. Despite how much I trust both of you.”

“But where?” Deke asked. “I haven’t figured that out yet. I don’t have that organization figured out yet.”

They thought for a bit.

“They will have a post office,” Ruby Snow finally said. “We can use the emergency phone. But where did they put it?”

“Try under the console,” Deke said. “I think there is a trap door thingy.”

“Thingy is a useful term,” Little playfully shot.

“Eh,” Deke shrugged as he sent them back down in their parabolic path.

Several of the Ensigns screeched as they felt weightless from the shift. Deke and Little just chuckled.

The emergency phone wasn’t there. Bronze Valve began to hunt it down by having stations reporting in. They needed every spare minute to help cover the whole district.

A unit was brought onto the bridge. Ruby Snow got Ensigns Snow Song and Swift Concert immediately on the task of finding it in the phone book. It was painfully slow. Sunny Swirl had to relay data to them so they found the right one.

Ruby Snow took the phone handset to talk. He struck up a conversation as they came out of the dive. The Ship listed a bit as they opened another volley.

“Hold fire!” Deke ordered. “We need to conserve ammo for the front.”

“Sorry,” Bronze Valve said.

“My mistake,” Deke replied. “I should have made sure that you knew not to.”

“No rounds will be loaded. We will be off balance.”

“Compensating,” Deke replied.

Little glanced at Deke. Deke shrugged back about Ruby Snow’s conversation. He had stretched the cord to it’s max by stepping to the back and sitting down in Deke’s chair. They had no idea what was going on. But from what they had heard from the opening, Ruby Snow hadn’t exactly warned them of the dangers of the storm.

Deke just continued on the parabolic flight path for a while until it became too dangerous for them to drop any lower. They moved back up, settling at 32,000 feet. The ship’s engines were at 93% efficiency at that altitude. Deke was satisfied with that. Little wasn’t giving him any information. She was running calculations.

“We won’t even have an hour,” Little warned Deke. “Assuming we stop at the edge of the district.”

“Map,” Deke called.

“Here!” Divine Storm said, switching the shared terminal to the map of the Enclave.

“Good try,” Deke chuckled. “But I meant areal map. The paper ones.”

“Where did they put those?” Little asked. “Oh great. They better have not taken our maps!”

Neither Deke or Little could easily leave their seat.

“You!” Little pointed. “Lieutenant Blue Justice. Search the Admiral’s drawers.”

“Search the Admiral’s drawers?” Ensign Blue Justice gulped.

“That’s an order!” Little barked.

She scrambled to her hooves and began to gingerly peer into a drawer.

“I said search!” Little yelled. “Not pick through!”

They were not in the Admiral’s drawers.

“Here!” Ruby Snow said around the phone call. “They put them in Deke’s drawers.”

“How did you not know they were there?” Little quipped.

“Hey! I… have no idea where anything is. I barely know where the personal stuff like my papers are.”

They both chuckled. Deke usually had something to knock back. It was funny to them that he didn’t. And only because they were both lost when it came to where stuff was.

“Ensign,” Deke said, pausing to think about who he wanted. “I’ll pick Armored Sky. I need you to head to the mess and get me something light to eat, but more than a snack. And a bottle of water. Oh, and I have a private stash of Cloud Cola, please grab one. Its in the box marked with my name and a bunch of warnings. No particular flavor. Its all mine and I like all of what I brought.”

It was now solidly past lunch time.

Little was snickering. “Ensign Little Wrath, go with him and help out. No knives or sharp objects, in case we hit turbulence. Get me the same. That includes the cola from his stash.”

“Uh, get you food?” Ensign Armored Sky asked. “Isn’t that normally somepegasus else’s job?”

“The crew is at full alert,” Little reminded him. “They are at their own stations, which doesn’t include mess duty. And we can’t leave our seats, so yeah. It falls to the secondary positions to get. No matter what rank you are.”

“Alright,” Ensign Armored Sky replied slowly. “I guess.”

“Its not an insult,” Bronze Valve told them. “Get them taken care of, and then others will switch out to grab others food.”

“I don’t really know how to cook,” Ensign Little Wrath admitted.

“We are just talking something like sandwiches,” Bronze Valve clarified. “Battle Stations change things. Nopegasus is in the mess, you don’t use knives, leaving the stove on is dangerous, and such. What matters is getting the job done, not who does it. They are fair.”

“I didn’t eat breakfast,” Deke told Little.

“Neither did I. And I was fine until you asked.”

“I need the cola to help me not shake.”

“Yeah,” Little chuckled. “We do not need you shaking.”

Deke and Little laid the map out in the center isle between them and began to plan. The maps were coated, so their pencil marks could be removed later. Ruby Snow silently finished with the phone call and surprised them when he marked seven locations on the map.

“Those are the safe locations,” Ruby Snow explained. “I spoke with the captain in charge of three Sky-tanks. They are housing the homesteads while they do their job. They will be evacuating the young and the elderly. Those who can not be of immediate use right after. I had to set an age limit, or else too many would stay.”

“That eases my mind a bit,” Little stated.

Ruby Snow just kept going. “I will have the crew orders worked out momentarily. But I will be here, at number 3, where my family is. And where the Turnip Homestead is. It is where I am needed, as an Admiral, and as a homesteader. I can get things moving before and after. And after the winter, I am highly esteemed in these circles. All three of us are.”

“I thought I saw Turnip Homestead,” Deke absentmindedly stated. “But I had more important stuff to deal with.”

The Lieutenants came back with sandwiches and the drinks. They were thanked and two more sent out to get Bronze Valve and Ruby Snow something to eat. They would be doing that until every officer ate. The other posts on the ship were also getting food in the same manner.

A while later, Deke let out a low growl.

“Everything alright?” Little asked.

“No,” Deke spat. “None of this is right. We shouldn’t be heading into this storm. It never should have been created in the first place. It never should have been sent out this strong. That idiot should have more concern with our safety. Now not only has the First Fleet lost it’s Ninth Task Force, the Third Fleet is on the verge of losing it’s flagship. I’m going to burn him alive. Fuck rank.”

Little sighed, having no response. She was just as horrified and angry, but they showed their wrath differently. Deke was blatant, Little was more subtle, letting it pass unless she had to face it. Deke could be subversive. Little found it worked against everything that mattered. Deke was wanting to take on a well established Admiral. Little would only set the warning down and not let her ship be used.

But perhaps Deke was correct. Their ship was being used. Deke figured out the end result, looking at the bigger picture and acting as a better officer than the admiral, albeit in a less respectful way. That is where Deke lost approval. But it was also done when the shit had hit the fan and Deke had to make a stance.

Sometimes Little wishes she had the balls to do what Deke did. And not just in how she handled others, but in how she handled the ship. Little was just as good of a pilot, if not better, but Deke shined for his bold actions. If he crashed it would be a different story. But, once committed, Deke never hesitated or doubted himself.

Ruby Snow had finished the departure plans. He made it simple, keeping stations heading out together. Bronze Valve was going to be in charge and lead all of the new wings. When all orders had been given, Ruby Snow turned to Little.

Little’s breathing got faster as she began to panic. She knew the question was coming, and that it didn’t have to be asked.

“I… I don’t want to abandon my ship,” Little finally stated. “I just got her. But I have to admit, that Deke can run this show from his station. And he doesn’t need me.”

“No, I don’t,” Deke said. “But I could use assistance. I can’t fully watch weather while I pilot and target. I also can’t see systems. I only have 5 screens to cover 6 stations. And one is passive and behind me. I can do it, and if the Buttercup goes down, its better to save you. This isn’t a time to cry honor.”

“I’m not trying to cry honor,” Little replied confidently. “I just do not believe me leaving is something that… is more important. I have no idea where I fit in with it all.”

“Then stay,” Ruby Snow stated. “Deke shouldn't do this on his own. If this ship is to survive, you will find the way. Both of you. Neither of you are able fully shine alone. And you both know it. That is why you don’t feel that leaving is the right thing, and that staying isn’t about honor. You both need each other. Don’t forget that, ever.”

Deke actually looked back at Ruby Snow and smiled. “Thanks.”

“Alright,” Little said, thinking. “Thanks Ruby. I won’t. This trial will solidify it in my mind.”

Deke hit the ships whistle. “T Minus 30 minutes until mandatory departure. For those staying, I want to say it now before I get too focused, thank you. Thank you. Not for me. Not for Little. Not for Ruby. Thank your for the ponies below. Thank you for protecting them.”

“You mean again?” Wingnut responded.

Deke chuckled over the com system. “Yes. Again. But this time we know what we are getting into when it comes to the weather. Mostly. We were way out of our league last time.”

“Deke, we are shooting a storm,” Wingnut said, trying not to laugh. “That isn’t being out of our league?”

“Well, I… Right. That sounds insane. Fuck. It is insane.”

“Yeah, well, the Buttercup has never seen a Commander like you.”

“Funny,” Deke shot back. “Its only one other.”

“Yeah, but as good as Ruby is, he can’t compete with you and Little.”

“I heard that!” Ruby said, using his button to speak.

They all chuckled and got back to their jobs and final preparations.

Deke watched the clouds move below them. They were finally in front of the storm. Unfortunately there was no giant line to see when the district change. He had to rely on navigation for that. Little began to give him distances and minutes. Deke angled the ship down so they reached the correct altitude. He was focused too much out the window, flying by feel.

Deke missed the ship whistle and only hit the com line open. “Prepare for departure. 10 minutes. We open fire soon after.”

“Relax,” Little told Deke. “You are getting hyper focused.”

Deke shook his head, breaking his line of sight. He leaned against the console and rubbed his temples, eyes closed. Deke took several slow, deep breaths in, exhaling just as slowly. This was the first time he had entered combat, even simulations.

This may not be a breathing enemy, but it was one that would show no mercy. It was one that had them out gunned, out maneuvered, and didn’t show pain. It would roll over them without a thought. And it had already killed ponies.

Deke stood up suddenly and moved to the front of the bridge. He lightly trampled the map. Deke began giving orders to Divine Storm. Little joined his side, leaving Navigation to Sunny Swirl. Outside of the orders, they were silent, not even looking at each other. It just felt right to stand side by side as the headed into danger.

Divine Storm put the Buttercup in park and then jumped out to follow the others. Little and Deke stood there, watching each group’s leader come into view and give the all clear. They took the extra minute to watch them get safely out of the way.

Deke moved to his spot and Little sat across from him, at the Admiral’s chair. It gave her four screens to work off of. And she had moved the map to the floor besides her.

“Crew, this is Little. Prepare for a fight. Give it your all, for the Buttercup will give us her all.”

Deke finished calculations and looked straight at Little. “Why do you have a brand new uniform?”

Little looked Deke in the eyes. She almost didn’t respond. “I didn’t have a hot night last night. My record is no longer spotless.”

Deke chocked on a laugh. “My record was gone the day after I graduated.”

“Yeah, but you did that yourself.”

“Nope,” Deke shot back before she could continue. “I hit on the wrong mare in the common area after my first shift, and it went south from there. A few drinks later… I was in the brig to cool down. That is when Lieutenant Green Shield set himself against me.”

“Over a mare?” Little said, trying to not laugh.

“It got me here,” Deke said playing with the ship’s location. “I never had a chance to do real, justifiable damage to my record.”

“Did you learn your lesson?”

“Yes mum, I did.”

“Ha ha.”

“Did you learn yours?”

Little sighed, loosing her playful attitude. “Yeah. I did. Mostly from embarrassment.”

“Hey, I had to see and work with those fools after that, with no break. I am sure you didn’t do anything new or special.”

“Alright,” Little said getting them on topic. “You need to move 1,500 feet up.”

“I’ll have to give 500 feet.”

“Marked. Are the guns ready?”

“Yes. And Fire Control is live.”

“Nervous?”

“A lot.”

“Any final words to get off your chest before we meet death?”

“You will be just as dead as me, you can’t know where I am from to tell them personally.”

Little scoffed. “You think I can’t out survive you?”

“No. We both know I’ll make sure you die with me.”

Deke took a breath in. “We had our first fight yesterday. And it got… well you finally showed me why you are called lighting. That strike gave me a really good shock. It felt the burn of all that hot electricity… I’m sorry. I so much more prefer working in perfect sync with you.”

“Same,” Little said quietly. “I let my lighting get away from me. We both made mistakes. But I think we learned a lot about how badly we need each other, to function properly as officers.”

Deke adjusted the targeting and approved it.

Deke looked a Little. They locked eyes. She gave a nod. Deke almost told her to give the order, but it was Little and their less than skeleton crew. They all knew she was Captain, without a doubt. They were following her, not Deke.

Deke spoke with more than confidence. It was truth. This was their fight to win. “Fire!”

The Buttercup shook as all turrets let loose every cannon. They wouldn’t let up. The cannons reloaded at different speeds, depending on caliber. The 10 inch guns were the longest, but the 6 inch guns could hammer away at the target. They had auto loaders.

The 10s were assisted loading, forcing the loader to push the round in, close the breach, and then after being fired, remove the spent shell. That was the advantage of the 10 inch guns. It was easy to switch the type of ammunition. And a lot faster of a change than the 6 inch guns.

They hammered the front of the storm. Deke was making plenty of adjustments to each turret’s targeting as Little fed him navigation and weather reports. For every 100 yards of clouds they busted, the storm moved forward 150 yards. And the front only got nastier the further in.

They pounded the front with full broadsides for twenty minutes. The eight 6 inch guns ran out of ammo first. Five minutes later the 10s came up empty. They had a whole stock of armor piecing rounds, but none of them would work against storm clouds. And the defensive 25mm machine guns were useless against a storm.

“Quarter mile,” Little warned.

“Retreat?” Deke asked.

“Not with the atmosphere. We won’t outrun it.”

Little hit the ship’s com line. “TO THE ENGINES! WE HAVE TIME!”

“Run it,” Deke grinned.

“You better pull those flaps down hard,” Little warned as Deke pointed the Buttercup head on. “You have 3,600 feet on the face of front.”

Deke rammed the engines on full power, jammed the flaps in place and sent the Buttercup in a heavy lean as they rocketed upwards at a 60 degree angle.

“IMPACT IN 13!” Little yelled over the coms and the engines.

The bottom of the Buttercup slammed into the tall front. Deke’s face slammed into the console and he fell out of his chair. But he kept his hoof on the controls, keeping thrust at maximum.

Little tried to crawl back into her chair but couldn’t. She didn’t understand why not. All she could hear was the engines’ high pitch whining. Little tried to clear her head, but couldn't. Rubbing her temples only caused pain on her right side and left plenty of blood on her hoof.

It was then that Little understood why she couldn't get into the chair. They were almost thrusting up at 90 degrees. The Buttercup wasn’t capable of going up at an angle greater than 75 degrees. And she was the most agile Cloudship the Enclave had.

An engine exploded, rocking the Buttercup. Little climbed up so she could see Deke. He was standing on the back wall, stretched up to the controls, as he kept the Buttercup moving. He had sustained a gash as well, and probably a broken nose from the way blood was dripping off his upper lip. Little did what he did so she could assist him.

Deke winked at Little when he saw her. He had a plan. Deke grimaced as another Engine blew. They were down to two engines.

Little saw the flaps. Deke was forcing the Buttercup down, into the front. It was no different than if he was driving her into the cloud base instead of taking off. Except he was using the front for lift, with enough thrust to keep them from tipping backwards.

Little glanced around, trying to identify where the flashing lights was coming from. She couldn’t see it and looked to see if Deke knew. Little wasn’t confident she could speak. Not with the sound of whining engines in her head. Deke just winked at her again and then gave a nod. He nodded again. And again. Little picked up that he was timing something. She couldn’t feel it, but she wasn’t at the controls.

Deke narrowed his eyes at Little in warning and then flipped the flaps. Little expected to feel the Buttercup go backwards, but she found herself falling onto the floor. Little could feel the Buttercup humming through the floor. The engines were working, but not screaming. Still, all she could hear was their high pitched whine.

Little finally climbed into the chair and saw Deke. He was sitting in the chair as if nothing was wrong, playing with the flaps. Before shecould ask, the Buttercup shifted and began to go in perfectly timed S curves.

Deke glanced at Little and winked again.

“I can’t hear,” Little said. She was certain she had screamed it.

Deke raised an eyebrow. After a second he shrugged and focused on his navigation terminal. Little looked at the weather report. They had shifted out of the path of the storm and were headed straight towards New Cloudsdale. New Cloudsdale didn’t have any shipyards. Las Pegasus was the only place with Shipyards. Deke should be taking the damaged Buttercup there.

And then blood hit the terminal. Little’s blood. She remembered that she bleeding. And so was Deke. He was bleeding quite a bit. A damaged ship with no crew, and what crew was aboard was probably hurt just as bad or worse than they were. New Cloudsdale was the nearest place for help. And Deke was probably going to literally drop them on the hospital.

Deke looked at Little with wide eyes to get her attention. He began to move his head all around. It took Little a while to pick up that he was telling her to get a pad and to write on it.

Little ransacked the drawers at her feet and found one.

Little wrote: I can’t hear.

Deke took the pad and replied: Bottom engines blow, but tops at 70%. Bottom crushed. Flaps good. We can’t get up any higher than 24,000. Heading to NC hospital.

Little read it and wrote below it. Heard from crew?

Deke rolled his eyes. “I can’t hear anything. I can’t feel anything but pain everywhere. I can’t see out of my left eye.”

Little hit the ship whistle and opened the com line. She said it as loud as she could, whatever that was. “Little and Deke alive, but hurt. Neither of us can hear. Message bridge to report in!”

Deke shrugged, waiting for them to respond. Little looked at the systems terminal. It was flashing red, warning after warning after warning. And some she knew were wrong. It had all four engines off line.

The terminal in front of Little flashed. Little opened the message.

“All reporting in. In the common area, nursing wounds. Multiple second degree burns. Concussions evident in most. Several fractures. Two compound fractures. Most of us also can’t hear. Four gashes we are trying to close, but two are surrounded by burns.”

Orders from Bridge: “Hold position. We are making a beeline for NC. Can any of you actually use something to communicate out?”

“No. Recommend you spam their com line with bursts of beeps. Fuck morris code.”

“Hold on. We are giving it all we have to get there ASAP. No time estimate yet.”

“Did it work?”

“We did a damn fine job at cloud busting. I would have to review the records to see how much we actually did. But we are both very optimistic on what we did.”

“So are we.”

Little got up to move to the communication console and slipped into the console’s corner. She felt her Humerus crack. Little rolled on the floor, not even trying to hide her screams of pain. It didn’t matter, nopony could hear them.

Little finally sat up. Deke peered over the console to check on her. His eyes were filled with sorrow. He couldn't physically hear her screams, but he heard them in his mind. She flashed a smile at him to let him know she was up and moving.

Little scooted over to the com terminal. She slammed her hoof on the protective case, shattering it rather than flipping it out of the way. Little flipped the emergency broadcast switch and then began to push on the button for morris code from the floor. She lost herself in pushing at different intervals. She couldn’t remember simple morris code. The pain was blocking it out.

At some point Deke got to her and lifted her into the seat so she wasn’t straining so much. Little looked at the note he gave her. It had “ETA 4 H” and the arrival time. Little finally got the messages up and sent it back.

Deke held his own out of pure adrenalin. He blocked Little out. She was just pressing the button. He was no good to her or anypony else. He had to get them to New Cloudsdale. That was all he was good for right now.

Deke held his breath as the city came onto the radar. He saw three Cloudships approaching them on an intercept. They had gone around the city. Deke didn’t let up. He knew where the hospital was. It was by the weather factory. They used the low fly zone to make it easy for emergency vehicles to do pick ups and drop offs on the roof, without needing to shut anything down.

Deke pressed on ahead. He saw the Cloudships brake. They didn’t know how to properly and almost collided with him because they allowed themselves to coast a bit. Deke pushed the ship forward at full speed, ignoring the buildings that popped up below him.

They came over the no fly zone and Deke immediately dropped their elevation. They went almost straight down. The Buttercup barely caught them, but she did better than Deke expected. Deke pulled the brakes. He could feel the Buttercup groan and scream, grinding every gear and probably stopping the city from the shrieking. They sat down right on top of the hospital.

Little rolled her head over to look at Deke. He nodded. She stumbled up and out to the nearest top hatch. The others came out further down. The ramp was inoperable. Medical teams swarmed the Buttercup and scooped them up.

Deke saw them get clear and gave the engines a push. The Buttercup groaned and fought for it all. Deke reversed it all right before she gave out and caught her, setting her down on the top of the roof again. This time he had to let all the weight sit on her.

The hospital should be the sturdiest building in the city, but he hadn’t planned on setting her down fully. There was nothing he could do now. Deke stood up and walked to the nearest hatch. He got on top and looked around. A medical team quickly landed and ran over.

Deke held them back as he saw one of the Cloudships approaching high above them. He couldn’t think enough to tell which one it was. Deke just began to wave. A Pegasus jumped from a side battery and dove to the Buttercup.

He immediately began talking. Deke waved his hoof in front of his neck, finally cutting him off. Deke pointed at his bloodied and bashed ear and then shrugged. The officer only got it once one of the medical staff told him. Deke led the officer to a point on the Buttercup’s top deck.

Since the Buttercup was almost flat on top, she had anchor points where she could be lifted up from. The officer understood that quickly. Most other Cloudships were too big to have their anchors on top, and required a team of two or more to work from side anchors. This was simpler.

Deke took a deep breath in and let it out. The medical ponies got him to a sky chariot. Deke stopped. He refused to get in. Deke tried his wings. But he never got off the ground. His left side had been bashed in and most likely fractured.

Deke didn’t have to get on the sky chariot. At least not while awake. Deke knew they were giving him something from a needle, but he couldn’t feel any specific pain. He just lost consciousness as they caught him.

Chapter 89 - Sixth Conclave

Little and Deke sat side by side, both in wheel chairs. Both were bandaged up tight from multiple injuries. Deke’s entire left side of his head was wrapped up tight, including his left eye, with plenty of other bandages crossing his face and neck to support their position. Little had less bandages, but a cast on her left foreleg.

It had been 6 days since they had landed in New Cloudsdale. They got the rest they got, but they and others had to be brought before the Council to sort the entire thing out. Deke knew he was hurting and he could tell Little was in worse shape.

So far it had been reports on the state of the South Cloudsdale District before the storm and then the state after. No deaths were reported and no injuries either. They all had enough time to get to safe areas and ride it out.

The three Cloudships had gotten most of the old and the young out and the entire district was warned. There were some very close calls, but none received even minor injuries. All thanks to the Buttercup and her crew.

“Now,” The Chief Counselor said. “We have to address what happened in the Buttercup. Captain Lightning, Commander Deke, we have no personnel data after the abandonment happened and then you landed on the New Cloudsdale hospital.”

“Yeah,” Deke said raising his hoof. “That one was me. All on my head. I couldn't get her to launch after I did the soft landing and they departed.”

“She was removed from the roof within half an hour, and no harm was done to the building. Although, it caused quite a stir.”

“Yep,” Deke smiled. Now that it was positive, he was much more optimistic. “I’m that good.”

Little groaned, knowing how this would play out.

“We need to know what happened in between,” The Fifth Counselor said calmly.

Deke and Little exchanged looks. Little gave a nod to Deke to take the lead.

“I’ve done work on the guns, nestling a round in the layers to blow a solid hole, instead of having it impact on top. Maximizing the strike. And the cloud layer is tough and resistant.”

The Second Counselor stopped Deke. “Why were shooting the cloud layer.”

Deke opened his mouth to reply and then forgot what he was going to say. His head hadn’t stopped hurting, even with meds. He remember the mission, not why.

“I needed to, but I don’t recall why.”

Deke then remembered why, but kept his mouth shut. The injuries would cover his stupidity.

“Continue,” The Second Counselor ordered.

“Well, we tested the cloud busting capabilities on the tale end of the storm. It did a strong reduction in the storm, so we knew it would work. Somepony needed to bust those storm clouds up. They never should have left the factory in that condition. It was pure laziness. And we proved why. I would have to see the reports to calculate the impact, but we put a significant halt on the storm, busting the clouds, and destroying the storm’s initial structure.”

“We have those records,” The Fifth Counselor said. “The Buttercup did do massive amounts of damage to the storm. We are more concerned with after you made your stand.”

“Oh,” Deke said, trying to recover.

“We would have continued,” Little said cautiously. “And the plan was to hold. To not back down. But we ran out of high explosive rounds. And the rest of our armament, the armor piercing rounds, were useless and would have resulted in us bombing the cloud base and the farms below. We never expected to run out of ammunition. I need to review our stock balancing, but they were more than sufficient.

“So, we turned to maneuver, rather than let it crush us. Deke and I considered running, but the storm was right on us, there was no way to outrun it or out maneuver it from the position. Not with the atmospheric conditions on our engines. Deke should continue.”

Deke could see how much Little was hurting.

“I saw how to survive,” Deke stated. “Run it. We are light, so I was going to give it all the vertical acceleration possible to get above the front. She is the most maneuverable, but that stops at a maximum of 75 degrees. And that is a hard ceiling you can not beat because of the engine angles.

“We had 3,600 feet of the face of the front to get above. We didn’t. I put her as high as possible and then ran her directly into the front. That impact is where the bulk of the injuries probably came from. We were moving almost 90 degrees up, trying to get above the massive front. It is always more than the clouds you can see, because of the atmospheric changes.

“If we reorient the actions, I was driving the Buttercup into the cloud base and scraping along it. Since the storm front was vertical, I was thrusting into it with enough back thrust to keep us from being flipped over. It got close. I can’t say it was pure skill, because there was a point that my skill was surviving off of luck.

“But you can optimize that luck. When you understand the ship, knowing her inside and out, and how every flap individually effects how she performs, the scale tips in your favor. I have put her through more than enough paces to understand it all.

“Little knows too. Captain Lighting. Sorry. She was my navigator and weather master during it all. She was giving me everything I needed to make the calls. We work because we get each other and are can read the other. I had pilot because I understood what was happening when I jumped the Buttercup into action. I retained it because she isn’t stupid. She knew what I was doing and could have taken over, but she isn’t me, seeing everything exactly how I was. So she supported me and made it happen."

The Chief Counselor stopped Deke. “What happened when you struck the front?”

Deke shrugged. “Well, that’s not entirely known by us. We have been cut off from seeing anypony, or talking with anypony. Under heavy medical care. I know we hit it at 90% maximum thrust and that the impact caused a bottom engine to blow.

“I knew it was coming, the announcement was made, but even I wasn’t prepared. I kept the controls steady, but my head isn’t bandaged for looks. I think I broke my navigation terminal with my face. Or it broke me. I fracture my skull against it. Oh yeah, we had moved back to my command station and the Admiral’s station.”

“We know that,” Seventh Counselor smiled. “We knew that from the blood.”

“Right,” Deke said with a chuckle. “Well, my left side took the beating, and I was standing up on the back wall, stretched out to keep the controls forward as we ran up the front. The other bottom engine blew shortly after.

“Neither Little, I mean Captain and I could hear. So we finally got the messages running between systems for communications. I don’t recall the full communications. I know everypony survived. I know they were in bad shape, but patching themselves up.

“Little couldn't, I mean,” Deke groaned. “Fuck it, fuck rank, fuck names. Little couldn't get oriented for a while and then when she got up to move to the com terminals, where the emergency com lines run from, she slipped and slammed into the console. I don’t really know anything else.

“We took a tough and big hit. The Buttercup has to be compressed on the bottom. However, her top deck was perfect from what I could tell exiting her. I don’t know what else.

“I mean, we made our stand and would have continued if we had the ammunition. We systematically destroyed that storm as it approached. Real cloud busting. But you saw how dangerous it was when that task force got hit. We saved the crew and most of the ship. It would have meant the Buttercup and the remaining crew would have died if we stayed when we ran out. Just sitting there.”

“Yes, it would have,” The Fifth Counselor stated. “We know that for certain. We were hoping you had more insight than that.”

“There is not a lot to figure it out,” Deke stated. “Nopegasus knows what happened. We all had very limited viewpoints and no way to connect them. I’m glad the crew was able to get together and support each other medically.”

“Thank goodness you jumped into action,” The Chief Counselor stated. “What you did was phenomenal.”

“I couldn't of done it without Little,” Deke replied. “But it was phenomenal. And still, we would go do it again. And again. Even knowing the outcome of our injuries. We did what we needed to do. That is all.”

Little groaned. “Are you scrapping the Buttercup?”

“She needs extensive repairs,” The Fifth Counselor stated. “But no. We are not. The core of the Buttercup survived. As Deke stated, the top deck and guns are in perfect shape. Connected beneath them is the bulk of the structure. The big damage was to the cloud frame and the engines. Easily repairable. She will be restored and you will continue as Captain.

“The Buttercup is going to be in dry dock any hour now. All of the dry docks have repair projects in them. We had to get one cleared, which meant getting one finished enough to move. But it won’t be long until she is repaired. Her size is a big help to that. Give us a few weeks.”

The Fourth Counselor had a question. “Commander, how was the final crew picked?”

Deke shrugged. “All that was needed on the bridge was me. I could do it all from my corner spot. But I really needed Little to pull it off. I needed that support. From weather reports, nav distances, changes in the storm to better target, I needed everything she gave me. I can’t see more than a few terminals.

“Ruby Snow left because he could make a better impact with his report with the Homesteads. Wingnut I removed. I needed her to leave to guide the future creations of Corvettes. That legacy lives and dies with her. She is the master at the workings of the Corvette class and the improvements we have made, outside of the original specs. Plus you now need her to repair the Buttercup.

“Otherwise, I don’t know. I gave my approval, and so did Little and Ruby. But it was not decided by us. And we didn’t want to know. Only who was staying mattered, not why. It was not something we could do, order who would stay and die, and who would leave. Not when we had time to prepare and knew what we would be facing.”

“Why wasn’t it something you could do?” The Fifth Counselor asked.

Deke gave a few chuckles and then grinned. “Because, if they are going to die, they are going to die with us, fighting. But while we went to war against that storm and fought until we were out of ammunition, we also knew the end. And we planned the entire battle. If anypony is dying on the Buttercup, its in real battle, that we can’t control.

“How does that all work you ask? Uh, well, we needed pegasi to leave and spread the word. That was a big risk, trying to get to safety, wherever that would be, before the storm struck. So if we were going to be sending ponies out, it meant we should abandon it then, save the lives we knew we could. Unlike in a battle in war, where you need every soldier doing their job. To stay still and broadside the storm, we only needed a hoofful. So only those that needed to, stayed.”

Deke leaned back into the wheelchair. It wasn’t more comfortable, but he had to. Leaning forward was straining him too much. His left side was still bang up badly. Broken ribs and a slightly fractured wing.

“Commander, I have a question,” The Second Counselor said. “The Chief Meteorologist and you had a discussion, correct?”

Deke grimaced as he tried to raise his left eyebrow. It was still bandaged tightly for a reason.

“Ow, ow, ow! I forgot I’m stitched up and can’t raise my eyebrow. Yeah, but it wasn’t a discussion or talk. The Third and Second’s Seventh Task Force were working on a joint exercise plan, but we got interrupted by that idiot.

“He wanted to have us escort the storm. I looked at their projections and knew they were downplaying it’s strength. I told him he was wrong, we did a bit of back and forth and left cause I needed multiple terminals, and did my own calculations. I was back in a half hour or so with my own.”

The Second Counselor stopped Deke to ask a follow up question. “What makes you an expert on weather?”

Deke grinned. He was able to do that. “I learned it all in Primary School. I was a year or so late in my interest for going to specialized school, but its just a hobby. Besides, I never would have left my sister to go to another school.”

“What school did you go to?” The Second Counselor asked.

Deke sighed, “Humph.” He didn’t want to answer that.

“I don’t care if you went to the worst school in the Enclave, your skill speaks for itself. What school did you go to?”

“Gale Academy,” Deke grumbled. “I went to Gale Academy here in NC. And I graduated a year early and top of my class.”

“Gale Academy is a good school,” Sixth Counselor stated. “I don’t know why you have a problem with it.”

“I don’t,” Deke growled. “But I don’t like going into that part of my life with the others around. Little and I have had a nasty argument about my resistance to share right after the discussion with the Chief Meteorologist.

“The navy has a big stigma about non military blood lines captaining a ship, let alone being admiral. Earned or not, it doesn’t matter to most. The Third may be different, but its still navy. And others still look in on it.”

“Deke,” The Fifth Counselor smiled. “You are Derecho, correct? Director of Operations-”

“Yep,” Deke interrupted her, adding in a slow nod.

“I gave you that offer. What I saw was a Pegasus with extreme skill at balancing multiple factors and still on top of leading, while still being able to stay hooves on at any position and connected with the laborers. Still, one of them. I watched you. I gave you that offer. Obviously getting you on a Raptor never happened.”

Deke snorted. “I was too good for them. They couldn’t handle my skill. Fuckers. They wouldn’t let me learn. That and I had, well have, a rival Lieutenant. I might have the backing I have, but its kind of blacked out for a reason. Its… a complicated matter. Its still not military blood. Which is fucking stupid.

“Yeah, I earned my right. Yeah, I wasn’t ready to take command of a ship immediately. I had a lot to learn, and still do, but I wasn’t allowed to learn. I had to call Retired Major General White Blade as soon as I got to my first post, for the practicums, on the Lenticular. The fucking Admiral looked at my file and cast doubt on it and passed judgment before I came aboard. All those backings got me on the Lenticular, exactly where I should have been, but then it was over.

“So I called the Major General, and despite being retired, he got my record blacked out so that no other Captain or Admiral could look at the details. We made a move to protect my reputation before it was torn to shred by a simple background. Only one compromise had happened by the admiral, and he didn’t have anything to back it up since it was blacked out. It was better to see that I had multiple powerful backings, without seeing the details on some. Some names, like his, were left viewable.”

Deke sighed, giving up. Little was going to hear. And so with Ruby Snow. Everything they had fought for to protect him, that was over. How they would view him after, well they now knew he had backings more real than blood ever could be. Those days were gone.

“We had no choice, because all they saw was a trash Pegasus. And that meant all the backings were trash that I had somehow pulled out of my ass. It got me in, it got me onto a Cloudship, and it got me right to where we needed me to be so that I could learn and become more. But I got sideline hard. Because I was a threat to their blood.”

Deke’sbandaged head turned its smile into an arrogant smirk, which still held an air of power, not arrogance. The bandages only backed up his smirk’s truth. “And yeah, I am a fucking threat. Because I show them that they don’t need all the fancy ass shit they go through to be better than them. I show them that what they take pride in is really nothing. Its worth shit. That before they even got in a solid position to make it to be First Mate, I had already overhauled an entire Recycling Plant, doing more than they ever hoped to do in their life.

“Major General White Blade and I didn’t realize the offer came from the Fifth Counselor, head of the whole fucking Navy. Besides, I wasn’t going to ride that. Use it to get myself on a ship and then prove I could do it, fuck yeah. But not toss it around like they do with a blood line to get promoted, rather than prove I deserved it. The Third at least let me learn it all. And I fucking love it. Doing it all on my own. Now I get to teach a group of skilled officers how to do that. Work together, learn together, be one, but also be able to handle it if shit hits the fan and they have to face an enemy alone. Like we just did. And they got to see that power, that balance Little and I have.”

Deke smiled, focusing directly on the Fifth Counselor. “I am extremely grateful and in your debt for the offer. I know I thanked every backer, but I am not sure if my thanks reached you. Either way, thank you. CEO over the plant would have been fun. But I can still retire and play around there.

“I might have proven I have the skills, but I still was blessed by, well by the Stars. Shadow has me believing in them. I was blessed to be given the chance rather than be written off as just another worker. I was given an opportunity and beyond that. I was given the time by others to watch me and then give their support of me for a military appointment. I had forgotten about that idea, focusing on the job I was tasked with. I should not have been given a second thought, yet I was. And it is appreciated to the highest degree.

“And I’m not going to waste it, no matter what. I never do anything half assed. I will become the best Cloudship Captain the Enclave has ever seen. I will rule the sky no matter what ship I am on. I have some stuff to learn, but I will be a master. It will bend to my will. There is nothing stopping me but my own limitations, that I put on myself."

“Okay,” The Second Counselor said, trying to regain control. “You went to school, you like weather, and you made your own calculations.”

“Love weather,” Deke corrected. “And yes. Every Cloudship Captain should have a prime grip on weather, because it effects everything with the ship. My calculations were under powered. He was undershooting the power completely. It was pathetic. We argued, both the Third and the Second backed me. If I make a stand, I am never wrong. He stormed out and got the First to do the stuff instead. Little and I had a fight about an admiral gunning for my head and my backing, cause she couldn't protect me.

“And that’s really it. The whole point. You have a civilian running military operations. A civilian who isn’t qualified. The storm was bad. I don’t know weather building. I don’t care about that. But as Chief Meteorologist and a high level Admiral, he should have at least gotten the storm clear of NC and then blasted it apart with Raptors. Like we did and from an elevated position for safety. Not alongside it, which is why the Ninth took that hit. Destroy it, don’t endanger civilians and military personnel. And he was warned about the dangers and inability for Cloudships to escort it. He had a Fleet Admiral and Vice Admiral turn his request down.

“That isn’t appropriate or acceptable. I may not have a fancy degree, but I am military trained. His rank means shit because he isn’t military trained.”

The Chief Counselor grinned. “What do you think we should do with him? He has been put on leave while we investigate things. He left a very strong report about you. Against you.”

Deke let out a few nasty chuckles. “Look, he made it to where he is at for a reason. But for starters, he has no idea what to do with Cloudships. I have an idea, but its purely what I would do.”

Little held back a smile. Deke was about to lay down as close to an order to the Council as one could possibly get. And he would get away with it. Because Deke didn’t speak without a plan. And he didn’t do it without being right. And on top of that, he had just pulled off amazing feats, saving citizens and somehow had the backing of the Fifth Counselor.

“And that would be?”

“Well, canning him isn’t a good idea, neither is punishment or rank reduction. Instruction is the better choice. Toss him into Basic Training and then into Officer School. Any untrained appointments need to do that. And not as punishment and certainly not in their own special group. They won’t learn properly. No, they need to go to Basic Training, with their current rank, and with new recruits. Because they are new to the military, being recruited from their current nonmilitary positions.

“They need to train, live, and breath being a recruit. And then they need to train, live, and breath being an officer candidate. They need to be with regular soldiers to understand them and be them. And learn to respect them, and what it means to dictate that you have to send them into danger, or worse, to their known deaths.

“They keep their rank because its not a punishment. And they will be going right back to it unless they fail. And no, nopony will have a problem with them being there with that rank. All that needs to be said, because its not punishment, is that they require Basic Training for their appointment. That they were in their job field, like Meteorology, and moved to the military. So to Basic Training they go!

“I know you have to have quite a few appointments that need to go to training. I also know you have a lot that don’t, who started in the military. Over the next year or two, the ones who need to will be sent. Starting with those at the top so they can lead the ones below them better once they are finished with training and really understand the military.

“Every Pegasus who controls soldiers needs to know what it is to be a soldier. What that sacrifice means. What it means to have lives in their hoof. That is a nonnegotiable quality for an officer in command. And yet, no officer is above that call themselves. Because that fucker should have deployed himself with the Ninth Task Force, but didn’t. I know, the Ninth was in Mareland, and he was in Nellie, but he never even intended to join us on the escort. That was unthinkable and beneath him. An officer of any rank is never beneath fielding themselves in a forward role if it is required. Even if that means they have to take up a weapon and fight on the front line! Especially if the danger was as little as he said it was.”

Deke finished by staring down the Chief Counselor. A direct challenge that not only said he was right, but that he knew what he was doing and they did not. It also held an edge of a challenge saying that the Council itself wasn't above leading pegasi into battle. They had opened it up by asking him.

“I think that is all,” The Chief Counselor stated. “Thank you. For your loyalty, for your actions, and you recommendations. Both you Commander and you Captain. Go, get some rest. You both need it and deserve it.”

“Fuck no,” Little groaned. “I just watched Deke pull that maneuver with the Buttercup out of his ass. Fuck yeah I am just as good of a pilot, but I never would have been able to pull it off. Because it takes more than skill to do that. I’m in front of the Council and I am not going to waste it. Deke certainly didn’t just now.”

Deke grinned. He was unsure where Little was going, but seeing her say ‘fuck’ to the Council meant it would be good. She was going to show her Lighting. In a controled, good way.

“The Third Fleet has six fucking ships over four classes,” Little stated. She pulled herself up, using the table and her good foreleg to brace herself. “Three Net Layers, a Monitor, a Battle Cruiser, and a Corvette. Three out of four were expertly designed Cloudships, canned because on paper they were not as good as a Raptor or a Sky-Tank.

“The only reason we survived was because we were on the Buttercup, a Corvette. Deke never could have pulled it off in a Raptor. And we have almost the same broadside power as a Raptor. And the program was cut only because the materials used ratios didn’t look right compared to the small size of the Corvette. Her top deck never got damaged or any of her 10 inch guns because they sat on top. That is a testament to her design. The power of the Corvette is in her maneuverability and speed, while still packing a heavy armament.”

Little drew herself in as much as possible, looking as confident as she could being as bandaged and bruised up as she was.

“You need to expand the Third Fleet. You need to commission for us a fleet of Corvettes to do the patrolling they are designed to do. Optimize the resources used into the next generation of Cloudships. We have our Raptors, but no dragons to fight. And we have more than enough Raptors if the dragons came back in force.”

It almost looked like the Fifth Counselor was about to speak.

“And I am not done! Because we still have the Monitor Class. If we had been on the Lord Clove, at the front, that Lord Clove would have given that storm more than twice the beating we gave it. Easily. The firepower and distance the Lord Clove affords the fleet is shocking. Her forward armament is greater than a Sky-Tank’s broadside. Monitors need to be built so we can place them in patrols around cities. They are designed to be rolling defenses that monitor the area to protect it. Scrap the next five Raptors and give us five Monitors so we can patrol the major metropolitan areas with a firepower than can engage enemies at longer ranges than any other ship and allow assault ships like Raptors to maneuver in.”

The Fifth Counselor put her hoof up, but Little wasn’t done.

“I am not done yet! There is no doubt the Net Layers need to be bolstered as well. They are saving the North. We need to double their numbers. No other ships can do what they do. I know their need wasn’t fully seen back then, but it is seen now and we must stay diligent and be ready to deal with more issues with our cloud base. Its nearing 200 years with little management. So we need to make sure we can do anything, at anytime, in force.”

Little was beginning to shake as she kept herself locked upright.

“The Third Fleet needs reinforcement and expansion! It is a very critical Fleet that can do more than what it has been doing. The past year alone shows the Third’s usefulness and strength. We need a dozen more Corvettes and then we can do the real work. And like I said, another five Monitors and we would be putting up a defense that the Raptors can not match.

“Our unique Cloudships can not be split to other fleets! The Third Fleet is not a direction action fleet. It is a defense fleet. A home fleet. And it is lacking the ships to function correctly.

“Officers need to be trained for defense. Raptor officers think like ships of the line. That is good. While we all can stand as ships of the line, the Corvettes are designed to be the only ship there, or making the flanking maneuvers. It takes a different mindset, an different ideology. Like the difference between Light Troopers and Heavy Troopers. And the Monitors also can not be commanded with the same philosophy. While they stand as the greatest ships of the line, as they are the line, piloting a slow but powerful craft is different!”

Little collapsed into the wheelchair, shaking. She had put everything she had into her stand.

“Thank you Captain,” Fifth Counselor replied. “We will take it into consideration. We will be discussing the Third Fleet in more detail and your input is invaluable.”

Little gave a silent nod. Her face showed her pain, but her eyes proved she had heard the Counselor clearly.

The Seventh Counselor had their nurses step over and wheel the two of them out of the Council Chambers. They needed to go back and rest. Their report was given. They had more to discuss about the state of the South Cloudsdale District.

The nurses hurried to get them back to the hospital. And it wasn’t just for patient care, but because they had been given strict instructions to not speak a word of what happened inside the chambers. It was a lot of pressure on their shoulders, having to sit there and wait while the Council made decisions. Most pegasi were not ready for the pressures the silence would bring. And nothing big was being discussed.

Deke and Little were in different wings, but the whole floor was the Intensive Care Unit. Individual rooms and plenty of nurses on staff. The other crew members were in various other rooms on the floor with them. But nopony was side by side.

As soon as Deke was in his bed they gave him a dose of pain meds and he slipped into well deserved slumber. Deke woke up a little while later. The steps coming into his room were military, not nurses.

Deke groaned a yawn and saw with his unbandaged right eye Vice Admiral Purple Breeze. He smiled at her. “My first visitor. They won’t let anypony see me, they won’t let me see anypony. And they won’t give me any news. Bastards.”

“Well we need you to rest up. And focus on just healing.”

“How do you focus on healing! I just have to lay here and heal! Its boring!”

Purple Breeze giggled a smile. “Same old Deke. And we are still sorting everything out, and can’t have you running your mouth about mistakes and how it should have been handled.”

Deke sighed. “The citizens deserve to know the full truth. I get why they can’t, and it needs to be strategically handled, but they need to be given that. It builds trust. The less barriers to see how things are, the better. Then you don’t build up things like the Pillars of the Community. Or they listen and back down because of the transparency.”

“Well, your head is still about you. Better than Little is faring. And you fractured the left side of your skull in the impact.”

Deke sighed, feeling for Little. “Yeah. I am surprised she was as together as she was at the meeting. She is going to have to take it slow.”

“And rely on your to build her up,” Purple Breeze stated, sitting down in the visitor’s chair. “She will need you, as her First Mate, to build her back up.”

“Can I though?” Deke asked. “I am not walking out of this the same.”

“I don’t expect you too,” Purple Breeze replied with a smile. “I was in the adviser's seating off to the side. I watched and heard it all. Its still there. You told the Council how to handle their Chief Meteorologist. The same Deke is still there. Just a little wiser from experience.

“Although, I never expected Little to make her demand.”

Deke chuckled. “I know. It was good to see her fire back. We all know her argument about the Third, but I never expected her to directly challenge the Council with it. I’ve never seen her challenge anypony with it.”

Purple Breeze nodded. “Ruby and I got that held off until the morning. We were going to invite them to the upcoming training, but Little’s Demands, as they are being called, are going to directly be discussed in the morning. Ruby and I are not going to back down. As she said, the last year alone has proven their worth.”

Deke sighed. “Admiral. I… I am concerned with my future performance. You want me to build Little up as a Captain, to bring her confidence back. I can do that… but…”

Deke took a deep breath in and let it out. It wasn’t going to go away. “I haven’t regained much hearing in my left ear. I’ve only had magical bandages applied and I have had multiple doses of healing potions. Steroids too. Its not looking good for that ear.”

“Deke,” Purple Breeze smiled as she put a hoof on his. “You will be fine. It is still early in your recovery. Very early. Even if you have hearing lose in one ear, I know you will be able to compensate and it won’t stop you. Its not going to be significant enough to stop you. And if it does, I won’t let it. I can always take you on in an adviser position, that doesn’t require you to hear perfectly. But you are not going to be disabled enough to justify retiring you in any fashion. There is plenty of time for healing still.”

Deke smiled, reassured a bit. It was what he needed to hear, but he still faced hearing loss with dread. An unknown storm was ahead, and he had to navigate through it, with no idea how.

Deke turned things to the other problem. “I know its been kept from me. They won’t even let me get basic information reports. Not even a fucking newspaper. How many died?”

Vice Admiral Purple Breeze took a deep breath in. “Little needs more rest. I know you cracked your skull, but she isn’t responding as well, or with the same clarity as you.”

Deke nodded.

“Chief Warrant Officer 2 Radiant Sun, died in route to the hospital. He bled out. He was in Engine 3 when it blew. They couldn't get him stitched up with the massive burns he suffered. Also in Engine 3 was Sergeant Firecracker. She died of complications from sever burns two days ago. It appears that Radiant Sun saw the explosion coming and shielded her as best as possible. At least that is what First Sergeant Sugarcoat reports.

“Master Sergeant Twilight Sky died from head trauma caused during impact. That happened soon after arriving at the hospital. And Sergeant Ebony Grace died of massive internal bleeding four days ago. There isn’t much to report about them. We don’t know what happened. They were alone at the impact.

“Everypegasus else is hurting, but should return to their posts. Even the burn victims. They are as resilient as the Buttercup. They made a strong stance and held firm, as they planned to. There is no doubt on that.”

“I have a request,” Deke immediately stated. “The new ships we will get, that they be named for those who lost their lives holding the line. We may have gotten the chance to maneuver since we were out of ammunition-”

“You held the line,” Purple Breeze said, cutting Deke off. “That’s official. We know that. The Buttercup and the crew held that line and its recorded as such. As to the names, I think that is more than appropriate. I will address it in the morning session. We never have crew members die, at least in actual honorable actions, so commemorating their ultimate sacrifice with a ship never happens. And they gave it all to protect the citizens. And proudly.”

“Good,” Deke said, letting a slight smile crest his lips. “And they should fly a death ribbon flag. The purple heart with a black stripe. That way everypegasus knows their heritage.”

Vice Admiral Purple Breeze nodded with a smile. “You have some fun ideas. And I hope to see the honor and sacrifice portrayed to not just the Third, but the Second and First fleets as well. Deke, do you remember right before taking on the new crew, when I passed off command to Ruby and he was promoted?”

“Yes,” Deke replied, unsure where she was going with it.

“The Buttercup was awarded the Council’s Unit Citation, and so was every active crew member.”

“Yes, the ribbon we got.”

“Well, expect more. Its been pitched combat class awards for the crew that stayed.”

“Okay?” Deke said confused. “I know we held the line, but it wasn’t combat.”

“It probably won’t be,” Purple Breeze replied. “That was pitched by a non military counselor. But awards and decorations will be coming. Don’t be surprised when they come. I know you were just doing your job.”

“Just give them,” Deke grumbled. “I’ll take them with a scowl on my face and use them to model how Enclave Soldiers, officer or not, should act to protect civilians. No matter what the circumstance is, or what danger they are facing. And I’ll wear a smile on my face when displaying them for all to learn from.”

“I can guarantee you will be getting the purple heart,” Vice Admiral Purple Breeze stated. “But I am still fascinated by your lack of care about shiny medals and awards. With your swagger-”

“They are nothing more than perks of doing what I am supposed to do,” Deke huffed. “They don’t mean I have any skills. They just sit there and look pretty. And too many captains have a chest full of them with no real meaning. Just pats on the back for years of service.”

“Well, they won’t have these,” Vice Admiral Purple Breeze stated. “But yes, too many just parade them around. I am guilty of that. And you will get your own pat on the back ribbons.”

“And I may not wear them,” Deke stated. “Only the ones with value. I guess Council’s Unit Citation is worth it. Its not good conduct.”

“The Buttercup is getting the second one,” Purple Breeze told Deke. “And only the 14 of you who stayed are getting that award. The other served their role, and not without honor, but only you 14 were on board to earn the Buttercup that award.”

Deke snorted in response. “Rank’s important. Rank tells others you have skill. Medals and ribbons don’t.”

Vice Admiral Purple Breeze shook her head with a smile. “You will be getting a few visitors tomorrow morning, if you are up to it.”

“Please,” Deke said, almost begging. “Almost anypony would be good to see. And please, let me see the others. They are still here, right?”

“All of them are here,” Purple Breeze replied. “The Seventh Counselor decided it was unwise to move them to the hospital in Mareland. They have a long way to go, and they need the care level here. The base hospitals are not always as, soft. I will try and get that restriction lifted.”

“Can I get paper and some pens?” Deke asked. “I should write letters to the families. Little is out of it, and either way, I was in charge. She made the call to the engines to give the support we needed to make the climb, but it is where I needed them.”

“I will,” Purple Breeze smiled. “I will get that for you immediately and try and get the restrictions removed. But please, rest up. Don’t stress yourself. And certainly, don’t blame yourself.”

Deke snorted. “I don’t. I’m thrilled it was only four. The right call was made. Ruby told me once, that you can do nothing wrong, make no mistake, and still lose. Its a fact of life, not a weakness. I did everything fucking right. That is the truth.”

“We faced impossible odds. I’m not sure if we lost or won. In many ways we won, in many ways we lost. But I guess in the end, the truth of it all, what actually matters, is that no civilians were hurt. It was close, but they survived. That was the real victory.”

“That it was,” Vice Admiral Purple Breeze grinned. “That is the what matters in the end. You did the job you set out to do, save them. And they know what you did for them. They know how close it was and they are grateful to all 14 of you for holding the line.”

Vice Admiral Purple Breeze departed and Deke called for more pain meds so he could sleep.

It is suggested that you read Derecho's story if you have not already read it. It was written before this chapter was written. It is the Anthology's second story. It explains Deke vs Derecho and what each name means. Its not required to continue reading this story, but it is recommended.

Chapter 90 - Bed Rest

Deke was writing the letters in the morning. It wasn’t easy to write. Deke wasn’t having a problem with their deaths. His problem was he didn’t really know what they did at the time of the impact. And the reports from the crew was so fragmented, there was nothing remarkable to say.

Deke also had to avoid directly blaming the Weather Factory or the Chief Meteorologist. At least Deke’s own report didn’t expect the storm to be as powerful. Deke stuck with that fact. Because, all that matters is that it gained strength as it was unleashed and they had to stop it.

An advantage was that Deke knew the crew members quite well. They were part of the original 54, before the new hires. He had lived with them for long enough to get to know all four. He could attest to their courage, to their skill, to their devotion to the Pegasus Race. And to their trust in him as their officer, just as he trusted them as his crew.

The biggest thing about letters to the family was letting them know the officer had a connection with his soldiers. That they were not pawns. They were not numbers. They were living, breathing pegasi and that they were known and loved by their officers.

The testaments from the district Deke was finally receiving about the Buttercup were staggering. And he made sure to transfer the citizen’s thanks into the letters. In the end, it was all he could do. But he felt confident in it.

Deke finished the first letter as he heard different hoof steps approach. His visitors had arrived. Deke looked to the doorway and in walked Cherry Tart and Early Blossom. And they were smiling. Their smiles brought a smile to his lips.

“Hey,” Early Blossom said. “We have been trying to visit but you were off limits. We have been in town for a few days for the discussions, but we couldn’t see you. They wouldn’t confirm or deny you were in the hospital, or even if you were alive. We were so thrilled to see you yesterday.”

Cherry Tart shook her head with a smile. “And it was you to land right on the hospital. That has been hot news as the city waits for a real report from the Council.”

Deke chuckled. “I wasn’t going to make it to Mareland with them on board. The crew was barely alive.”

“Is that what that letter is?” Earl Blossom asked.

Deke sighed and nodded slowly. “That information will be released in time. But there were a few deaths on our end.”

“Damn,” Early Blossom swore. “I am so sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Deke replied, flashing a smile. “They died protecting you and the others. They died honorably, lovingly, and undeniably protecting the Pegasus Race. They will be greatly missed, but if we get more ships, I put in that their names be the names of the first to come. That will happen. They deserve that honor.”

“I never thought about the reason why a Cloudship has that name,” Cherry Tart said.

“It’s never for the dead,” Deke stated. “Nopegasus dies like this, Not since we sealed up the clouds. And rarely its to honor somepony, because nothing phenomenal happens either. Its the same year after year.

“Accidents happen. The Ninth had an accident, but they didn’t die protecting the Pegasus Race. Our crew members did. But, if you visit Little, she isn’t cleared to hear this.”

“We can’t visit her yet,” Cherry Tart replied. “Only you.”

“Thanks for coming,” Deke smiled.

“You had us worried,” Early Blossom said, lingering. “We, knew that something happened. But we didn’t know how you fared. And its not the best, but my immediate thought was you were going to be my donor. Selfish of me, I know. But I was really looking forward to that.”

“Oh,” Deke stammered. “Right, you were not home to get that letter. As soon as I got back to Nellie a few weeks back I went and did my part. But I didn’t know you were not home, so you wouldn’t have heard that update.

“So yeah, if I had died, it still would have been all taken care of. And you can go have as many of my foals as you want. My legacy is secure. At least, in you.”

Deke chuckled. “I really like the idea of little half mes running around with little half Shadows. Its going to be an epic childhood for them.”

Cherry Tart groaned. “Please tell me you were not one of those foals.”

“I was a model foal,” Deke stated. “I had to be once my parents died. I had to take care of my little sister and grow up fast enough to get a job. My childhood ended early. But its okay. Because I had a good adulthood. And its only getting better.

“I need to get them word that I am here, but I know, take it slowly. I grew up here. Which is why I knew how to get to the hospital and how to land on it. They are here, and would immediately visit if they found out it was me.”

“Do you talk to your sister?” Early Blossom asked. “And family?”

“I was raised by my Aunt and Uncle,” Deke nodded. “It was a great relationship. I write often enough, and it was three or four days before the storm that I talked with my sister. The family is doing well. She is doing well.

“They know I contact them as much as possible. They understand that being deployed on a Cloudships makes contacting them difficult because I have to be in port to do. They know that my ship is the Rising Sun, our cover ship. My cover has still held, unlike Little’s."

“The Buttercup is the talk of the Enclave right now,” Cherry Tart chuckled. “After leading the Winter Emergency, and others knowing it was the Buttercup to confront the storm, its known it was the Buttercup. The pride of the Third Fleet. That cover is almost gone, if it isn’t. You guys have saved thousands of lives at this point.”

Deke sighed. “If that’s what they need to hear, sure. But We just did what we had to in order to protect the citizens. And the Ice Emergency was lucky. This I was prepared to do, to some degree.

“After that argument with the Chief Meteorologist, I got stuck on it and I just went to research what it was going to do. I grabbed news articles about the district and such, but it wasn’t until we heard that the First Fleet’s Ninth Task Force had it’s accident trying to escort it that I jumped into action.”

“That’s what Ruby Snow said,” Early Blossom stated. “I mean Admiral Ruby Snow.”

“Right,” Deke chuckled. “They got all of that from Ruby. They only needed us for the final part after they had to abandon ship. Its all a bit muddled for me since getting to the hospital.

“I took a good hit to the head. Cracked my skull. I still have problems seeing out of my left eye and my hearing is spotty. I don’t know how much will be restored. But it is as it is. It won’t stop me from my job. I still have plenty of time to heal.”

“I could tell it was bad yesterday,” Cherry Tart said concerned. “But I didn’t know it was that bad. It explains your bandages.”

Deke chuckled. “If I have problems with my left eye, I’m going to wear an eye patch. I’m going to be the Pirate Captain of the Enclave!”

They all laughed. It felt good to laugh. They needed it. They had been working hard in the district.

They talked for several hours more on various topics. Ultimately, they had to leave to feed Shadow Heart, and then prepare to head back out to the Southern New Cloudsdale District. Their time was extremely appreciated, and their care for him was felt at his very core. They were from two different worlds, but they had been brought together and would always be close because of fate.

Deke got back to writing. Lunch came, but as usual, it was very light. He still was a bit sick for food. The pain meds dulled everything and made him a bit nauseous. Ruby Snow surprised Deke as he was rereading the letters.

“Hey!” Ruby Snow said entering. “There is my favorite Idiot Commander!”

Deke chuckled with him. “It is good to see you. It’s good to finally have some news and some visitors.”

“Purple Breeze said you were going insane. I don’t have much time. Its been a long day. And its going to be a long day tomorrow. Still with the Council. There is a lot of damage control to do. I was expecting to just pop in and saw hi, but Little was barely conscious.”

Deke sighed. “I don’t know what happened to her. I just know I hit the console, felt pain everywhere, had some cuts and a bloody nose, and somehow kept the controls in place.

“But, I also know She couldn’t figure out the new orientation of the Buttercup, after the impact. And then she slipped and broke her arm when she got up to make it to the com terminals. She was on the floor for a while hitting the button until I could finally get up for the brief moment and get her in the chair.”

Ruby Snow shrugged. “I think a good deal of it is psychological. I left that evaluation with her doctor the other day. I get tabs on you two. The whole thing was tough on her psychologically. Barely in command and it all happened.

“And it was you in command. That is always stressful for her. She trusts you, but you are faster than she is. And she is reserved while you are-”

“Reckless,” Deke finished. “At least that’s how it looks.”

“She looks up to you for that,” Ruby Snow said. “She wishes she had more guts.”

“Yet she will make the better admiral,” Deke replied. “And she knows that.”

“Yeah, but you make even me want to be more… blatantly confident.”

Deke chuckled. “It is how I got the Fifth Counselor’s backing. I didn’t realize it was her.”

“She always had a knack for catching talent,” Ruby Snow stated. “I did my first rotation under her, before being moved to what became the Third Fleet and the Buttercup, under Purple Breeze. Under her, I was the First Mate on the Hurricane. Second Fleet, Seventh Task Force. And she was the Admiral over it. The Hurricane which served as the command ship for the task force. Purple Breeze was on… I forget. But Captain of a Raptor in the task force, so I knew her.”

“Seventh Task Force?” Deke asked. “As in the same problematic Seventh Task Force?”

Ruby Snow chuckled. “It is amazing how fast that Task Force went from the pride of the Second Fleet to a disaster. We moved to the Buttercup. She moved from Vice Admiral to Fleet Admiral. Then Admiral Breezy Sky took charge of the Seventh Task Force.”

“To start, the Buttercup was added to the Seventh Task Force. At that time, the Red Dawn was in the Seventh, and still held Unit 731. A few years later and the decision was made to move the Red Dawn and Buttercup. They got the bright idea to put all the odd ships together. We were the Second’s Eleventh Task Force for a while. That is when we got the Lord Clove. Five or so years later, Admiral Purple Breeze succeeded in removing us from the Second Fleet and made the Third Fleet.

“And that is the history of the Third Fleet.”

“So, did you hear about me?” Deke asked.

“We really didn’t keep in contact,” Ruby Snow shrugged. “We both had a lot to do. And she became the Fifth Counselor several years ago. We had the service history and some good times, but no real need to keep in contact. I did see her and speak briefly with her when the Third Fleet was created and the small ceremony that happened. After that, the last time we talked was a few times with the Ice Emergency. But none of that was in person.”

Ruby Snow grinned. “I did get to look at your file. Fleet Admiral kind of gave me that right to see the redacted text. But I didn’t think of it until the other day. Damn Deke. You tore it up. No wonder why you are so good. The letters of backing I read, I was impressed. I was impressed with your performance before your operations began, and I didn’t have the letters then.

“I can see why so many would disqualify it. That is more impressive than the greatest military lineages we have. I have none. Little has some. And the Counselor, she had a big one. She knows the shit they pull. And she saw me and saw my skill in weather. And I was brought up by her.”

“You were brought up in weather?” Deke asked. “We never exactly talked about that.”

“Right, cause you have to learn it all,” Ruby Snow chuckled. “And I had. You were the one in trouble. But yes, I was put at weather against my will because I was already decent at it. Growing up on the farm, all I had to learn was a bunch of technical stuff. I learned it naturally. She saw that I could be more, that I could take that knowledge and be a better navigator and pilot. And I got that chance.

“But I never became a real pilot. Not like you our Little. I can fly. I can do it all. But I learned just enough to lead the bridge from the chair. That is the sad fact. But I got Little, and I got you. I rescued you to foster you like I was fostered.

“And clearly you needed that. Because no captain was going to give you what you had earned and deserved. I am lucky I got that honor.”

“I am so thankful for it,” Deke smiled. “Not to cut it short, but are we getting more ships?”

Ruby Snow shrugged. “They kicked me out. Me and Purple Breeze. All of the Captains had reported in for it because of the incident. The Net Layers are still doing their job, directed by their First Mate. No time to stop. We all got booted. We fought hard. We talked about organization, and what we were wanting to do with the ACUs.

“We do not know the outcome, but they all but said we will get ships. Its not going to be the 18 Little demanded, but we will get ships. The idea of naming the new ships after our fallen crew members, it went over very well. Thank you for that splendid idea. It is perfect.

“Little brought rise to the idea that the Third Fleet wasn’t misfits. It was a home fleet, a defensive fleet. That was something we have never talked about. I had never heard her elude to that idea of a defensive fleet. But it resonated in their minds. Little’s Demands, she cracked their view of our defenses and how good they are, and she gave them the solution. At the same time, she didn’t tear down the Raptors, but built them up with their purpose.

“We will get something. And it will slowly be expanded. The better we do, the more they will put into our development. Its been very slow for building ships over the past few decades. They have been doing repairs and retrofits. But this, this will get those dry docks moving.”

“Expectations?” Deke asked.

“I am guessing 5 Corvettes and Two Monitors. Oh, and three more Net Layers. That will happen. That was already being prepared for. They have three about to be produced. The Buttercup’s repairs are throwing that time line off. But its all spurring them to move faster with those ships in Dry Dock.”

“Damn,” Deke swore. “We hoped for this day to come, but we never saw it.”

Ruby Snow smiled. “I didn’t ever see Little telling the Council, or even a single Counselor, that she wasn’t done talking. If she ever told them off, it would be from her pilot seat over the long distant communications. But that was a stretch.”

“I can’t believe she stood up like that,” Deke state. “But it made a good impression, added weight to her words. She had nothing to lose and everything to gain and she used it. She showed her lightning.”

Ruby Snow chuckled. “No, she didn’t show her lightning. She Deked up.”

Deke chuckled, loving the entire idea. “I can certainly live with that.”

“To show her lightning, she would have to have been defending something or somepegasus. And she would have had to be tearing that Pegasus down. She didn’t attack the Council. She told them what to do. What we needed in the Third. She channeled you instead.”

Deke sighed. It felt good to smile. To laugh a bit. But it was tough. It did hurt at times. And it was draining.

Ruby Snow saw it and got serious before he ran out of time. “Deke, how is your hearing?”

Deke shrugged. “My left is still down. When the doctor came in a few hours ago and tested it, it hadn’t improved. They are bringing in a specialist in the morning. The same for my eye.”

“Well, its not going to ground you,” Ruby Snow confidently stated. “Its only going to make you better, stronger. Somehow. I don’t have those answers. But it won’t ground you if it never improves. You are not that disabled yet.”

“That’s what Purple Breeze said,” Deke sighed. “I… getting used to the idea of never hearing out of that ear again is tough. I went in facing death fine, but I’m discovering injury can be the harder thing to face. We will fight for my hearing, but I’m losing hope in treatment.”

Deke’s smile was sad. “The eye, I could always go pirate.”

Ruby Snow rolled his eyes. “You toting an eye patch would be scary. You would be Deke, but you would be more forthright and fearsome. And you would enjoy it.”

“I would,” Deke sighed. “I would. I also would move the Captain's chair to the left side so I would never be blinded while commanding my bridge.”

“You will have to learn to live with that,” Ruby Snow chuckled. “They are not going to move the chair for you. Even if you are Captain. And its only been a short time. The treatments will take effect. You will heal. Just relax and let your body do it’s job. Magic and potions can only do so much, the body has its own clock.”

Deke was nearly spent.

“It was good talking with you,” Ruby Snow smiled. “I know, it was tough at times, but its good hearing that you are you. It was good to be finally allowed to see you, and then have time. I was afraid that the pony in here wouldn't be the Deke I know and am confident in. But its you. Banged up, but you.”

Ruby Snow pointed to the letters. “Are those the letters?”

“Yeah,” Deke said passing them to Ruby Snow. “They are done. The best I could do. I know, you don’t have to say it. I did a wonderful job. There is no perfect way to write them. That is all I meant.”

“You are learning,” Ruby Snow smiled. “Soon I won’t have anything to teach you.”

Deke grinned. “If we are getting more ships, it better be sooner rather than later. You will need me on the bridge of one.”

“I would love to disagree,” Ruby Snow chuckled. “But its true. But they will take time to build. So I have plenty of time to craft you and mold you into the best. You want to master the sky.”

“I will,” Deke corrected.

“Exactly!” Ruby Snow shot back.

Deke sat sulking in his bed. He wasn’t allowed to get up. Over the past few days, he had been able to visit with the others. It was something they all enjoyed. Twice several of them had been able to get together in the common room for a few hours.

Little was still quiet and off limits.

But today, Deke wasn’t allowed to do any visits. And he was getting antsy. He knew he needed to heal, and so did the others, but sitting in bed was not helping. He didn’t strain himself visiting the others.

Military Hoof steps approached Deke’s room. Which meant answers. However, Deke was not expecting the visitor.

“How are you?” The Fifth Counselor asked.

“Hey,” Deke stammered. “I, I mean, I’m okay. I hate being stuck here. But I’m okay. I never expected you to visit me.”

Deke cocked his head. “Did I do something wrong? Wait! I deny doing anything wrong!”

The Fifth Counselor chuckled sweetly. “You did nothing wrong. I watched you do a lot of stuff that pegasi would have said was impossible for somepegasus in your position and rearing.”

Deke crossed his forelegs across his chest. “And that always pissed me off.”

“You were a lot more behaved and professional then.”

Deke chuckled. “I was in charge, at the top. And you were not at some of the meetings with the Board. But now, its still a fight to get in the top position so others will take me seriously. Little and Ruby do. So does Vice Admiral Purple Breeze. But outside of them, I still have to earn it. I was an undeniable Master when I led those projects. Now, I’m just a Commander. And even knowing it all, earning that right… promotions work differently in the Military than it did back there.”

“That is does,” Fifth Counselor replied. “I don’t have much time. I checked in with Captain Lightning, but she still is… unresponsive.”

Deke chuckled. “I forced my way in with a lot of threats to get in there yesterday. I just sat there in my wheelchair for four hours after dinner. She didn’t speak a word. I saw her eyes flash when I came in, recognizing I was there. But nothing more. I just sat with her. She is hurting in more ways than one. I needed to be there.”

“That was wise,” Fifth Counselor stated. “She had some fire at the meeting, but since…”

“It drained her,” Deke stated. “She is sorting a lot out in her head as well. But I’ll get through to her. Maybe this afternoon I’ll try again.”

“You can’t,” Fifth Counselor stated. “For the same reason I have very little time left. I meant to get here earlier. Much earlier. But we released our response to everything. We went the “out of control” angle, which it was. Your warnings were a different matter.”

Deke nodded. “And my calculations were low too.”

“That is facts we used to our advantage,” Fifth Counselor stated. “We also tossed in the military’s new idea of cloud busting. That credit goes to you. Deke’s Method. At the end, we also published the crew list on board, their injuries, and the dead on the Buttercup. The real heroes.”

“Later we will deal with the Ninth Task Force, quietly. But none of that matters right now. At 1300 your family is coming to visit.”

Deke looked at the clock. It was 1223. She was cutting it close.

“That’s,” Deke said taking a deep breath in. “Wonderful. Confusing. But positive all around.”

Fifth Counselor smiled at Deke. “Keeping you tied down in bed is not a good idea. The medical reports indicate you are doing better since we let you see the others. The same thing for them.”

“And about records.”

“Wait!” Deke interrupted her. “Is the Third Fleet getting more ships.”

“Yes. We approved the creation of four Corvettes and two more Monitors. The Corvettes will be named for your fallen crew members. For their heroic actions defending the citizens.”

“Good,” Deke nodded. “The first Monitor needs to be named the Rising Sun. That cover is blown. Keep it in the Third. And that is a powerful name for a powerful ship.”

“That is a good idea,” The Fifth Counselor smiled.

“And one more thing, the Chief Meteorologist?”

The Fifth Counselor took in a deep breath. “Officially, it is still being debated. But I am drawing up orders for every position that I have control over to undergo the proper training. The ones that haven’t undergone training. The same with the Fourth Counselor and the Army. They will go. And the Council will accept that course of action, begrudgingly if they must.”

“Good,” Deke smiled. “Always improve. Never let yourself get stale. Always talk to different positions and never forget about the perspective of the little guy. They can tell you the most, but often won’t have a solution.”

“Back to what I need to tell you,” The Fifth Counselor pushed. “I hear you are not a fan of awards and medals.”

“Humph!” Deke grumbled. “Pointless shiny things to wear that doesn’t show real skill.”

“Not always,” Fifth Counselor replied with a smile. “The biggest thing about some of them, is that if you don’t get them, you are doing something wrong. But I won’t make you go through any ceremony.”

“I won’t wear the pointless ones,” Deke declared.

“I know. Vice Admiral Purple Breeze did relay some of your talk. Just listen and take them for what they are. Like I said, some of them are important for the fact that if you are not receiving them, you are not doing your job correctly. And you want to master the sky.”

“Fine,” Deke mumbled. “I’ll take it like I took Employee of the Month. Extra cash and the poster child for that month for what it meant to be the best employee. Employee of the Year was a much different award. That showed dedication beyond normal and that I had skill and experience to pass on.”

“Good,” Fifth Counselor smiled. “Because that is the Deke we need. On that, I will be coming back later to get an explanation on the Deke verse Derecho situation.”

Deke gave a quick nod. He wanted to get the awards out of the way. He had no problem explaining the names to her.

“Alright,” Fifth Counselor said pulling out a folder from her compact saddlebags. “These are not in any particular order. First is Good Conduct.”

Deke cracked up laughing. It hurt his side, but he couldn't stop. “Good conduct? I have been the opposite of that. The whole incident showed that. I left an important meeting to do my own calculations and was hostile to a high ranking admiral. I might have been right, but not good conduct. Have you look at my file and all the marks! I failed my practicums! Its marked up with conduct issues.

“And don’t throw the Director of Operations at me. You were not at some of the Board Meetings. I was the opposite of good conduct at times. On days full of meetings or a big one, I wore my worst clean work outfit.”

“And it kept you grounded,” Fifth Counselor shot back. “Yes, we all knew it was in protest once you did it enough. It didn’t take long. Just accept the damn medal. Because it’s already been issued.”

Deke took the official paper. “I won’t wear this until I deserve it.”

“Fine,” She shrugged. “You certainly deserved this. The Meritorious Service Medal. You were on probation during the Ice Emergency, so you couldn't earn this one. But you earned it now.”

“Makes sense,” Deke stated. “This one holds value.”

“Every lifer should earn that one. Or else they are not doing what they should be. There is a combat variant. But it was determined that it wasn’t in combat enough.”

Deke nodded in agreement.

“The Buttercup earned the Council’s Unit Citation award. Its not a medal, so only a ribbon. You have one from the Ice Emergency, so you get to wear a bronze star device to denote twice received. Only those who made the final stand earn this.”

Deke grinned. “I am going to paint the bridge, no the hold, no, best place is the mess hall! The mess hall will have the ship awards painted in a very prominent position. And so will our fallen comrades. Least we forget them and their sacrifice. I know its hard to earn this award. So we will display them, to inspire the crew for generations to come.”

“That is the spirit!” Fifth Counselor smiled. “As I am sure you already knew, Purple Heart.”

Deke sighed as he took it and read the full description. ‘Head trauma’ was putting it lightly. The specialist doctors that were working with him were nearly useless.

“I know, its a tough one,” Fifth Counselor stated kindly. “But know this, only five in the Ninth Task Force are receiving them. And another two with black stripes. Because after the accident, they jumped into action, receiving grave injuries fighting the fires and saving lives.”

“As they should,” Deke stated. “An accident isn’t the reason why some should receive it, because they were not directly doing their duty. Those seven were doing their duty to protect their ships and their comrades. As fucked up as it was that they were in that position.”

“Only those seven earned a few others,” The Fifth Counselor added. “For that exact reason.”

The Fifth Counselor read another sheet. “Ah yes. You will call this a pat on the back, but you also are getting the Cloudship Officer Commendation Medal. You are a good officer and have certainly proven that. If you don’t earn it once, you can’t master the sky.”

Deke gave her the stink eye as he took the paper.

“Cloudship Officer Professional Development Ribbon. You got this for showing the new wings how to pilot and communicate between you and Little in a crisis. You have come a long way, and that was a peak moment for you. Got it?”

“Yes,” Deke said, not thrilled. But he couldn't argue with that.

“Distinguished Flying Cross. For your heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight of a Cloudship. You kept the ship flying, as destroyed as it was, and you beat a storm that even Little says she couldn’t of done. That’s why.”

“I’ll wear that one,” Deke chuckled. “Its a skill medal.”

“That it is. Soldier’s Medal for non-combat heroism.”

“Damn it,” Deke spat.

“Deke, that’s the highest act of valor non-combat medal a soldier can earn.

“Fine,” Deke grumbled.

“Legion of Merit, for exceptionally meritorious service.”

“How many hold that?” Deke asked.

“Over the entire Enclave at this moment, 789. You make 790. Its incredibly difficult to receive it below being a Captain. That’s how it is. Its usually reserved for longer service period where the track record gains the approval that over the service history, exceptional meritorious service has happened.”

Deke shrugged. It meant most of the higher ups had it, but it was as it was. And he got it young.

“Order of the Wings. Only 485 others have ever been given this. This is a combination for your service over all aspects: in chivalry, service to the citizens, humanitarian actions, and protection of others despite the guarantee of grave personal harm or death. You mark 486.”

“Me like!” Deke exclaimed.

“Last one.”

“Good,” Deke huffed.

“And all crew members, whether they stayed or were sent on missions to warn others on the ground, all earned the Humanitarian Service Medal.”

“Another one for me?” Deke asked.

“Yep! That makes two major disasters that you directly supported and or took direct action in saving or improving the lives of Citizens. So, you get a bronze start to show you have two. Is that too little?”

Deke groaned. “No. I now have that chest full of ribbons you say I need to be the master of the sky.”

Deke shook his head annoyed, “Now I have more than Shadow.” Deke immediately regretted his words. He pointed at the Fifth Counselor who was about to come down on him. “I know nothing! I did nothing! I wasn’t poking my head into anything! Nopony told me anything!”

“Explain,” The Fifth Counselor ordered.

Deke let his breath out since he was sliding by. “I know you know we did some updates on the Buttercup recently. And we spent a lot of time at Fort Wind and the Squad Barracks. Cardinal Spitfire and I are great friends. I popped into her room once to asked some questions for a project. She answered them, blah blah blah. But on her desk was a set of boxes with the medals and ribbons on them. I never saw any paperwork on them, but I saw the medals. That is all.

“I know they were not hers because I saw her in her dress uniform a little while later, and none of them were put on.”

“She had them out and open on her desk?”

Deke sighed. He might of just gotten her in trouble. “She probably looks at them every night before she goes to bed, to connect with Shadow. A piece of him and what he was doing. Its not like it was planned or she was being reckless. Nopony goes into her room. Its in the Wonderbolt’s Unit at the Squad Barracks.

“Visitors are not welcome! If you are let in, they have their own lounges and such. They are really anal about who can go into their Unit there. You have to have a special key card to get in!”

The Fifth Counselor sighed. “All I will say is that those are all combat medals he earned before they went missing.

Deke shrugged. “I figured. I just had to protest with saying something stupid.”

“I’ll step out now,” Fifth Counselor smiled at Deke. “Your family will be here in a few minutes.” She reached into her saddlebag. “But these are the medals and their ribbons. And a rack to put the ribbons on, including the ones you already have. Along with the devices for multiple awards.”

Deke flashed a smile and gave her a nod in response.

She stopped in the doorway. “And Commander, we didn’t just pass these out to you. Not with your little service track record. You earned these.”

Deke ignored her. He left the medals on the table, but he began to flip through all of the official papers and why it was given. He certainly had that chest full now. The ribbon rack was for 12 ribbons, and he now had 10 Medals to wear.

From least to greatest, the ribbons he had to wear were:

Humanitarian Service Medal with Bronze Star

Good Conduct Medal

Pegasus Defense Medal with Top Barrack Stripe

Cloudship Officer Commendation Medal

Cloudship Officer Professional Development Ribbon

Meritorious Service Medal

Council’s Unit Citation with Bronze Star

Purple Heart Medal

Soldier’s Medal

Legion of Meritorious Service

Distinguished Flying Cross

Order of the Wings

Twelve Ribbons to flash around. Only a few were things to be proud of. Deke only cared about the Pegasus Defense Medal since it was Top Barracks, Council’s Unit Citation but that was only a ribbon, the Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross and the Order of Wings. The rest he would wear under protest, to show he had all the pats on the back he needs to be Master of the Sky.

Deke didn’t have any time to sulk because his family was coming. He heard them from a ways of. They were not being quiet as the worked to find him. But he didn’t blame them. They just found out he was in the hospital

He had to sit there and take a torrent of questions. He didn’t even bother trying to answer them all. He only heard one or two out of the list they fired at him.

“Okay,” Deke said when they quieted down. “First off, patients are trying to sleep and heal. I am not the only one here. Second, I was flying. I was making the choices as the Buttercup made it’s stand. I chose where the guns fired and how deep into the clouds the fired. And then we got the chance to maneuver and survived, most of us.”

“We heard four died,” Aunt Rainbow Jade said, heartbroken.

“They will never be forgotten,” Deke replied quietly. “They died honorably, defending the citizens. A real stand for the Pegasus Race. We have a few Cloudships that are being commissioned. They will carry their names. That’s a rare thing and a high honor.”

“Good,” Sun Shower smiled. “If you had died, that’s something I would value.”

“I should be dead,” Deke state. “We were not trying to live. We were going to bust up that storm until we no longer could. We ran out of ammunition before it destroyed us. We never expected that. And I got us into a position and fate decided to give us grace so that we survived. It was 14 of us left on board.”

“The reports,” Uncle Arching Gale hesitated. “The reports about what you did in terms of destroying the storm.”

“Were massive,” Deke finished. “We busted it up real good and saved lives. And not just the 10 of us who survived, but the 70 that abandoned ship. They, at my orders, carried the news of the danger. They don’t get the recognition they deserve, but they all served an important roll.

“But yeah, what we did, never should have had to happen. But it was a good thing that we could get in front since it did happen. We barely had time, less than an hour once we got in position.

“Now, I know I heard the question about my injuries. I’m still patching up on my left. The whole side. It took the impact. Wing got hurt but is almost patched, and I broke the flight console with the left side of my head. Which also cracked my skull. I still am recovering my sight and hearing on my left side.”

“What are these?” Winter Low asked, picking up the medal statements.

Deke sighed. “I did my job. And I would do it again, and again, and again. Even knowing the outcome and the pain. They decided to give me awards and medals. That’s all.”

“There are a lot,” Winter Low stated.

“They have a lot they can give,” Deke replied. “There is some award or medal for almost everything that could happen.”

“What are you actually proud of?” Winter Low asked.

Deke picked up the boxes and found the the Order of the Wings. A bright red ribbon with black edges and a white center. The medal itself had three layers. A giant gold kite shield was the first layer. On the shield was Silver Pegasus wings fully open and in an upward position. They flanked a red sword, which also formed the connection point for the wings, at the pommel.

Deke explained the medal. He had to explain all of the awards to his annoyance. He was pretty sure Golden Front was asking questions about the ones he hated most to annoy him more. But that was family. And Deke loved his family. It was a relief seeing them.

About 1400 a big commotion was made out in the halls. Somepony was defying guards, nurses and doctors. Deke couldn't hear specifics.

Olive Pit jumped into the room. “You motherfucking idiot! How dare you go and get yourself bashed up without telling me! Not cool! Not fucking cool at all! You had no right to go and do something so brazenly stupid and reckless without my permission!

“I should be patching you up, not some motherfucking medics from New Cloudsdale Memorial Hospital. Who the fuck are they compared to me! I would have gotten here sooner, but I had to finish a head trauma course from a doctor. I came as fast as I could to fix you up right!

“Plus, I only confirmed enough of the rumors four days ago that it was in fact, you. Since there were multiple Cloudships involved.”

Deke couldn't help but grin at Olive Pit. “Olive Pit, meet my family.”

Olive Pit’s face got bright red. He was so focused on Deke that he never caught that they were not medical staff.

Deke rescued him as Olive Pit stalled out, unable to reply. “Olive Pit is my best friend. He was in my Barracks in Basic Training. He is the best combat medic in the Enclave. Or close to it. We had some great times together as I got to watch him do more training recently. I got stuck at a base while they took my ship in for repairs. Well, I chose to stay there and poke fun at him.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Olive Pit finally said. “Deke and I are really close friends. But um… I’m going to go wrestle your medical file from their hooves and check it out. I’ll leave you with your family. For now.”

“Read the newspaper!” Deke yelled after Olive Pit. “The Council finally released a statement about what happened. And I approve!”

Olive Pit poked his head back in. “One you approve? I will get a copy immediately.”

“He is a really good friend and excellent medic,” Deke smiled. “He had a lot of fun jumping in and yelling at me. He was getting me back for some stunts I pulled on him a while back.”

“I can tell,” Sun Shower giggled. “I can tell. And its really comforting to see and know that you have friends who are taking care of you.”

Deke smiled at his little sister. “Oh, I certainly do. Our group is pretty epic. And we support each other through thick and thin, no matter what. We have since nearly the beginning and despite being split to the four corners of the Enclave. Distance can not pull us apart. No matter where. No matter what happens.”

“Some big things have happened, haven’t they?” Aunt Rainbow Jade asked.

“Oh yeah,” Deke nodded, sighing. “But I can’t talk about those. I have an extremely high security clearance. I frighten others because my clearance is as powerful as it is. I know things, that few know. Of course, it also means I get put into positions where I have to take care of others like the other day. Even putting my life on the line.

“The best way I can put me scaring others with my security clearance is that, ‘Idiot’ is added to my rank. I started that one on a joke or two. And its harmless and fun. But yeah, others don’t trust the ‘idiot’ with the info. Its mostly well deserved mistrust. I am good at what I do, and it can concern others at times.”

Deke chuckled to himself. “What am I saying? You are family. You know that side of me. You helped me shape it into the good it is today.”

Deke’s family stayed until dinner. It was wonderful. Deke had wanted to see them for so long, but also feared how they would react. It couldn't have gone better.

Olive Pit strolled in after Deke had eaten dinner. “I can’t complain. They did everything right. And probably did it better than Mareland would have. Especially with your ear and eye. You got the royal treatment. All of you did.”

Deke gave a single nod. “We were treated with everything they could throw at us.”

“The Military would have gone steroids to start, so I am glad you got health potions. And still are.”

“I still am?” Deke asked, horrified.

Olive Pit chuckled. “They obviously are masking them. Its been dispensed every day. Its down to once a day.”

“Fuck,” Deke swore. “I don’t…”

“Stop!” Olive Pit ordered. “Yes, you do. It sucks, but you do. That eye and ear need all the support they can get. They are not giving up yet, and neither should you. Their treatment plan has been great. I will be catching them tomorrow to discuss more, but I am satisfied. There are some things we can still do. We won’t give up, neither can you. Trust me.”

Deke grumbled. He didn’t want to be wasting something so coveted and irreplaceable. But he should let the doctors treat him. And he trusted Olive Pit to make the right call, without any favor.

“I have to go crash,” Olive Pit added. “I flew straight through the night from Fort Wind. I got a late start because of the seminar. I’ll be back tomorrow.

“I’ll tag along with the specialist to learn from them as well. I am intrigued with their techniques. We don’t give a shit about hearing loss or eye recovery in the field. Perhaps we need to. Which means, more seminars!”

Deke chuckled with Olive Pit.

With Olive Pit gone, and his family gone, things quieted down. But the day was still bugging him. It took Deke a bit before he realized what was bugging him. It was Little.

Deke stood up and swung his IV pole around to the other side of the bed. They had been doing some slow work with him walking. Deke was going to push it. He needed to for Little.

Deke headed down towards her room. He was intercepted by the head nurse on shift. They started with a staring contest. At this point, they knew each other’s arguments.

“Has she spoken?” Deke asked, opening up with a new tactic.

“No,” The Nurse replied. “I know you forced you way in yesterday. And I know you just sat there. But my first concern is you. That you don’t collapse.”

“If I do, it will make me stronger.” Deke wasn’t messing around by saying that. It was no joke. “I need to stand, to move. I’m ready to fall. I’m ready to face it.”

“And you are now,” She said. “And?”

“A little lightheaded,” Deke admitted. “But I have to do this, for her. She is my Captain and at this point she needs a rude awakening. Is there any medical reason she isn’t speaking?”

The head nurse took a deep breath in. “No. There is not. But we can’t get her to talk, no matter what we do. So we do not know if there are any problems.”

“I work alongside her,” Deke stated. “We support each other, and more, we understand each other. We are deep, good friends. We read each other. I’m going to head down there and we are going to talk. And I mean she will speak.”

The head nurse set her jaw and leaned in, poking Deke’s chest with her hoof. “Don’t push yourself. We don’t need a setback with you. And damn it, don’t push her into a setback.”

Deke gave a nod in agreement.

“I will be nearby, ready to respond if something goes wrong.”

“Understood,” Deke said. “And appreciated.”

Deke continued down the hall and then down the other to where Little was. Deke entered her room and walked straight up to the bed. Only her eyes moved to check who it was, and then they moved back to the same place they had been staring at since she had come in.

Deke stood there for a few minutes, right by her bed, making it clear he wasn’t leaving. Little seemed to not be aware he was there, but Little was never that unaware. When everything happened, yes. But now, no.

Deke took a deep breath in, leaned over her bed a bit and then grabbed her gown, bringing her face to face with him.

Deke let out a growl. “Enough. Listen to me. I know you can hear me. I know you are being silent on purpose. And its fucking done! Over! Its foalish and unbecoming of a Captain. Especially a Captain of your caliber!

“You are Captain Little Lightning. Now show it! And before you wave me off, I’m facing exactly what you are having to. The destruction of the Buttercup and somehow shrugging off death! Yes! We should have died! But fate decided otherwise!

“We have a hurting crew who needs their Captain! They need to see you! They’ve seen me and its made them strong! It’s made me stronger! I’m standing now! I know your leg is broken and you can’t, but you can’t just lay here anymore!

“You fucking stood up to the Council and now you are fucking being a lazy ass Pegasus and pouting!”

Little’s eyes snapped to meet Deke’s and she ripped herself from his grasp. She didn’t even have time to settle in the bed before Deke grabbed her and brought her back up to him. She fought but her injured leg gave Deke the upper hoof.

Little used the cast to bash Deke’s shoulder, but the attack backfired and she screamed in pain and tears. The head nurse stepped in but Deke flashed her a warning look to stay out of it. Little went back to trying to pry herself free of Deke’s grasp.

“LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!” Little screamed in his face.

“No!” Deke shot back. “Because you are my Captain, and even more, because you are my friend! You mean so much to me, I can’t let you sulk in here, wishing you were dead! You had your playtime. Its time for reality!”

Deke didn’t just let Little go, he gave her a shove to start her fall onto the bed. She bounced up and down on it, crying.

“You’re alive! I’m alive! We stopped a major storm and only lost four! FOUR! The crew is that good! And they did it for you! For their Captain! Because they trusted you! I trust you! Show them that their sacrifice was worth it! That all of the pain they have and the wounds they are recovering from meant the world to you! Because that’s all that matters to them! How you see them! And they are going to not just survive, but get back on the Buttercup and serve under you! You! And they would do it again, and again, and again, despite knowing the outcome. For you!”

Little’s crying turned from pain to sorrow. Little coughed on her tears and anger. “I CAN’T! I can’t move myself. It’s… It’s too much. I’m afraid of leaving this bed. I’m terrified of what tomorrow brings. I’m terrified of stepping back onto the Buttercup or any fucking Cloudship ever again!”

Deke picked Little up again but this time brought her into a tight hug. He fell forward into her bed as the weight pulled him down. He was almost smothered by her sheets and pillow, and his back legs couldn’t reach the ground because he had been tipped over at the shoulders. But he wasn’t going to let go. Not for Little. She needed to be held. She cried into his shoulder until she had exhausted herself and fallen asleep.

Deke finally, carefully, wiggled free from her death grip. He spent the night in a chair by her bed. He fell asleep after awhile, exhausted from fighting with her, with his head on the bed. He was going to be the first thing she woke up to in the morning.

If you haven't read Derecho's story. The Anthology's second story.

Chapter 91 - Back In The Saddle

Captain ‘Little’ Lightning stood at the bottom of the ramp of the Tortoise, a Sky-tank. It was to take her, Deke, and the other 8 crew members from the fight to the Buttercup in Nellie’s dry docks. She was almost repaired and ready to depart. They were healed up enough to begin light duties.

But Little couldn’t make that step onto the ramp. She had been standing there for half an hour, balanced on the edge. She was afraid to step onto the ramp, but she didn’t want to break to the fear. And she was just a passenger, not in command.

Little finally picked up her hoof and gingerly set it down on the ramp. She tested that it would hold her weight. She knew it would, but she couldn’t help herself. With one final inhale, she swung her legs into motion and walked up the ramp. Once she got going things were a lot easier.

Little went straight to the bridge. What small amount she needed was already on board, and the rest was on the Buttercup, secure. Most important, it was common courtesy for captains to immediately greet each other, or as soon as circumstances allowed for it.

“Permission to enter?” Little asked from the doorway.

“Permission granted Captain!” A Pegasus said, smiling at her. “I am Captain Bleeding Night. I didn’t pick the name, my parents did. I blame them.”

Little giggled. It was good to hear another Captain throwing around a story about their name. He was young, only several years older than her. Which means he either had blood, or good skill. At his age, it was probably skill, with enough blood to take him seriously to start.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Captain Bleeding Night said, shaking her hoof. “It is an honor to transport you and your crew to Nellie.”

“It is appreciated,” Little smiled back. “Very appreciated.”

“It’s not like we are doing anything better. Currently the Tortoise is without a home, running shuttle duty between the two bases. She was supposed to be transferred to the First Fleet’s Ninth Task Force, but that was suspended.”

“It will be sorted out shortly,” Little reassured him. “Its been a bit of a rocky few weeks, but if I am up and cleared, you will have a home soon. And then you will wish you had stayed just being a shuttle.”

He chuckled with her. “You are probably right. Still I want to be put in the Ninth. But that is up to them.”

“Since you are still free, there is a good chance of it,” Little said. “They need real ships, undamaged, to keep that task force moving.”

“I hope so,” Captain Bleeding Night said. “Your companions are here. We are just waiting on some special cargo. Let me show you to your room.”

“Thank you,” Little said.

“Lieutenant Riddle, you have the bridge.”

“Yes Sir!”

Little shook her head as she followed him down the narrow hallway. “I forgot what it is like to actually pass command off. I will have to relearn it now that we have all of those new wings. Which are still new.”

“I hear they have been doing some special exercises, so they shouldn’t be new anymore. But here is your room.”

Little stepped inside. The room had a separate bedroom, several chairs making a sitting area and a desk, with a terminal.

“This is,” Little stammered.

“Our best quarters,” Captain Bleeding Night finished. “You never really served anywhere but the Third from what I understand. Most Sky-tanks and Raptors have rooms waiting for Admirals to use. Nice ones like this. We shuttle a lot of higher ups.”

“I get this, for the short trip?” Little said, shocked.

“Yes Ma’am. And your two officers, Commander Deke and Commander Olive Pit are in the Officer Travel Room. Your crew member are in Transportation Room A. I will be making an announcement before we take off if you wish to join me on the bridge.”

“I am surprised Commander Deke isn’t there right now,” Little Commented. “Even with Commander Olive Pit accompanying us.”

“He hasn’t even asked permission to come onto the bridge,” Captain Bleeding Night added. “A big shock for me as well. His reputation would suggest otherwise. And I know he respects the courtesy greetings.”

“Interesting,” Little replied. “I have no idea with him. I haven’t seen him recently. But I will take up the kind offer and be on the bridge when we take off. I look forward to it.”

“I will leave you too it,” Captain Bleeding Night said, smiling at her.

Little sat in one of the chairs. They were nice. The Buttercup had a small, 9 bed room for travelers. Three high bunks built into the walls. Like standard quarters. That was it. Crowded. They couldn’t afford more with their size. Little had never realized that change. The Raptors had to have a lot of extra space, since they often functioned as Task Force Command Ships.

Little took a deep breath in. She had done it. She was onboard a Cloudship again. And she had stepped all the way onto a bridge. It wasn’t command, it wasn’t the Buttercup, but it was a big step forward. And it wasn’t as bad as she had expected.

Little wanted to go see Deke. The past two weeks he had not been available. He was doing some sort of rehab and wasn’t to be bothered.

It was hard for her to suddenly not be able to see him. After that night, seeing him in the morning was special. More than a First Mate. Their friendship was a testament to that. He had gotten her out of herself and fixed that. And she had felt a lot better since then. She had the strength to do all of the hard rehab. She was still shaky at times since her leg had been broken, but she was going to stand proud and take it slow.

Something big was happening. They waited for a while. Captain Bleeding Night even announced that the final loading was in progress. You didn’t need to do that for normal cargo, even when it was late. Because your crew was already at their stations and ready to go.

The whistle blew again and the order was given to prepare for departure. Little got up and headed to the bridge. She was expected, invited even, so she headed in without asking permission.

Captain Bleeding Night was in his chair. Little took a spot to his right. He smiled at her, waiting for final clearance orders from the tower.

Little was surprised she didn’t see Deke. But she never had another moment to think about it as the tower gave clearance and they began to depart in an orderly fashion. They maneuvered onto the taxiway and to the runway, taking off correctly and safely.

Little chuckled as they were clear of the runway. “The last two take offs at a base I did were emergency ones, with Commander Deke as the pilot and extreme speeds and angles for lift. Oh, and we were doing some lead ins, but Fort Wind only has a few terminal bays to work out of, and we were not at that part. They were using Aerial Combat Units to lead us in and out of take offs, like what combat might cause. Both of us were switching in and out as pilot for that exercise.”

“That is a marvelous idea,” Captain Bleeding Night said. “A very good skill and tactic to know. Especially for us, if we are trying to maneuver to get troops dropped off or picked up in battle, we may not have good communications set up for that. I will have to put in for that training.”

“It was unscheduled,” Little replied. “And unofficial. But when we get to Nellie, we can speak to Admiral Ruby Snow, perhaps you can join the Second Fleet when we do some practice with it in a week or two. We are working on that to become common training.”

“That would be greatly appreciated,” Captain Bleeding Night said.

Captain Bleeding Night turned to the Pegasus on his left. “I am surprised you have not said anything. You are a legend about being vocal about how it should be done.”

Deke shrugged. “You did everything correct. And quickly. I’m just a passenger. If I had an appointment here, maybe. And if there was an emergency, I would be involved in problem solving. But it’s nice to be flying, without the chains of command.”

Little stepped forward a bit to see Deke on the other side of the Captain. He had a chest full of ribbons and he was in proper uniform. Better than she had ever seen him in.

At least until she looked at his head better. The cover was wider at it’s edges, and missing the Enclave’s badge. Instead it was a silver skull with crossed bones. Low profile and easy to miss. His left eye had a black patch over it.

Little decided to ignore the cover. “Deke, your eye.”

Deke kept looking straight ahead, out through their bridge. “Yeah, I have glasses to wear. They help, but its not 20/20. We… I don’t know. Its easier to block it out. But if I do it too long, I’ll… the glasses won’t work. Its over. I… I’m hoping Ruby and Purple Breeze can help me sort it out.”

Deke looked at Little and flashed her a smile. “I’m alive, and that is what matters.”

“And your ear?” Little stammered. It had a gold thing around it, and several golden earrings connected to the outside, flipping around a bit.

Deke grinned, but it was weighing on him as he sighed. “That’s where I have been recently. We put me under the knife to fix my ear. Some bone adventure conduction bypass. I had a lot of rehab to do, and still am doing with Olive Pit for balance.

“The cuff is one of the ways we are anchoring the thing. I have a clear one that flips around, but the cuff is fun. And shiny. And I can wear earrings with it. Because they won’t put earrings in a nerve damaged ear because I can’t feel enough so its a danger, blah blah blah. Have fun while you can!”

Little didn’t know the procedure, but she knew ‘adventure’ wasn’t part of the name.

“That is not regulation,” Little chuckled. “But you are totally going to get away with it. Probably not the hat, but the cuff, yeah. And you should wear the glasses. Fight for it.”

“I might just make Lieutenant Commander Sunny Swirl my assistant. She was good at it with the Admiral.”

“Leave her alone,” Little growled. “Let her command and be an officer, like she earned.”

“Yeah, but she might like the job, being with me. Probably really like it.”

“Everypony can only stand you for so long. Fuck you.”

Deke chuckled loudly as the entire bridge looked at Little for using ‘pony.’

Little groaned, forced to explain it. “I’ve worked with the northern farmers with the Ice Emergency long enough to accidentally make that error. They are complicated and pony makes more sense to them because of community. Its not a problem out there. But yeah, I make mistakes.

“But Deke, I am impressed. After all this time working with you, that is the best I have ever seen your uniform.”

Deke chuckled. “I can’t guarantee how long it will last, but if I am going to master the sky, it starts there. I got a few lectures. Now that they gave me a fucking chest full of ribbons, it keeps it pretty stiff up there, making it harder to mess up.”

“Yeah, but I never even saw you wear your Basic Training one. And I see you nailed Top Barracks.”

“Yeah,” Deke sighed. “We did. We can talk about them in private later.”

“Maybe,” Captain Bleeding Night said. “Is that Legion of Merit? And then the Distinguished Flying Cross?”

“Yep,” Deke grinned. “I am proud of the Flying Cross. I’ve done a lot of fun stuff with the Buttercup, but we lived because of my skills at her helm. Its one that shows skill. And it took skill to survive that storm and get above her front. And then get her back to NC, with only two engines left that were burning out, no crew, half dead, deaf from the impact, and the ship was compressed to half its height, which is nothing to begin with.

“The more I think on that aspect, it was fun. And I save most of the crew.”

“Yes, it is sad you lost four,” Captain Bleeding Night said. “They will be missed. It never happens.”

“Well,” Deke grinned. “The Third is getting some new ships. More of those Net Layers for sure. Their names will live on in the Third Fleet with ships named in their honor.”

“What is the top ribbon?” Little asked.

“Oh!” Deke chuckled. “That one I also wear without protest. It is the Order of the Wings. I am marked as number 486 member to receive it. A combination of chivalry, service to the citizens, humanitarian actions, protections of others despite the guarantee of grave personal harm of death.”

Little rolled her eyes and chuckled. “That’s you. I am not sure about some of the chivalry aspects, but its totally you and absolutely deserved. And professional development is good to see on your chest. You finally figured that out.”

“You got a nice rack as well,” Deke chuckled. “And I see they tossed some new ones on your rack, making it prettier. Including Legion of Merit and another Meritorious Service Medal. And a Soldier’s Medal. And our two Council’s Unit Citations look great.”

“I need to hang out with you two more,” Captain Bleeding Night chuckled. “So some of your mojo can rub off on me and I can actually get the chance to earn something worthwhile. Even just Council’s Unit Citation would be a very welcome addition, even though it lacks a medal.”

“Don’t get Deke started on medals,” Little warned him. “He can rip most of them to shreds and reduce them to pointless threads.”

Deke huffed. “Just because you should earn it over your career, its still a pat on the back ribbon and worthless because it doesn’t show skill. Just time served. I get why they are awarded, but I still don’t like them. I’ll probably only wear my top six or so awards. The ones that matter.”

“Well,” Captain Bleeding Night chuckled. “If you are going to skirt regs, that’s an easy one. Understandable. If you actually look at most admirals, daily they wear three, six, or none at all. Its tough to keep them all nice and its heavy and stiff. Now, the non-regulation cover and ear are a different choice. I get the ear cuff, not the earrings.”

Deke smirked. “I might as well be Pirate Deke since its medically presented to me!”

“Now that is fun,” Captain Bleeding Night smiled. “I should figure out something to lighten this bridge, and really the whole ship, up.”

Deke chuckled a bit manically. “I have some plans for the Buttercup. Not fun ones to lighten things up, but some good, honorable ones.

“I heard you have some plans,” Little chuckled. “They wouldn’t say what though.”

“Most of it is done,” Deke replied. “The Buttercup’s Council’s Unit Citation awards are prominently displayed in the Mess Hall with their award dates. It is to inspire us and future generations of her crew members to keep the standard high. And likewise, our fallen comrades are displayed.

“The other, its ready. But its not applied yet. Its sitting for me to open once we get there. Its a fun one. Its a surprised. But it will be good.”

“Oh boy,” Little said rolling her eyes. “Whenever you get like that…”

“He does something crazy,” Captain Bleeding Night finished with a chuckle. “Unfortunately, I can’t be present for it.”

“You might be,” Deke said. “It’s going to be done immediately, once I get there and get to the package. So we might still be getting the Lead In training worked out.”

“Like I said, I wish I had as much fun as it sounds like you two have on the bridge.”

“Yeah,” Deke sighed contently. “We have fun. I’m not sure how it will change with a full crew, because now we have to be professional, but the fun comes from challenging each other to be better. Four of us as bridge crew was an entirely different dynamic than a full complement of officers.”

“You will figure something out,” Little jabbed.

“Do you want to have a little fun?” Deke asked Captain Bleeding Night.

“I’m afraid to say yes. What do you have in mind?”

“You are operating at peak efficiency from your read outs, and that’s good. And you are making good time. But you are not pushing it. You are just cruising along. Shuttling back and forth, back and forth.”

Deke smirked. “Kick it up a few notches. Put the Tortoise to the test with the speed. I am guessing its been a while since she has been tested.”

“Oh great,” Little groaned.

“Lieutenant Riddle,” Captain Bleeding Night smiled. “Increase engine output. Lets get this trip over. I want to see her sweat!”

Little’s leg gave out suddenly, ending the fun. The Captain caught her and pulled her into the chair as several others came to her aid.

“I’d help,” Deke hesitated. “But I’m barely standing myself. I can’t afford to lose my balance. Especially trying to help you. There are others more capable and who you are safe with.”

“No worries,” Little chuckled. “I will retire and let my body rest. But don’t let up Captain. Make her sweat.”

“How are you feeling Commander?” Captain Bleeding Night asked.

“Oh, I’m standing. A sudden movement will probably drop me. This bypass works great, but its a lot to get used to again. Its amazing how much hearing effects the body and balance. But soon I'll be back to full speed, and better.”

“Good,” Captain Bleeding Night nodded. “And I can only image how much it does. I am glad I am not in your position. But I do wish I could end up doing something great. More than shuttling stuff back and forth. Something that means something to the Pegasus Race.

“And not for medals. No, for the oath I took. I know every job is important, but I feel that I am not doing anything.”

“I understand,” Deke said, smiling at him. “And its that heart that will get you places. And that will inspire those under you, and impress those above you. That heart can earn the trust to do more. I know my command is going to be boring after all that I got to do these first few years.

“Which is why the pat on the back ribbons are important. They let your officers know that they are doing exactly what they need to be doing to fully serve the Pegasus Race. And they are a model to show those under your command what it means to serve the Pegasus Race.

“It is rare that merit based awards are something that a soldier is capable of getting. We have little going on. We can keep most disasters from happening, we can keep the peace. Its straight defense, for the most part. Quiet defense.

“Never discount yourself for one reason, those Captain’s Bars are earned. Or stripes in Little’s case. It means you have exceptional skill. Few can take the chair. Fewer can make it count. And you have the position and want to make it count. I do believe you will make it count. Somehow.

“You still are young, compared to most Captains. That is an advantage. And every advantage is an advantage. Take the calculated risks to improve yourself, and more importantly, your ship and crew. And those risks start with making these simple shuttle runs at an impressive pace. Do it right, always.”

“You are wise for your age,” Captain Bleeding Night replied. “You have certainly earned those stripes and that rank.”

“Well,” Deke sighed. “I had to grow up fast when I was a foal. Protect my little sister. I got unique opportunities. And I took them and grabbed all I could, to prove I was the best, and most importantly, that I had the solution. An action plan will always give you the advantage, even if you are the lowest rank in the room.

“Now, I need to slowly turn around and walk to my room. My body is telling me it’s almost done. And I will walk there. Safely. Because I need that win. And I have more control over it than Captain Little does because she broke her leg.”

“Of course Commander. Thank you for your time, your words, and for bringing a smile to my face and to this bridge.”

“Of course,” Deke smiled as he slowly left.

Olive Pit wasn’t in the room. He probably was in with Little. Where he needed to be. It had been fun with him around, but it always was tough. Olive Pit got Deke to push and be better. To take that extra step when he was out of energy.

Nova wasn’t happy with Olive Pit’s sudden departure. But with Deke and Little both out and injured, and Olive Pit investigating more options for training, it was worked out. Nova did owe Deke a debt for his time at the Squad Barracks. And now he was exactly what both of them needed, a medical escort.

Chapter 92 - Flagship

The Tortoise was allowed to go all the way to the Dry Docks. It took special privileges to enter that area. And slow, methodical maneuvering to do it safely.

Deke was on the bridge when they came in to dock. Little was in the bay, with Olive Pit. She was not cleared to be on her own at the moment. She had to be in a wheelchair. But she understood.

Once docked, they headed out to meet Admiral Ruby Snow. Captain Bleeding Night was going with them, to ensure they arrived. Admiral Ruby Snow was in the tower in the center of the dry docks.

All four dry docks were in a line. In the center was the command tower. It looked over it all, and that was also physically over all because of it’s height. It was more than just a simple tower, housing a lot of offices and meeting rooms.

They were brought to the second highest floor, which held an East and a West meeting room. They were headed to the West one. Waiting inside with Admiral Ruby Snow was Admiral Purple Breeze, Wingnut, and Bronze Valve. Deke’s package was on the table, unopened, but it was going to be discussed immediately.

“Welcome,” Ruby Snow greeted them all. “It is wonderful to see all of you again. And thank you Captain for their safe and quick delivery.”

“A pleasure Admiral,” Captain Bleeding Night saluted.

“Come on,” Ruby Snow said approaching him. “I mean it. A hoofshake is in order, not a salute.”

They shook hooves, the Captain beaming.

“Admiral,” Deke said. Both looked at him, unsure which one he meant. Deke chuckled. “I mean Admiral Purple Breeze. The Captain and the Tortoise were supposed to be transferred to the First Fleet’s Ninth Task Force. Currently, they are just running supplies back and forth, unmarked.

“A number of things were discussed, and one of those was Lead Ins. As a Sky-tank, that is a valuable training to have, and the Captain would like to get in on that training, at some point. Without a real unit, I was hoping that, perhaps, he could join our upcoming training.”

Admiral Purple Breeze looked him over. “I think that can be arranged.”

“Thank you Admiral,” Captain Bleeding Night smiled, throwing a quick salute.

“Don’t thank me quite yet,” Admiral Purple Breeze chuckled. “What group were you with recently?”

“The First Fleet’s Twelfth Task Force, but that was recently broken up.”

“Yes, it was,” Admiral Purple Breeze nodded. “I hate the First. I do not get what they are doing. I would never allow any ship of mine to go without a home for more than a week. It is unproductive and unprofessional. If you wish, I can steal you and put you in my Seventh Task Force?”

“I,” Captain Bleeding Night stammered. “It would be an honor. I know it will take some time.”

Admiral Purple Breeze picked up the phone and dialed out.

“Yes, I am calling for the Fleet Admiral. It is Vice Admiral Purple Breeze, in the Second Fleet.”

…

“Yes, hello Sir. I hope your day is going well.”

…

“Oh yes, that is a big mess. I am glad I am not having to sort all of that out. I had heard you were having more problems than just injuries and repairs. But that is a real problem. I have been cleaning out the Seventh Task Force from similar problems. Except I knew I was getting into it.”

…

…

…

“Yes, well I know you have a lot on your plate. And I have to help launch the Buttercup here shortly. That is a big task as well. Until a few weeks ago, she was mine. And I am about to take the Seventh out and do maneuvers with the Buttercup. A real test to see if things are fixed within the Seventh Task Force.

“Which is where, I think we can help each other out. You have a Sky-tank without a unit. The Tortoise. She just delivered Captain Little and Commander Deke to the dry docks where we are for the launch. The Ninth was their destination, but with everything, they have not been placed.

“I could use another Sky-tank in my upcoming training. I’m not trying to snipe anything, but my Seventh Task Force is low in it’s size because I was having all of those problems. I had to cut some ships away and reallocate them.”

…

“Yes Sir, that is where I am going with it.”

…

“That is very appreciated. I will use the Tortoise wisely. And once you figure out the Ninth a bit more, give me a call if you need to move some ships. We are all on the same team here. Even if we approach things differently.”

…

“Yes, very much so. I will keep that in mind.”

…

“Well, you are not going to believe it, but they are expanding the Third. She is going to be a full Fleet, geared towards the real defense. Monitors covering the cities and Corvettes cruising all over the place, protecting the boarders mostly. We have always been offensive in our mindset. This will only empower us to do our job better, knowing the home front is secure, with a strong fleet at our back.”

…

“Oh, I totally agree.”

…

“You have a wonderful day too.”

Vice Admiral Purple Breeze hung up the phone with a smile on her face. “That was the best, and move civil conversation we have ever had. He never like the Third and was against it to start. So even being Vice Admiral in the Second didn’t change much.

“But it was good to talk. Now the Second Fleet can prepare to take on a switch, rebalancing the First Fleet, after some unexpected issues. The sooner we know, the better that it can be taken care of. For the immediate matter, you Captain, and the Tortoise are officially apart of the Second Fleet’s Seventh Task Force.

“Don’t thank me yet. These will be some rather intense exercises we will be doing. And the Council will be in attendance. Most likely on the Buttercup.”

“Fuck,” Little swore. “I barely have a handle on leading a full bridge!”

“Little,” Deke said. “If anypony can do it, I can.”

Little scoffed, shocked at the unexpected turn. “Fuck you Deke! I don’t need you!”

Ruby Snow just started laughing as the two of them went off on tangent arguments. Just like normal.

“Okay,” Admiral Purple Breeze said, reigning them in after a minute. “Deke, your requests for the mess hall were approved. And they look great. They did a fantastic job with the painting. But box.”

Deke popped it open and pulled out a giant flag. Blue on the top, Gold in the Center and the bottom stripe was Red. A bronze Star was prominently displayed in the center.

Deke cocky smile hit it’s peak. “The Buttercup’s Council Unit Citation, in a flag. Including the campaign star to denote its second award. It is to be flown at all times, even in battle. Especially in battle. I have a few ideas where the poles can go. We earned it, we will fly it. For the honor is the ship’s and the others should want to be able to do the same.”

Admiral Purple Breeze sighed, shaking her head and trying not to laugh. “You took inspiring others to the opposite level.”

Deke just chuckled.

“What else?” Purple Breeze asked.

Deked pulled out two more spare flags to get to the other one he had made. Then he presented a Blue flag with a Silver Shield on it. On the shield was 3, in red. Very prominent.”

“Fleet Flag?” Ruby Snow asked.

“Yep,” Deke said, unable to drop his grin.

“It’s…” Ruby Snow said, stalling for time to think. “Its… not a dumb idea.”

“Good,” Deke replied. “Because I also had a bunch more flags made, but not for the Buttercup.”

Deke pulled out a white flag with a Purple Heart Medal on it. Just the medal. But a black bar cut through the center of the flag, on the horizontal line.

“Our fallen comrades, who will be honored with their names living on as ships. This is to be flown to remind all that its not just some ship name. It means much, much more than that.”

Admiral Purple Breeze shook her head. “Did you design a Second Fleet Flag for me?”

“I tried,” Deke replied. “But I don’t know your feel. The Third was easy once Little made her Demands. That coined us a defense fleet. Just a shield! I don’t know how to make a flag for the Second.”

“Just as well,” Admiral Purple Breeze replied. “We won’t fly them.”

Deke frowned.

“At least not yet. We can see how they do on the Buttercup.”

Deke’s grin was back at full power.

“Unless your Fleet Admiral has a problem with them. Its up to him.”

Deke turned to Ruby Snow. “You know I am not above begging.”

“I’m not going to allow you to beg,” Ruby Snow shot back. “But I am intrigued by the idea. You and Little can already pick out every ship the Enclave flies. But, it would make some IDs easier.”

“Not much,” Deke said. “Really, most ships just would fly their Fleet Flag, or maybe a Battle Flag or Task Force flag thing.”

“Deke, important question,” Wingnut said. “Did you make Enclave Flags? Because that should be first and highest.”

Deke pulled out the Enclave Flags. “Yeah, but I don’t like them. They are great quality, but boring.”

“However,” Deke hesitated. “I envisioned all of our ships flying flags, so I have two options. The second is better.”

Deke pulled out an Enclave Flag with a thick red band along the top. The other was a Third Fleet flag with the same band.

“The red band signals that the Fleet Admiral is aboard.”

“Not a bad idea,” Ruby Snow replied. “But only for the Third Fleet flag. Not the Enclave one. It doesn’t look right.”

Deke nodded in agreement.

Wingnut had a plan. “I can get a mast on the Buttercup erected in a few hours. Not a problem. And I know you and I are thinking of the same location on the spine. Where the main top hatch is. It is out of the way of the guns already.

“We go old school with a yardarm. Top of the mast, Enclave. Then off the arms we can fly the others, one on either side. It dresses the Buttercup up a bit more. She is the flagship. There are called flag ships for reason. At sea, the lead ship would use flags to signal tactical information.”

“You are holding something back,” Deke stated. “Flags first.”

“Alright, lets have some fun,” Ruby Snow decreed. “Just like the Captain said.”

“Captain?” Little asked, confused.

“Yes, Captain,” Wingnut said proudly. “The Buttercup has been my home for almost all of my service. I will miss her. But we are about to get in several other Cloudships. We need more officers. And as good as you two are, neither of you are quite ready to handle command without Ruby watching over you.”

“I know these ships. I will be taking the Radiant Sun. That is the second Corvette we are building. The first will be the Firecracker, and Bronze Valve will be taking command of that, as Captain.”

“I’ll be losing both of you,” Little stammered. “I’m… I never expected to command without either of you. You are a staple for the Buttercup.”

“And it has been an honor serving under you,” Bronze Valve said. “Especially this last adventure. But we are needed with the new sister ships. I’ll be attending Officer School here in a week and then, I will be promoted straight to Captain. I have the experience, and the Third has the need for somepegasus as well trained and versed in the Corvette Class as I am.

“And I mean this fully. I would not be as ready as I am without either of you two. You have challenged me to be better and taught me more about the Buttercup than I would have learned on my own, even as Captain. I am ready for that reason. That is to your credit. But we will need officers quickly.

“The Corvettes are taking prescience. We are freeing up the last dry dock. Three Corvettes will be made, while the other dry dock will crank out the three new Net Layers. And then they will move back to repairs for three of the four docks. That forth will produce the two Monitors we are getting, and then the final Corvette.”

“Captain Little, you will be happy,” Ruby smiled. “The First Monitor will bear the name, Rising Sun.”

Little grinned. “I do like that. I am very happy for that. And for both of you. It is wonderful appointments that you two will rock. I know I will be fine, but the Buttercup is a big part of each of you.”

“Thank you,” Wingnut smiled. “It will be good for the whole fleet. And we still get to serve side by side, just not on the same ship. I am looking forward to my own command. I never expected it, being an engineer, but I know the ship. And with promoting Silver Star to Commander and him becoming my First Mate, it will be perfect.”

“That is a great pairing,” Little replied. “A very good pairing.”

“You are not without trained officers,” Bronze Valve said. “We took over a Sky-tank that was waiting for a retrofit and used her for training the past few weeks. They are ready. They are trained. And Lieutenant Commander Sunny Swirl will make an amazing Captain, when that time comes. She still needs to cool down a bit, like Deke.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Deke said, waving it off with his wing. “That hotness gets you these awesome flags and more than you can understand.”

Ruby Snow chuckled a bit. It was true, but he wasn’t going to admit that.

“Back to me,” Admiral Purple Breeze said. “Captain Bleeding Night, you are to report to Fort Wind. The rest of the Seventh Task Force will be right behind you. We expect to start maneuvers in 9 days. We will cover those specifics when we get there.”

“Yes Ma’am,” The Captain said, snapping to attention with a salute.

“I know you are a bit lost here with all that is happening. We all have served together for a while now. But now that I think about it, you will need a designation. Head to Nellie’s main Cloudship hangers and give your crew three days off. By then, the switch will be in the system.”

“Thank you Ma’am,” Captain Bleeding Night saluted. He turned around crisply and exited to follow his orders.

“Well?” Ruby Snow asked Deke.

Deke shrugged. “He wants to be more. He wants to really serve and make an impact like we have. He could be a very good choice to take up the chair on the Rising Sun, but more likely the Twilight Sky or Ebony Grace would be a better choice. He does like his speed. He got the Tortoise moving near top speed with little goading.”

Admiral Purple Breeze scoffed. “Already sniping my Captains?”

They both laughed. Deke had the plan thought up on the bridge after they took off and he watched everything. The test would be their maneuvers. He appeared to have what it took to Captain a Corvette. And best of all, he was young. He had the years to learn and perfect it.

Wingnut took the flags and headed down to get a yardarm set up to fly them.

“We are glad you two are back,” Ruby Snow said.

“We are glad to be back,” Little smiled. “Even if it means a chair for me for a bit.”

Admiral Purple Breeze chuckled. “Deke, you had to go break my new command center and gift to you. On the first real voyage.”

Deke chuckled. “Yeah, but it fought back hard and broke my face. It got payback.”

“Well, she is all patched up for you. And we put in a new emergency com button. On the back wall, above the center console. That way, when you two have to do it again, Little won’t have to move so far.”

Deke chuckled. “I love how you just expect us to have to do something like it again.”

“Well,” Ruby Snow sighed. “We learned from 731 that changes are being made. Becoming a defensive fleet is fucking with them. But nopegasus really understands what they are. But yeah, more teams are being made, and rapidly.”

Admiral Purple Breeze had more. “As far as we can tell, they still want Corvettes to be the action ready teams. They are faster, heavily armed, and if we get these tactics with the ACUs working, its much better to commit a Corvette to the quick reactions any teams below would need.”

“Raptors are for war,” Little stated. “And Sky-tanks for troop deployments. Corvettes for lone patrols or quick actions that you don’t want something as high profile as a Raptor to be seen. Plus, its smaller, so anypony below would not get to see our trump card, the Raptors.”

Admiral Purple Breeze shook her head with a smile. “Little, you know this stuff too well. You will make a great admiral one day. And, you won respect in the Council’s eyes. You demands didn’t drop that respect. It won more.”

“Which brings me back to them and the upcoming maneuvers. The Buttercup did undergo some changes. We added three small single rooms for the shuttling or carrying of special personnel. And another bunk room. Its tight. But a bit bigger back there. So, at least three will be on board during them. Most likely the Chief, Fourth and Fifth, since they are the military officers.”

“We can handle it,” Little stated. “Any other changes? I know that Wingnut had to go do Deke’s request.”

“Magazines were increased,” Ruby Snow said. “The other Corvettes are being increased by 5% in size to do this better than our repair retrofit. They have the advantage of learning from our hard labor and testing. And on the sides, we added a central single 10 inch turret.”

“Good,” Deke said. “That would have added a lot more to the cloud busting fight.”

“That is the idea,” Ruby Snow said. “Its the closest thing to combat we have gotten in, as far as I am aware, since the war. So it was good to see the value of two more guns total on her. I’d rather run out of ammo faster, but be able to pack a heavier punch in doing so.”

“When will we retake her?” Little asked.

“Anytime,” Ruby Snow smiled. “Outside this mast, we are ready. And obviously we all blame Deke for that delay.”

“And I will wear it proudly!” Deke grinned.

“On wearing,” Ruby Snow smiled. “First point, both of you look marvelous. Your awards are well deserved. Deke, I didn’t have anything to do with that good conduct medal. But I see you are not wearing it.”

“Fuck no I am not,” Deke spat. “I haven’t earned it yet. They were just trying to give me everything they could.”

“Well, I have one more,” Ruby Snow said. “I didn’t realize you didn’t get a Meritorious Service Medal from the Ice Emergency. And only because you were ‘on probation.’ You were off probation before then. I just didn’t get that paper worked filed until after because of everything.”

Ruby Snow tossed Deke the box. “Service Star is in there as well. Fuck, you were off probation almost immediately. As soon as I saw that you had the navigation station down, you were off. Like you should have been originally. I just never got around to filing it, and it kept you in check a bit. You deserve that. That was step one in mastering the sky.”

“Thanks,” Deke stammered. “I never thought twice about the timing technicalities. It just was what happened and not getting one made sense. I was on probation for a reason.”

“I’m the Fleet Admiral. I can fix those mistakes. And your probation ended up being a retarded piece of shit to block you out of things.”

Ruby Snow took a deep breath in. He didn’t want to cover the second point.

“Deke, how is your hearing and your eyesight? You are not wearing approved, items.”

Deke sat down in a chair with a big sigh. “No. And yes.” Deke tossed his cover onto the table. It was easy to see that the emblem on the hat wasn’t the Enclave symbol. He pulled out a soft sleeve and set the glasses on the table.

“First off, hearing. The surgery went well. Fine. My hearing is restored, and balance is almost back to normal. Just a little more time. Olive Pit can give you the medical specifics.

“The ear cuff is one of the ways it can be anchored. There is a low profile, clear rubber plastic shit thing that flips around and does a good job. But I had that designed to be more fun for me. And the whole thing gets wrapped up in the idea of covering up everything with fun, expressive ways. Pirate comes to mind, so the rings were added. I can’t have earrings in a nerve damaged ear.

“And thus enters the eye. Patch, pirate, duh. Fun. These glasses help. They help, but they are not full sight. Not quite perfect. It annoys me more than completely cutting it off with the eye patch.”

Ruby Snow looked at Olive Pit. He didn’t want to put him on the spot, but he was the medical professional with them and he knew their files.

“I got Deke to at least listen to you two,” Olive Pit stated. “I think he needs to fight for his eyesight. I’d like another opinion on the matter. I am no expert on the eyes. I will research what I can in my available time. But we are about to start another ACS. We are tight with me now being their medical escort.

“But I really think glasses are the best option. This pair is blocky and shit. It doesn’t compliment his face and I know there are better styles out there. Getting Deke into a pair that looks good is the first place to start.”

Ruby Snow nodded and looked Deke square in the face. “Deke, glasses. Enough fun with the eye patch. You need that sight to continue working as a bridge officer. No way around it. I can’t believe you have given up. It does show me how hard that injury is striking you.”

Deke sighed and pulled the patch off. He put the glass on. The right eye was perfect - meaning it was just basic glass on that side - but the left was fuzzed out enough that their discrepancy drove him nuts. Their field of vision crossed and didn’t flow like they should naturally.

“We need to get you new glasses,” Ruby Snow said. “We will head into town in New Heaven and find you another opinion and better style. One that fits you.”

Deke grunted, agreeing. “Can we go one lens? I have having glass over my right eye. Obstruction foul.”

“We will see what styles are actually available,” Ruby Snow said with a chuckle. “And cover, back to your real one. Enough fun. You have a chest full of awards to back up. The master of the sky doesn’t wear something like that.”

Deke just nodded.

With that finished, they began making their way to the Buttercup. The first stop was the shipyard’s administrator. The second was the important one. The forepegasus over the project.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” He greeted them. “Cloud Block is the name. And that’s block as in building blocks, not the action.”

“I never got to work on the others, but it is a great pleasure to finally lay down some
Cloudship, and not just repair or rebuild them.”

Little was confused. “Didn’t you guys just build the Solar?”

“Well,” Cloud Black hesitated. “Sort of. She was built from another Cloudship. The Cloudships
were built during the war. Most of their components were expertly made by Unicorns. Then the pegasi
assembled them here. So now we mostly repurposed them, play with their designs a bit and such until
its ‘new.’ It looks good to have us building new ones.

“We can make the parts, but it takes time. We reverse engineered it all, but yeah, it takes time
and a lot of energy. And they are not to the same quality the Unicorns could put out. We build what we
have to and scavenge from our lot when we have to.

“We have a ton of Cloudship parts here. Most of them were damaged in the war and never got
fixed. So we use them. And then the 1-9s accident has given us several more ships out of commission.
Several will be rebuilt, others will just be scavenged. Beyond worth repairing.

“But these Net Layers are special, and have to be built from the clouds up. The same goes for the others. Even the ball turrets were redesigned for the Corvette Class and the Monitor Class. You guys use shells. The old ships use magic guns.

“If they want to put the time and energy into fully new ships, they get them. And I prefer it to the strip and clears we do before rebuilding them all. These are more maintainable too because we build them for what we have now, not trying to compensate for what we lost. I prefer these designs. And our retrofits have been converting different magic guns to caliber weapons. We are running out of ways to make them work. And the Raptors need their main guns to stay online and with power as long as possible.”

Cloud Block gave them more information into the repair of the Buttercup. And more information into the other Corvettes planned.

Little was happy for the stops. It kept her off the Buttercup. She was getting very nervous about stepping back on. She was unsure that she could take command.

But she had to. She was her Captain. It was her duty, and she could not abdicate it or avoid it. She had to show the strength to the crew that she didn’t have, so that they could do their job for her.

Little got out of wheelchair to board the Buttercup. She made her way slowly up the ramp. Deke had the chair for the moment, as Olive Pit was right by her side, ready if anything went wrong.

At the top of the ramp in the bay was every soldier except for the bridge officers. They snapped to attention at her arrival.

“At ease,” Little confidentially ordered. “It’s good to see you all. Thank you for the greeting. Now, to your stations. We have a ship to get into the sky and a duty to serve.”

Little continued onto the bridge on her own, strengthened by the greeting from her crew.

Little sat in the Captain’s chair. Deke was standing on her left, and Ruby on her right. Every station had both chairs occupied. The Buttercup was staffed and ready to go. She had a crew, and Little didn't know what to do with it.

Little just went with the commands she would give herself when flying. “Helm, engage engines, 20%. Let her warm up. Nav, do you have our course set to Fort Wind?”

“The Tower wants to know if we are having trouble, “ Lieutenant Swift Concert asked from communications.

“Tell them we are just warming up and will be out momentarily. Engines to 35%. Forward flaps up. I don't want her lifting off at all yet.”

“Course set Captain,” Lieutenant Commander Sunny Swirl reported.

Little looked at the course on her small screen. It wasn't like really being in control, or working with Deke.

“Engines to 47%”

“47%? “ Lieutenant Crystal Bolt asked.

“47,” Little confirmed. “That is her balance point.”

The Buttercup skipped forward. Little had to hold on to her chair so she wasn't thrown forward.

“Back to 40%!” Little ordered.

The Buttercup stopped, skidding a bit on the ground. She was half out of the Dry Dock from the jump.

“Captain,” Deke said. “It appears the new engines are more powerful than what we are used to.”

“It appears so Commander. Commander, please take the helm. I will not leave Dry Dock without finding that balance point.”

“Yes Captain,” Deke said, replacing Lieutenant Crystal Bolt.

“Captain, the Tower is asking how we are fairing.”

“Tell them we are fine and that we are learning the new nuances of the Buttercup. We will be underway shortly.”

Deke checked through the weather reports before slowly moving the engines up. Deke had been trained by Little to find that balance point. Most Captains and pilots just pulled the ship up and out. Little learned to find that point where it was almost about to move. She used it to get the Buttercup up slightly in the bay and inch or two, waiting, and to seamlessly jet off at impressive speeds or turns. All because of that balance point.”

“43% and holding, “ Deke reported. “I believe we shall hit that point at 46%.”

Deke took each increase slowly. There was the chance that she would lurch again without him being prepared. If she did, he had a forward plan, but he wanted to find that balance point almost as bad as Little. It was her signature move.

“46% Deke reported. “How does she feel Captain?”

“Almost there,” Little replied. “Why are we still on the ground?”

“Checking, “ Deke mumbled. “Starboard Forward Flap 7 was not all the way out.”

“Back off to 43% and test that flap,” Little ordered.

“Already on it,” Deke replied. “As far as I can tell, the flap is fully operational. Permission to fully test her once we launch.”

“Prove she balances first, “ Little said.

“47% Percent,” Deke replied. “She is right there Captain.”

“Oh, I feel it, “ Little smiled. “Punch it and test that flap!”

Deke put the flaps down at the same time as he pushed the engines to 80%. The Buttercup floated out of the Dry Dock and forward, off towards Fort Wind.

“Testing Starboard Forward Flap 7 now.”

The Buttercup turned by less than a degree, but Deke and Little felt the subtle shift of it fully out.

“Totally operationally to specifications,” Deke reported. “Scared me for a while.”

Little chuckled. “You love SFF7 too much Deke.”

“You have to know how to caress her. That's how I kept us from tipping against the storm. You know I am right.”

“Yeah, yeah, step down so the Lieutenant can do his job. “

Ruby Snow nodded to Deke as he got up. Everything was handled exactly how it should have been. Even him taking the helm.

“Helm, follow the course set to Fort Wind.”

Ruby Snow stepped over to Deke who was in his corner, thinking.

“I know that look,” Ruby Snow said quietly. “You want something.”

“Yeah,” Deke said, a slight grin on his zoned out face. “But can I get it elsewhere?”

Ruby Snow’s face matched Deke’s grin. “Where do you know where you can get it?”

“New Cloudsdale. I know, we just came there. But my pair is readily available.”

Ruby Snow chuckled. Deke was really wanting something, but trying to not derail them. “What do you want?”

“Well,” Deke said, trying to formulate everything correctly. “When I worked as the Director of Operations, well all of us had to wear goggles at all time. Standard safety protocol. The pair we got free worked, but were not that great. We got our own pairs. If I’m stuck with glasses, well they looked stylish while being functional.”

Ruby Snow sighed. He needed Deke to wear glasses. He needed him enthusiastic about such a sharp change. And the pair he was given was an eyesore and would never look good on anypony.

“Mareland and then for you to go in and get them is a stop,” Ruby Snow said.

Deke smirked. “Yes, I know. But put me at the helm, I take her in, park her, and jump out. My family will be home. Grab them, kiss them good bye, and gone. All of 20 minutes.”

Ruby Snow almost agreed and then stopped. “You mean put the colt who is having trouble with eyesight in control of the ship to navigate in between the city buildings?”

Deke let out a chuckle, but didn’t back down. “Which is worse? Dry dock departure while finding the balance point, or that?”

“Deke,” Ruby Snow said disappointed. “Are you really trying to compare the two?”

“No,” Deke shot back. “I did just compare them.”

“Can you find them anywhere else?”

Deke shrugged. “I didn’t just walk into a hardware store to find them. I also got my industrial breathing mask. Again, the free stuff worked, but was crappy. And when you need to wear them for extended periods, pretty simple to justify buying better stuff.”

“Captain,” Ruby Snow called.

“Yes Admiral?” Little said, not even bothering to turn around. Just like normal.

“I need a destination set in between Fort Wind and here.”

“Of course Admiral. Where do you need us to go?”

“Set the point for 15 miles west of the center of New Cloudsdale.”

“Navigation, set course for 15 miles west of New Cloudsdale. We will maintain this elevation. Helm, as soon as you have that course, correction, gun it!

“Thanks,” Deke said quietly to Ruby Snow.

“Don’t make me regret it.”

Deke was serious. “I won’t. This is for real.”

“I know,” Ruby Snow replied. “I can’t imagine with its like for you. To see you rocked this deeply over what seems to be something trivial, its important. Of that I am sure.”

Ruby Snow sat down at his spot. “Commander, I just thought of something.”

“Yes?” Deke asked, peering over the center console.

“Yes, you are on light duty. I don’t want you controlling the bridge on your own yet. Not until we get you a new pair of glasses and used to them. Yes, I trust you to pilot the Buttercup into the city. You know it very well, but I want you supported for now. Just like I wouldn’t let Little be up and pacing. She staying in that chair.”

“Yes Sir,” Deke replied professionally. “It is probably for the best. Everything is still a mess right now.”

“Yeah, my entire bridge crew almost died on me. That is what happens.”

They both snickered. The usable bridge crew had almost died.

They were much faster than the Torturous. It only took them 32 hours to make the run back. They arrived mid afternoon.

“Captain,” Ruby Snow said. “The Commander has the helm.”

“Commander has the helm,” Little ordered.

Deke took the helm of the Buttercup. He began to slowly move them into the city. It was slow work. Deke was keeping to a strict speed limit. They rarely let Cloudships operate above a city, even less below the tallest buildings. Deke wasn’t going to scare anypony because of their pit stop. The Fleet Admiral was kind enough to approve it, he wasn’t going to make a mistake.

Deke maneuvered the Buttercup as close as he could and parked it in the sky. He lowered the ramp and stood up. He faced Little.

“Captain. I am departed with Fleet Admiral Ruby Snows approval. I shall be right back.”

“Of course Commander,” Little said a nod.

Deke still wasn’t rushing. He needed more time. All of this was good to get his balance back. He was getting stronger and stronger, but not running speed yet.

Deke jumped off the ramp into a good cruise. He glided towards the street and landed in front of the apartment high rise his family was at. His Aunt and Uncle had moved, letting the kids buy of the house from them. His stuff was still at that apartment.

He took the elevator up to the floor. Deke was almost knocked off his feet several times by its jerking. He was backed into the corner, holding onto the sides to stay up.

Deke walked down the familiar hallway and knocked on the door. He heard the familiar call of his aunt from inside. They might have moved, but the family was close. The must be over. The door was opened by Sun Shower.

“Deke?” She asked confused. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“Hey Sun, I need something.”

“Ah,” She said, stepping aside. “I thought you had departed for you ship?”

“Its parked down that way,” Deke said, pointing with his wing as he went to his room. It had been all boxed up, but was still stored there. “I need my goggles and face mask.”

“That is Deke!” Winter Low said, coming out of his room. “Why is Deke here?”

“Aha!” Deke exclaimed as he found them.

He came back out to the living room to answer why he was there. They all confused more than anything.

“Yeah, these glasses I am wearing won’t work. Look at them. The Fleet Admiral was kind enough to amend out destination to include a stop here for me to get there. I love how I look in them. And I need to wear glasses. It glasses, or off Cloudships. At our real stop, we will get me a good pair that looks nice. But I wanted these for reference. And he wants me to wear them, and not have to remove me from duty.”

Sun Shower lunged at Deke and embraced him. “I love you. I know its for this quick moment, but its good to see you. I know you can make this transition. You are my Deke. My Deke does that. He does it without a second thought and without complaining. He is strong that way.”

Deke was hugging her tightly back. A tear dripped onto the lens of his right eye. “I love you. Thank you for reminding me who Deke is. I have to be so much for so many others. I lost myself there for a bit.”

Sun Shower let go and forced them to break contact. She sniffed back tears. “Go. Hug the others and go. You need to and I can’t stand not hugging you, so go before I won’t let you. But seeing you...”

Deke wiped away her tears. Just like he had done when she was younger and would come to him when she couldn’t sleep from all the scared, loneliness she felt.

Deke hopped away, hugged the others and was gone. He had a new pep to his step and it was noticed as he got back to the bridge. Ruby Snow caught the goggles as Deke walked past him and to the helm.

Deke had closed the ramp when he exited. He slowly increased their elevation until they were above all of the buildings. Deke turned them north and punched it. He was done playing nice. He was Deke. He had this.

Chapter 93 - Plans

General Shielded Vengeance opened the door to the meeting room and stepped inside. The Council had called him in. As planned, they were at Fort Wind to oversee the ACU and Third Fleet maneuvers. And for security reasons, the meeting was in the Wonderbolt’s Unit.

He knew something was immediately wrong because Captain Marble Falls was slunked down in her chair and tense. She was irritated and close to snapping. Shielded Vengeance had never seen her so wound up. She was on the verge of being dangerous.

Colonel Nova wasn’t happy either. He wasn’t dangerous, at least not in the same way. But he was just as unhappy as Marble Falls. Marble Falls had something else bothering her.

They also had a visitor at the table that Shielded Vengeance had never seen before. A young lieutenant. As fresh as his short haircut was and as green as his forest green coat. He was nervous about being in the room.

General Shielded Vengeance took the closest seat to the others, which happened to be by the lieutenant.

“I was helping prepare for the maneuvers,” Shielded Vengeance said. “I am surprised you are not onboard the Buttercup. I was not informed there was a meeting.”

“Well, you were not on the original list,” The Fourth Counselor said.

General Shielded Vengeance raised his eyebrow, intrigued about what could be so important that two of his staff members would be deemed more important than he was for a meeting. Everything they did involved him.

“They want to ask!” Marble Falls snipped. “I told them to never to ask again! Yet they don’t seem to remember that. If they ask, they will die.”

Marble Falls wasn’t joking, nor was she blowing hot air. She would kill them. General Shielded Vengeance flashed her smile and a short nod, showing his support.

General Shielded Vengeance looked at the Council. “You are idiots. If you have her that wound up… I have never seen her that way. And she is one of my best! And she has proven her cool!”

General Shielded Vengeance felt his defensive switch flipped on. “Both of them are calm and collected. So what the fuck did you do to some of my best officers and fliers? And if you say Colonel Nova can’t fly, you never saw him fly and you can’t count him out yet. He still has that wing on for a reason.”

The counselors were disturbed, showing it each differently. They hadn’t calculated on Nova being able to fly. He was labeled 100% disabled and the wing was on for dignity. They had never considered dignity still being able to fly if pushed to that point.

The Fourth Counselor breached the topic after a few minutes. “We… have to keep going below. We… don’t have that option. And the Aerial Combat Battalion… its… the best place.”

“Spit it out,” General Shielded Vengeance order. “Just say it and we will deal with it after.”

“I’m Lieutenant Quick Blitz,” He confidently stated. “And it has been tasked to me to pick up the mantle of getting recon teams below. We will be successful.”

“Fuck off,” General Shielded Vengeance ordered. “Where is Major Winters Breath?”

“Retired,” The Chief Counselor said.

“Unretire him,” General Shielded Vengeance ordered.

“We can’t,” Seventh Counselor said. “We tried. He told us to fuck off and took full retirement from us.”

“You fucking idiots,” General Shielded Vengeance spat.

“I am qualified in…”

“Shut up!” General Shielded Vengeance ordered the Lieutenant.

General Shielded Vengeance growled. He was backed into a corner. “The ACBs will support this on one condition. All files have to be released from every recon and scout mission. All of them. Every single terminal too. I want the raw reports. Even of the Inquisitors.

“No, I am not going to open an investigation, but I do want them home. I will award any and all medals that need to be awarded. I will find out what happened and I will keep trying to get in contact with them.”

“Well, that may be hard to do,” Fourth Counselor said. “For one, Nova is hiding the bulk of the records.”

“Fuck you,” Nova spat. “You have everything you need for every authorized mission.”

“Fuck you Nova,” General Shielded Vengeance shot back. “I knew you were hiding something, but we never could figure out what you did. I need them. Then we can get back to the real work and get it done.”

“No,” Nova decreed. “You don’t need it. You got every report we could give you.”

“What are you afraid of?” General Shielded Vengeance asked, trying to keep his cool when talking to Nova.

Nova wasn’t going to respond, so General Shielded Vengeance looked at Marble Falls.

“I’m sorry, but do you know anything about Nova hiding even the tiniest piece of paper?”

“No,” Marble Falls spat. “I was there only a few hours before we flew. I don’t know anything. I don’t belong here. My stance is final! Why won’t you leave me the fuck alone!”

Marble Falls sucked back tears.

General Shielded Vengeance scanned the room. “For the same reason I’m not going to let this job go anywhere else! Because twice this has gone on for me. Once under my control. The other, control was given to me right after. I won’t let the shit hit the fan. I don’t trust any other pegasi with the job. I’m not saying either of you three are doing it. But I need those damn records so we don’t make the same fucking mistakes. I have learned to lead that division!

“Because Scout Command hid stuff, and it got them slaughtered. The Inquisitors started out open, but then closed and it caused unknown problems. I will have it completely opened to me, my direct line of soldiers who need to know, and you counselors.

“And then I’m going to get Shadow Flare back. We will focus missions on finding him. By tracing him, we can trace out the wasteland. We can map it, we can find the hot spots, the cold spots and learn where we can begin to safely build forward outposts at. And he will have a shit ton of stuff to give us.

“I want Squad 4 closed. Permanently. And we can’t do that until we get the Inquisitors back. They were gifted with Squad 4 after the previous Squad 4 retired from being the Wonderbolts going below. The Dragon’s Roar did their duty, amazingly. And they paid with four bodies. And now with the Inquisitors blood, its going to be retired.

“Give me the info and I can have a team rolling in six months to pick up at Rosemary. That’s a promise. Even working with his fresh ass. Because I’m not going to pull any shit. And at this point, he shouldn’t have any bad habits.”

Marble Falls turned her eyes at Shielded Vengeance. They were filled with hate.

“You all three looked at each other,” Second Counselor stated. “Or better put, Colonel Nova and Captain Marble Falls both shot glances at you. What did you do?”

General Shielded Vengeance grunted. “Ours job, that’s all.”

“Who did you send down?” Second Counselor said, not giving up. “And where.”

“I’ll get it,” Marble Falls said standing up. “But, some of it, not even you get to know. Because there is no fucking reason for you to need to know.”

Marble Falls almost tore the door off it’s hinges and the Wonderbolt Colonel fell into the room.

The Chief Counselor was standing in an instant. “Where you spying on us!”

“No!” The Colonel shot back. “I was practicing key Wonderbolt skills.”

Nova coughed on a chuckle.

“But without these three we are not doing what we are supposed to be doing. It stalled out. And I am just underneath him, above her and equal to him. So, why was I not invited? I was in the 88th as well. I know the shit that happened. The second shit storm happened at my fort!”

The Colonel sat down next to General Shielded Vengeance.

Marble Falls was back a moment later and dropped a file on the table. Some photos slid out. She took her previous position up, hunkered down in her chair.

“The location doesn’t matter,” Marble Falls stated. “The location was verified and holds no value to the Enclave. That is all that matters.”

The Second Counselor swiped the folder off the table and looked through it. “Where is this?”

“Classified,” The Colonel stated. “Only three of us know where, and none of us are speaking. I verified it. Those posters, are the ones on our main hallway’s walls. It was a wartime Shadowbolt location. I’m the current historian for the Wonderbolts. So, like I said, it holds no value and it’s location will not be divulged for multiple reasons.”

The Second Counselor narrowed his eyes at the Colonel. “I’ll scour the Northern Mountains if I have to.”

“For what purpose?” General Shielded Vengeance shot back. “There is no fucking purpose. A waste of time and resources for nothing. Anything that mattered was documented and taken. Leave the location to rest. What matters is that message. Shadow Flare risked his life against the ice to leave it. And we responded accordingly.”

“How far is accordingly?” The Chief Counselor asked. “I am currently concerned with your leadership and control over your troops. And I am concerned about the Aerial Combat Battalion being the home for further scout and reconnaissance missions.”

General Shielded Vengeance grumbled as he adjusted his sitting position. “I dropped Sword and Shield onto Rosemary.”

“Rosemary was thoroughly investigated,” The Fourth Counselor stated. “And that wasn’t covered up in any way.”

“Their report wasn’t, no. But, the location was. I have proof on that.”

“Sword and Shield are no proof,” The Chief Counselor reminded them all.

“Yeah, I know,” General Shielded Vengeance grinned. “But you can’t fuck with the report we got back. That group Shadow Flare was letting grow to cover their asses, well they actually knew of the Inquisitors. Not in unit name, but they knew names and ponies. Shit you can’t make up.

“So yeah, we left a message with them for the Inquisitors. A recall message, just like we wrote on the wall. And they were going to happily keep it. Because they owe a lot to them, including lives. And even if they found out they were Enclave soldiers, they would never second guess anything.

“Which is why I won’t let this go anywhere else. Because they fucking lived. And they were undergoing missions past their MIA date. And… Shadow Flare is believed to be the only one alive. If he is now. He left to settle something. And he gave them Rosemary.”

“How the fuck did you find Rosemary?” The Fifth Counselor asked.

“Give me full control, and all files, and I’ll say. But I assure you. Our cover was never blown. And the Inquisitors, they never blew their cover either. But until we can confirm their deaths, I won’t stop doing what I can to find them. Because the Inquisitors were under my wings. And I won’t leave a soldier behind.”

“That choice is on Colonel Nova’s Wings,” The Chief Counselor said, looking at Nova.

“Fuck you,” Nova spat. “There was a huge difference with Scout Command verses the Inquisitors. I made sure of it. We were much more autonomous back then. So were the recon teams. We barely shared records in between. We never hid anything important. But they were mostly different counselors back then. And they didn’t like our plan.

“The plan Scout Command drew up right after I went below; all Squadrons agreed and were in on planning it. We were going to map it. All. And we were going to run Atlas, starting at the military installations. Because they would have maps!

“But the Council said no. They didn’t like it because they wanted to know where we could begin to do immediate work reclaiming materials. So we hid a lot of missions that went smoothly because they would not approve!

“Scout Command was answering to the Council, not to General Quick Breeze! The same with the Recon Teams.” Nova slammed his hoof down on the table. “I made sure Major Winters Breath didn’t have that same autonomy. I made sure he was under the Colonel at Fort Wind. I made sure that they had the control they needed, with the over watch they needed. I learned from how we used the system so it couldn’t be done again!”

Nova sulked for a minute. “Fine. The records are at Camp Bullis.”

“Where the fuck are they!” General Shielded Vengeance exclaimed. “We tore it apart!”

Nova chuckled. “You guys were just as dumb as you are now. The Squadrons could always run circles around any of your Wonderbolt Squads. At any time during those five years. But mostly, at the start. Before we lost anypegasus.

“You think you are the only ones who can do covert things. Now, the Recon Teams were bullish and dumb. But, well we had Camp Bullis figured out within six months. I know every gun you hide there. I have shot most of them!

“I put the files away in the maximum security vault. The restricted vault, Vault 1. Yeah. I have been in that vault too and unlocked it’s secrets. And no, the Warrant Officers are not to blame. We got around them. After the initial probe, it was deemed useless and kept only to the original members. It died with them.

“You can tell the boxes because they were marked ‘Project Atlas.’”

Nova sighed. “And we almost got it done.”

“What do you mean by almost?” General Shielded Vengeance asked before anypony else could.

Nova shook his head slowly. “Atlas was the final operation name for a reason. To cover multiple other missions. You got the final results of everything. That is what matters. But the 22 missions I was cited with, its way under shooting it.

“If you look at the track record, we have a very slow start, with a big rush at the end. No, we picked up speed a lot faster. If a mission had a death, we never hid it or messed with it. I personally lead another 14 missions to military installations. And that was only those military installations. I don’t recall the real numbers. That is in those crates.

“Some of what we hid away were weapons we recovered. Others were reported in by Wonderbolt Squad 4 and ended up in your vaults, which you use to teach the EWW training. You have a lot that you owe to us that you never knew about about.

“That snack gun Golden Dawn is still cleared to use, she is nasty with it. A natural. But that serial number, yep. Its in our records. I picked that up south of Las Pegasus’ ground city. A installation buried in the sand. I doubt it can be found again. Yeah, you owe a lot to us.

“Squad 4 may have been Wonderbolts, but they really came under Scout Command. They were not apart of the original 9, since they came in a year after we started, but they were one of us. They bled like we did, they ran these operations with us and helped us hide some of the things.

“We had a whole covert operation dedicated to find all of them. We found battlefields and bunkers, academies and fortresses. We covered most of Equestria in search of them, even reaching into the far south. Because we deemed them more important for recovery purposes. We also believed we could get an accurate map from those targets. We did get several, and they did a good job even after all the years. It was never anything big enough to complete the mapping all at once. But we went against the Council.

“Oh, the crate marked ‘Project Atlas Nova’ is mine. Personal belongings I could not walk out with. I want it back. I have been waiting for it to come back. Open it… you die.”

“When did you do this?” Marble Falls asked, pissed off. “We finished our report and then were swarmed by medical personnel, ending our time there.”

“Oh, most of it was secretly stored over the years. But if you recall, after you arrived, you went with Rose to the QM Cage. We boxed up and hid the last of it up before the mission brief. Nopegasus knew but Jade and I.

“You all were so disconnected with what we were doing. We didn’t have anypony looking over our shoulder. Why do you think we never went to certain areas? We ran into a lot of horrors that kept us away. Like Baltimare. Fuck that place. We are not ready to go to there, even on recon missions. You will get killed. I landed at Fort Strong and then we tried to get to the Equestrian Naval Academy. It all failed, quickly.”

“Oh?” Marble Falls growled. “Why? Because there were ginormous mutated ponies that like to crush you and eat you?”

Nova’s eyes went wide. “Fuck.”

“Yeah,” Marble Falls said, nodding to him. “The Inquisitors got blasted hard there. Shadow took a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor there. They got pinned and shit happened.”

Nova nodded, thinking. He was pretty sure there was more to it.

“What do you know?” Marble Falls pressed.

“Nothing,” Nova said. “Knowing and seeing are two different things.”

“How?” Third Counselor asked. “If you saw something, you know it.”

“No,” Nova replied. “Especially as a Scout. It is very easy to see something that isn’t there. Or see something wrong. Or not see something you should see. Just because you see something, doesn’t mean you know it either. Because you have to know what you are seeing before you see it to know what you are seeing.”

“Every report is like that,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “All Scout Squadrons and Recon Teams functioned like that. And they do it for a good reason. They can’t suppose anything.

“The Inquisitors did as well. They will have better reports and finding they didn’t send because it either can’t be sent via terminal, or other reasons. They were like the others when it came to immediate reports verses full reports. We got some, but we know others were not sent, or wouldn't be reported until we talk details with them on certain aspects.”

“Yes,” Second Counselor nodded. “I have our science teams working on a solution to the Diamond Dog’s evolution into Hell Hounds and how we can work with them.”

Third Counselor snorted. “But, if you were to suppose?”

“We can’t risk it,” Nova warned. “Its bad. It has little reclamation value, or better put, too high of a risk to try and reclaim anything from there.”

“All of us here know the reports from the Inquisitors,” The Colonel stated. “Spill.”

“We spent two days and three nights there. We spent half trying to sneak into the Naval Academy, and the other half poking around Fort Strong. Both were beyond secure by the things. Bumbling idiots with some ability to speak.

“But there were places we thought the lights were different. Not their lights. And a city always has noise. Some of it didn’t sound brutish. But we kept getting chased off and it was too dangerous to try and stay any longer.

“But I’m confused. Because I knew what was planned. Scouts hated recon because of how they viewed themselves. We never did anything past five days in the area. And never more than two weeks below total. And yes, I have been on those extended missions. Recon would go to one place for two or so weeks.

“The Inquisitors, as they became known as, were designed to go down for a month of two. And they were to target Fillydelphia and the Canterlot lowlands like Ponyville and Appleoosa. They were expanding on where we were trying to hone in on for a reason. Baltimare was discouraged by me. We needed them to survive, and that meant working in the areas we had some tangible idea of the dangers of.

“If they went to Baltimare, something was wrong. Seriously wrong. They must have been booted out of Fillydelphia, at least twice. And they would have gotten good information from each.”

“Three runs,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “The last being a strategic bombing. Yeah, they bombed the city. They reported sky guns. Giant automatic cannons designed to protect the bases from dragon attack. A deterrent. We had no idea they got installed in Fillydelphia.”

“That’s what knocked us out,” Marble Falls said. “I… it makes sense.”

Nova just nodded. “Then also that means something went wrong. I know they hit the Hollow Shades, and I only know because Shadow got me intel I needed to answer a question. It was one time that protocol was broken, because I needed that info for scouts as soon as possible. But that’s a different case.”

“They went to the Hollow Shades?” General Shielded Vengeance said confused. “None of my reports from Honey Bee have that!”

“Fuck!” Nova swore. “That pinprick is going to get it from Shadow when he gets back.”

“When did he contact you?” General Shielded Vengeance asked, frustrated.

Nova was unsure. “Uhh… well, let me think.”

“Are you stalling or can’t remember?” General Shielded Vengeance growled.

“I can’t recall,” Nova replied slowly. “And that is what the message was about. I was shot at over the Hollow Shades. And half the unit said yes, the other didn’t hear or see a thing. Which is why shooting radiation at me scrambled my fucking head!

“Aha! Yeah! Unit 0 was a hot mess still. I took the call while I was looking at soldiers to boost their numbers even more and help solve their discrepancies. So it was before ACS.”

“FUCK!” The Colonel raged. “That marks communication past their reported MIA date. We need them back.”

“And that’s where it all goes to shit,” General Shielded Vengeance said to the Council. “Which is why I need that terminal! I need to find out what they really said and when it was said. Because I know he will tell us the message was delayed.

“I don’t care about his ass. I know he learned his fucking lesson. We need the Inquisitors back. They are our soldiers! We don’t leave anypegasus behind! I don’t believe they decided to stay down on their own. And this stuff just adds to that belief.

“Still, they went to Baltimare. They had a tough time. They warned about the grave danger of the Super Ponies and they found it to be too difficult to clean out to gather resources from. I hope there is a better report hidden, because it was kept vague.”

Nova just grunted.

“What does that mean?” The Chief Counselor pressed.

Nova shrugged. “I can attest, and so can my reports, that Baltimare is a loss and will take more than we have to gain anything from it. But they must have found something. Either something so dangerous it was better off keeping hidden, or something so precious it needed to be fostered.

“I lean towards dangerous, because that Fort Strong was hiding something. And he probably got injured there, trying to take it. It’s roof makes for a great spot to quietly camp out on. The things are idiots.

“I have a question,” Nova said, switching his demeanor. “Are you sure the terminal is there?”

“What?” The Chief Counselor asked. “Of course its there. Its locked in our most secure facility.”

“And we broke into Camp Bullis’ most secure places,” Nova shot back. “It isn’t hard. Especially to quietly pay somepegasus off.”

“If its not there,” General Shielded Vengeance growled. “Only two have a reason to get rid of it.”

The Sixth Counselor put her hoof up to silence him. “As long as you do not go after Lieutenant Honey Bee, you are cleared for everything and anything. Under our direct control of course. But the Lieutenant is off limits. His family is too critical to the Enclave. I am the Social and Schooling Counselor for a reason.

"It's not about power, it's about how it will effect us as a whole. He has family that is serving still and it will cause a huge rift. The Enclave would collapse on itself. He is the youngest in his family, with three older brothers who are serving in key position. But none of them have his, drive. His father is the Head Stallion over the the Admiral Fractus Cloud Academy, the most prestigious military school in the Enclave.

“I would love to remove him. I do not know the military side, I admit that. I don’t even understand how he took over that job from the Major. However, I do believe he fucked up.

“But it has been dealt with. He has a blacked out mark on his file. He has been skipped on a promotion already and likely will be skipped on at least one more. And after the actions at the Squad Barracks, his reputation got knocked down several pegs.

“And the physical beating he has taken from Commander Cardinal Spitfire those three times was a hard reality check. She is lucky all three were his fault. We saw the records and we passed no fault judgment on her.”

“How close is he to the Council?” Marble Falls asked.

Nopegasus answered right away. The sixth Counselor finally spoke up.

“Close enough that I am satisfied with how things settled down. And can attest to how much he learned.”

“What power does he have?” Marble Falls pressed.

The Sixth Counselor sighed. “He is of the Clover Lineage.”

Marble Falls’ ears perked up. “As in Golden ‘Lord’ Clove, the Fleet Admiral who reorganized the fleet to it’s current structure, designed the Monitor class, and who the only ship in it’s class is named after.”

The Sixth Counselor just nodded.

“Fuck,” Nova said. “That would shatter the Enclave.”

Marble Falls’ lips curled a bit in a smile. “Well, she got away with a lot those two times.”

“Two?” Sixth Counselor said. “I had three.”

“It was surprisingly not four,” Marble Falls grinned from her hunched down position. “No, the third time is not confirmed. She will never confirm or deny anything. But a few days later, Cardinal Spitfire did the same thing when Bull was over Colonel Nova.

“She is going to be one of the best the Wonderbolts have ever seen. She ran an emergency stop at high speeds at a tough angle and was dead on accurate. All she did was drop hard and fast and used the individual as her break. It also tosses them back to create space. It breaks her body though.

“It wasn’t until after she landed, and got her head screwed on, that she reacted to who is was. But she let up, instead of pouncing, and warned him about Shadow coming for him. She hurt from the drop, but she survived. She also almost killed him when he spilled food all over her first flight jacked. It was her happy one, before Shadow was MIA.

“She got lucky that none of you pushed.”

“She had an ally on the Council,” The Chief Counselor said. “For those matters. But if she starts anything or goads him into anything-”

“She gets branded and kicked below,” Marble Falls finished.

“No,” The Chief Counselor said. “Public execution. The Clove Family would have it no other way.”

Nova shook his head. “Shadow Flare will kill him if it is found that he did something wrong. Shadow Flare is trained and hurting. I don’t know if we can stop him.”

“I can’t have a loose canon in our ranks,” The Chief Counselor said.

“Oh, he isn’t a loose canon,” Nova grinned. “He is controlled, calculated. He will not get angry or rage until its time. And then it’s a righteous fury and you won’t be able to stop him. By then, the whole Enclave will know and back Shadow Flare. And I doubt it will be quick retribution.”

“That is still something we can’t let happen,” The Fourth Counselor said. “I thought he had more control than that. He is a Recon Soldier.

“Exactly,” Nova declared. “You haven’t been below. You wouldn’t understand what it takes to face all of that, day after day. You have to be calculated. Smart. Able to out think your opponent. And worse, ruthless. There is no middle ground down there. Its either kill, or aid. That is what the wasteland means to a highly trained Enclave Special Operations Soldier.”

Marble Falls shook her head. “He will make sure Honey Bee learned his lesson. He really is hurting, but he might be hurting so much he lets him live. To forever face his shame. He would rip him apart so hard that his family would cut all ties. And… that’s probably the more likely ending.”

“What does that mean?” General Shielded Vengeance asked. “You said he is, not might be.”

Marble Falls looked down, trying to figure out what to say.

“Damn it!” General Shielded Vengeance swore. “I know by now Pony Patrol has looked at those records. Its part of what you are training them for. Speak.”

Marble Falls shook her head. “No. Yes, we got the files read, but no. Its nothing in those files. If the terminal is secure, it might be in there. I just know him.”

“Why hasn’t he come back?” The Colonel pressed. “You have an idea.”

“Nothing but speculation. And nopony else knows in Pony Patrol or has any idea. Not even Cardinal Spitfire. Especially not her. Its just that, speculation and not worth mentioning.”

“There is more to it than that,” General Shielded Vengeance pushed. “I know it. The terminal will either confirm or deny that speculation. No harm, no foul. The Council will know the truth too.”

“No,” Marble Falls said, resisting.

“Damn it!” Nova swore. “Marble dear, please. Anything to help us understand and then we can make a recovery move earlier. We are past judgments, so Honey Bee can’t get in any actual trouble from it.”

Marble Falls locked eyes with Nova. After a minute she broke. “Alright. I believe the Inquisitors got kill orders for a group of Dashites. And it was bad for them. And they didn’t know if they could trust going above, or be exiled for killing them. That’s what I believe happened.”

“We haven’t Banished anypegasus below in over seven years,” The Chief Counselor stated. “Certainly not since I have been Chief Counselor. And unless Nova hid something, we have no reports of Dashites grouping together.”

“I would have reported that,” Nova said. “In person.”

“Fuck,” The Sixth Counselor swore to herself. “It makes sense. They would be hurting and confused.”

No others understood.

Marble Falls spoke quietly, barely enough to hear. “There are two or three others that know. I wasn’t the first to figure it out. But I can guarantee that its secure.”

Marble Falls took a few deep breaths in and out. “You have the Turnip Homestead working in the south. Lance Turnip got to read Shadow’s files. He called me to clarify something. Its not something actually in the files, but something that lines up.

“Think back to when the recon team was actually announced MIA.”

“The Ice was still new enough,” The Second Counselor said.

“More than that happened at the same time,” Marble Falls said.

“The Seventh Counselor retired and was replaced,” The Third Counselor said. “The Fourth Conclave finished up at that time. Then the Pillars of the Community went below.”

“Fuck,” The Colonel swore.

The Fourth Counselor was lost for words. The Seventh Counselor had his head in his hooves, while the Second Counselor was grimacing. The others were lost.

“Chief,” The Sixth Counselor quietly said, when it was evident they would not put it together. “The Pillars of the Community was more than just a group going below. I know the list of who and where they came from. Dream Catcher, of the Turnip Homestead ended up joining. She died below.”

“So?” The Chief Counselor asked.

Nova swore to himself as he connected it.

“Chief, the recon team was declared MIA for 4 weeks, two days after the Pillars of the Community was slaughtered. Two days. There is no coincidence in that.”

The Chief Counselor just grunted.

“Shadow Flare would be confused,” Marble Falls said. “He wouldn’t know who to trust. They all would be. They would fear going above. I doubt they were told it was going to be murder. If it was me, I would have told them it was Dashites that were large enough group of dissenters that the Council couldn’t punish them, or lose to the mob. Its not a hard stretch.”

“Fuck,” General Shielded Vengeance sighed. “Counselors, can you honestly say you were not happy when they died?”

None of them responded right away.

“Nova?” The Chief Counselor said. “Back then, would Scout Command have given those orders?”

Nova took a deep breath in. “I… I am glad we were not in that spot to have to discuss it. That’s all I can say.”

“I have more to back it up,” The Colonel said. “But I need to know who Dream Catcher is first.”

“It’s Shadow Flare’s younger sister,” Marble Falls said. “She looked up to him as her hero and he loved deeply.”

“That, explains even more,” The Colonel said. “The Wonderbolt Squad that responded to the emergency call. All of the Counselors received that report. It said a chaotic scene, where they were all murdered and raided of everything they had. All of the members were defiled and set on fire.

“The belief was that they were killed and tortured for being pegasi. If you put it to the Inquisitors killing Dashites, and then finding out the truth, that they were given permission, things change.

“And drastically if Shadow found Dream Catcher. They would have put them neatly together, broken everything down, and then lit it on fire. A funeral pyre. It would have only burned so long, and they never would have had time to make sure it all burned to ash. The smoke would have attracted a lot of attention. But they would have done their best to honor them.

“And with Dream Catcher dead, there would certainly have been no way they were going above until they figured out who betrayed them. They could only see betrayal. And for that, they can not be blamed. You all would see the same if you had been ordered to kill the one you loved, without knowing it."

“That’s a bad situation for them,” Nova said. “Scout Command would have freaked. And, its not pushing it to make that logical jump for the order. Half of the military would have jumped at the chance to send a team to kill them. But they all knew what happened. They watched it along with everypony else in the Enclave.

“All except the Inquisitors. They were out of the loop for the entire thing. And Shadow Flare had been barred from doing crowd control of any type. He was too connected to the situation, being a farmer. Despite his best, he got leave for a reason from that portion. So did Cardinal Spitfire, which is when they got married. But they both hated the disruption, especially Shadow. It would take nothing to pull it over his eyes as his duty to take care of dissenters.”

The Chief Counselor suddenly lunged across the table, grabbing the phone. He dialed out.

“Yes, this is the Chief Counselor. I need the Lenticular to go to Fort Wind immediately.”

…

“Nine hours. Not bad. The reason will be explained upon arrival.”

The Chief Counselor hung up the phone. “I am going to drag Lieutenant Honey Bee off the Lenticular. He is stationed with an army company on the Lenticular. I am going to sit him down and force him to tell me if anypegasus gave kill orders.

“Not as a punishment, but for the sole purpose of recovering the Inquisitors. I think this speculation is correct. And its faster than getting the terminal here. Besides, I would do this anyway. To make sure he never crosses us again. He has potential, if he doesn’t try and control everything. Or cross us."

“Then I better call and get that terminal,” The Fourth Counselor said. “It was locked down by Storm Eye. I have his manual. He left it with me as an override security measure. Nothing can be deleted from it. It appears to be, but he made it impossible. And then I will get Camp Bullis to get those crates over here.”

Nopegasus had anything to say. They sat in silence while the Counselor made his calls. As he finished, there was a knock at the door. The Chief Counselor sighed. They could use the distraction.

“Enter.”

General Red River entered and closed the door. “Ah, good. I didn’t know you all were together, but I was wanting to speak with all of you. Except the random Lieutenant. Side thing first. I would like to get onto a ship to see these exercises.”

“Of course,” General Shielded Vengeance smiled. “You shall join me on the Lord Clove. She is too slow for the exercises, but she makes a perfect ship to watch from. Her flat top deck is excellent for it.”

“Thank you. Now the other thing has to deal with my retirement. I am not going to yet, but I have been thinking about it. Counselors, the reason I am considering it is simple. I took this job as part of advancement. I didn’t have anything to do with teaching at the time. Most of it is done by the NCOs. Any officer basically watches over them.

“We have had some phenomenal classes come through recently. I am not claiming sole victory on that. Like I said, the NCOs do the work. I have done everything I can to be a teacher. To learn that job. I even have operated in the field exercises that happen before the barracks are tested against each other. When they face the instructors and our laser pointers. It is a blast.

“But I am off track. I learned to love it and put everything I can into making our training program better. But I want to make sure it goes to the next level. It is high time that the general over Fort Wind is a teacher. Somepegasus that can not just watch over the troops and make executive decisions, but make the program better.

“One who can forge the new techniques that train today’s recruits the best way possible. Who understands and can support the drill instructors and other staff that work directly with recruits. I do not have anypegasus in my ranks that fits that, but you do General.

“I would like Captain Marble Falls to be my replacement. To begin now to be trained as my replacement.”

Marble Falls sat up. She hadn’t seen that coming. And this wasn’t something that pissed her off like everything else was.

“That is a good idea,” Fourth Counselor said. “But the Captain is a Wonderbolt. She can’t function as a General.”

“Excuse me?” General Shielded Vengeance asked, shocked. “I am a Wonderbolt. She can certainly be the General over training and a Wonderbolt.”

“Wonderbolts function in squads,” Sixth Counselor said confused. “How would she handle being in a squad and controlling the Fort?”

“Like I do,” The Wonderbolt Colonel said. “I’m Squad 88. Me and me alone. I move around, a lot. To where I am needed. Recently, it has been here. At any time, I can join up with a Squad and do whatever mission we need to do.”

“I am Squad 1,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “Another single Wonderbolt Squad. One of the 6 we have. And there are several doubles and triples as well. There are always teams here. She could hook up with them if it came to that.”

“The teams are stationed here for the aerial shows,” Sixth Counselor stated.

“Not anymore,” Marble Falls smiled. “We haven’t done a single show since we got back, despite all of the recruits that have graduated. All three of us, 12, 19, and 43 have had too much to do. We have been training others. That is our current mission here. To train others in the ACUs while they expand.

“We have not had time to even learn a routine. Actually, we haven’t flow together in ages. I’ll have to fix that. Assuming none of you ask, so I don’t end up in chains.”

General Red River raised his eyebrows. “So, the legend that you told the Council to fuck off is true.”

Marble Falls only gave a silent nod.

The Fifth Counselor had a question. “How will this affect your command structure?”

“Simple,” General Shielded Vengeance snorted. “You are aware of our new rank system. Our two Majors are technically the same rank as a captain. And they are here because we are going to be fixing that. These exercises halted this plan for a bit.

“I am the General. I can wear all four stars for a reason. I have no generals beneath me, only Colonels. Until recently, that is all that has been needed for our size. But it no longer works. I need generals. I can no longer go around without rank or false rank. I am going to make my promotions permanent now, in front of you all. First off, Colonel Nova-”

“Fuck,” Nova spat.

“-Will be promoted to Brigadier General. Still Scout Command. Captain Starry Champron has served for a long time as the lead over the Mareland units. She was due for a promotion a long time ago. Nova complicated things.”

“Then give her the star,” Nova said. “And I’ll keep my wings. If you recall my promotion not long ago, it was begrudgingly accepted. I’m still sore about the whole thing.”

“Nope,” General Shielded Vengeance smiled. “Because both of you are needing a star. Starry Champron shall take on the regular units. I have no good title for that yet. Still working on that. But on the Wonderbolt’s side, I need Major Windstone Hill to come up a bit and take on the position as the Wonderbolt’s Brigadier General, with Major Glancing Ice as his Colonel.”

The Colonel was shocked. Entirely out of the loop. And it was obvious. “I guess my name will be lost. I’ll be the last unknown leader.”

“I wish it was not so,” General Shielded Vengeance sighed. “I lost mine too. The reshuffle killed it. But its built a better system.”

“Names are still dangerous. The idea was too keep them hidden to avoid assassinations.”

“And have we needed to?” General Shielded Vengeance asked.

“No,” The Colonel sighed. “And we have never had an attempt. Thus ends an era. I will mark it in our Wonderbolt History Books. They are due for a real update. Its been over 60 years. These past weeks have taken us into a new moment. Squad 4 needs their due, we have new information on the Shadowbolts, and the ranks make the need for an addition.”

“Then you, shall be Lieutenant General Firestorm. Second in Command over the Aerial Combat Battalion. I want you to focus on the covert operations of all the ACB. That means the Wonderbolts, the Scouts, and Recon. All three. I’m going to be focusing on developing the regular ACUs into something greater.”

“I approve,” The Fourth Counselor said.

The Fourth Counselor was the only one who needed to approve. But none of the others objected, even though they could and knew they could.

“But, were does that leave the Captain?”

General Shielded Vengeance deferred to General Red River.

“I was thinking Colonel to start. The goal would be to focus on leading the training of the aerial side of Basic Training. It still will allow her to easily work with Squad 12 and everything happening at the Squad Barracks. From there, General and she learns to cover the rest and become my replacement. That way, nopegasus can cause a fit with her replacing me at my retirement. She will be the best option and already trained for it.”

“I like it,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “I like it. And I approve of the promotion. And no, Cardinal Spitfire doesn’t automatically become Captain.”

The Council and the Lieutenant were the only ones not laughing. They didn’t know Cardinal Spitfire enough.

General Shielded Vengeance took the moment to drive things home and finish it all. “And to you Counselors, we have reached a good compromise. Marble Falls doesn’t do what you want her to do, but she does take over the training of the recruits. And she will naturally take her experiences and put them to use in training all future recruits. Not just her barracks she has for the flight segment. A win win all around.”

Marble Falls gave a slow nod. “I can live with that compromise.”

“I am glad that expansion happened,” General Shielded Vengeance announced. “With Ensigns added as the first rank, First Lieutenant is easy to justify leading a unit. And then Lieutenant Commander and Commander make it so much easier to pull out the better ones and improve moral.”

Lieutenant General Firestorm chuckled. “And we still are halfway through our list, dealing with those promotions.”

“It feels good to have promoted my officers,” General Shielded Vengeance sighed contently. “I didn’t want to do it prematurely. But its done. And still better, Marble Falls’ future is secure, in a very good path.

“This is going to work, deploying Units from the Third. It will make for an extremely effective defensive force and a highly reactive group with speed and firepower to handle backing up any of our future missions below. And we still will have the Wonderbolts in reserve.”

Chapter 94 - Jumps

Cardinal Spitfire stood in front of Five Units: 17, 63, 92, 112, and 154. They were at parade rest in front of the Squad Barracks, on the flight deck. The Entire area was at Parade rest. Each Unit was in front of their building. The Buttercup was on standby, parked on the other end of the Flight Deck, the open side of the Squad Barracks.

Most of the units were on hold. Only the five chosen and ten others back ups were in combat gear. The rest were not needed for the trials. They were in a variety of uniforms. If they had been through the promotion and structure change, they wore the new flight suit and the blue beret. If not, they were in their flight suit and their cover. Those waiting for ACS were in a variety of uniforms.

For Pony Patrol, the Third Degrees, and Wind’s Thunder, it meant theywere all in their dress uniforms. They all had specific charges over the Squad Barracks as the exercises happened. None of them needed to be in battle gear, so it was full dress uniforms with every medal shined up proper.

They had been quietly waiting to do the first trial runs jumping out of the Buttercup. Before they swung into a full tactical training maneuvers they had to make sure they could exit safely. The five units would be making the exit jumps, each with their own methods.

It had been several hours at parade rest. Marble Falls was missing, so was Colonel Nova. General Shielded Vengeance had apparently been pulled into a meeting with the Council and the Wonderbolt Colonel had disappeared. General Red River had been reported as arriving, but nothing was known after a glimpse of seeing him.

The Door to the Squad Barracks opened and General Shielded Vengeance came out, followed by the Wonderbolt Colonel and Marble Falls. Cardinal Spitfire didn’t call the battalion to attention. She was having a hard enough time staying in parade rest for so long that it wasn’t going to happen. What mattered was that they were on deck and ready. Every single one of them.

General Shielded Vengeance walked straight over to Pony Patrol, who was the lead team for the Wonderbolts. Wonderbolt Squad 19 was in control of the Squad Barracks and Squad 43 was on the Lord Clove where the bulk of the observations would happen.

“Lieutenant Commander Cardinal Spitfire, thank you for keeping them ready. Some developments occurred that were not planned. Stuff I need to be relayed to everypegasus before we begin. Your leadership was invaluable for this. Thank you for your patience.”

Cardinal Spitfire reached into her breast pocket and pulled out two mini com units. “A pleasure Sir. Both are synced up. Once for you and one for the Colonel.”

They put the coms in.

“Listen up,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “New developments have happened this morning. We are going to get underway shortly. We all look forward to this time. It will be fun, but challenging. Don’t underestimate the challenge we have before ourselves.

“If you didn’t know, I wear four stars. A full general, nothing before my name. As I am the General over the entirety of the aerial combat segment of the military. I can no longer avoid wearing them with these new developments. There is a lot of shifting with our ranking system happening. Good changes. I know we are only halfway though with updating the Aerial Combat Battalion ranks and physical uniform changes.

“But today I had to announce several changes in the higher up structure. My second in command with three stars is Lieutenant General Firestorm. She isn’t new. Few remember her name, but she was the Wonderbolt Colonel, and my second in command. Gone is the era of the General and Colonel not having a name to help deter assassinations. Thus it is.

“Still on the Wonderbolts, as they need leaders closer in rank. Colonel over the Wonderbolts is now going to be the former major, Glancing Ice. The direct head of the Wonderbolts is now Brigadier General Windstone Hill, who is a highly experienced officer and was one of our two Majors. He served several years in the same unit with me and with Lieutenant General Firestorm.

“Now, the Wonderbolts are not the only ones getting changes. Most of the soldiers in the Aerial Combat Battalions are not in the Wonderbolts. Colonel Nova is still very sore about it, but for Scout Command, I need a higher officer than Colonel. He has been promoted to Brigadier General, still over Scout Command. Scout Command will receive a colonel or two for his support soon.

“On the regular side, I am very glad to finally be able to promote this Pegasus. She has been instrumental in the command and structure of the Aerial Combat Battalion, but the old system didn’t allow her to move up past Captain. The Brigadier General over the Aerial Combat Battalion is now Starry Champron. Congratulations. I wish we had more time for ceremony.

“As stated, the middle structure will be added shortly. We have to finish the other half of the basic structure and promotions first. I am proud of you all. I don’t care if we passed you up for a promotion, I am very proud of you all. You all have done a wonderful job.

“Because remember, if you are a First Lieutenant, and you didn’t get promoted, you technically did. The old structure had First Lieutenant as an O-2, but now with Ensign as O-1, First Lieutenant is now an O-3. We have not reduced anypegasus in rank because of this change.

“Oh, I forgot. There is one more promotion. Wonderbolt Squad 12, Pony Patrol, Marble Falls is now Colonel Marble Falls. She still is your leader. There are no other changes to your Squad. Colonel Marble Falls is now in charge of the development of all recruits during their aerial training segment at Basic Training.”

“I am proud that she really has become more than a Wonderbolt. Colonel Marble Falls has been a staple here for several years, leading various aspects of training. But now she is being evaluated and prepared for higher positions directly involved in training recruits, in training the future soldiers, and their curriculum. Making stronger soldiers out of it because of her personality, life experiences, and ability to challenge and teach recruits. I am proud to promote her to Colonel to outright assist in the training of recruits and soldiers here at Fort Wind.

“That’s it for now. General Shielded Vengeance signing out. Give them hell. Show the Council why we deserve our silver wings. Show the Council why the Third Fleet deserves more ships. Get this deployment system working!

General Shielded Vengeance removed the com and pocketed it. “I will be observing on the Lord Clove. Most of the Counselors have headed there and its already departed to get in position. Only the Fifth Counselor has gone to the Buttercup. We have the cameras, but make sure they are all running before the jumps. We want to be able to review them from all of the angles.

“Now, where is Unit 0?”

“Yes Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “We will make sure Sir. Unit 0 is deployed in various locations sir. They are staffed at the Clinic as usual, Sir. Warrant Officer Sunset Fury is on board the Buttercup with four others. Three are posted on the Lord Clove and then fifteen are deployed at the recruit flight decks.”

General Shielded Vengeance gave a short nod. “Where is Commander Olive Pit?”

“No idea Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “My guess is that he has not directly deployed himself, but is in Unit 0 with several others as a reactionary force to any situation across the entire area here. It is a lot to juggle, Sir.”

“I trust his judgment,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “After all, he did restart Unit 0 and bring it back to its original charge. We are departing to catch up to the Lord Clove, take control of your commands.”

“Yes Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire saluted. “Units on decks, fall out and take your positions on the Buttercup. Units on hold, break formation and assemble in front of the flight deck. You may stand down once there, but be ready for launch orders and to be deployed. All other Units, stay alert. The Council is here after all, but you are dismissed.”

Cardinal Spitfire turned to Captain Tuff and Wonderbolt Squad 19. “Captain, the Squad Barracks are all yours.”

“Thank you Lieutenant Commander,” Tuff replied saluting. “Have fun.”

Cardinal Spitfire grinned and saluted him back.

After the lead in practice and all the combat formation training, the officers naturally put Cardinal Spitfire in lead of the combat tactics. She was not expecting it. Jumping out of the ramp while going faster than a crawl was not something that had been tried by any Enclave troops. The first attempts were held until the Council could observe.

They had held talks about exit strategy and formations, but it was all talk. Cardinal Spitfire had been left to choose what Units were ready and who would be leading them. They were all more than happy to let her be out front in this enterprise. If it failed, it would be on her.

Pony Patrol headed to the to Buttercup. Ensign Lemon Lime, Ensign Fountain, Ensign Cinnamon Swirl, and Second Lieutenant Raspberry Lemonade would be in the bay with the jumpers. Marble Falls and Cardinal Spitfire would be on the bridge.

“Welcome aboard,” Little said before they could ask permission to enter the bridge. She was standing at the front glass but was very astute as to when somepony had approached her bridge. “Come on in.”

“Thank you,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “Commander Deke, pleasure.”

“Uhuh,” Deke grunted. He was focused intently on something.

“And you must be the Fifth Counselor,” Cardinal Spitfire said with a smile. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“The same to you,” The Fifth Counselor replied. “I have high hopes for you from what I have heard. I trust you won’t disappoint.”

“Helm,” Little ordered. “Take us up and out to the starting position. Don’t worry about the ramp.”

“Uh, yes Captain,” Ensign Lovely Fury said, hesitating.

“What? Is there a problem Ensign?”

“No Ma’am. Well Ma’am, I have never taken off without a clear view out of the glass Ma’am.”

Little took a deep breath in and let it out. “Thank you for your honesty Ensign. There is too much at stake. I will take my seat. But you will learn to fly with me at the front.”

“Of course Ma’am. I look forward to it.”

Cardinal Spitfire was on Little’s right as they took off. The Fifth Counselor was on her left. It was going to be a lot of pressure with the Fifth Counselor directly on board. Deke stood up and stepped in front of the Captain’s chair, facing Little.

“Captain, am I needed on the bridge? I think a better place for me would be in the bay. I know Lieutenant Steel Wire is down there already, but he is not a pilot.”

Little thought for a moment. “Admiral Ruby Snow is observing these exercises on the Lord Clove. We are not supposed to be alone on the bridge yet, since we are both still on light duty. I would prefer if you were observing below, but no. I am aware that it gives us no bridge crew eyes directly in the bay. But we will trust our crew and Pony Patrol. And we will trust the jumper’s skill. They are chosen to perform these first jumps for a reason. The Lieutenant Commander believes in them, so do I.”

“Yes Captain,” Deke replied. “I will be at my terminal.”

Deke stepped back to his terminal. He would be watching everything the ship did closely. It wasn’t like they could see anything from the bridge. Not even at the front.

The Buttercup came into it’s designated pass. They were far out to reduce the risk of a collision.

“Captain,” Winter Wind said. “We have a crosswind moving in from South to North by Northeast. 30 mile per hour winds.”

“Deke?” Little asked.

“Yeah. We do. I don’t recall anything in reports. The only thing I can think of is an effect from the Lord Clove sitting there.”

“Lieutenant Commander, take the helm. We can not afford anything but perfection as this run is performed. Ensign Lovely Fury, you are temporarily relieved. Please stay to observe.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Deke sat down and quickly flipped the Terminal to the layout he had programmed for himself.

“We are ready Captain. 45 Seconds until we begin our run at 150 miles per hour.”

“Bay, this is Captain Little. Mark 45 and we will begin. Teams have 2 minutes to launch. Teams report back to the flight deck and we will prep for second set.”

“Alright 17!” Arrow said. “We are first. And we will be remembered for it! First jump out of a Cloudship going well above the speed limit! Off the Ramp!”

The bay lights went from red to green and they dashed off in a standard formation. Arrow launched them straight out of the ramp. They hit the air and were slammed back into the ramp. Arrow was kicked back into the ship along with two of them. The other three were slammed into the ramp and then rolled off the side. They were uncontrolled as they where knocked off.

“GO! Flags yelled. “EXIT AND DIVE! GET THEM!”

His team jumped forward. Instead of going straight off the ramp, they slid down halfway and jumped off the side, diving towards the uncontrolled Unit 17 members.

“Bridge! This is the bay. Unit 17 failed and some of them lost controlled. Unit 63 went after them. Clean jump too. Arrow and the others are being treated medically for at least bruises.”

“And sore egos,” Little chuckled. “Thanks for the report. Continue as ordered.”

“Maintaining altitude, heading, and speed,” Deke reported. “No changes.”

“Good. They are highly trained professionals. At the very least, they have skills to handle themselves in the sky. They were picked to do this for a reason.”

Unit 92 did a similar tactic as 63. They just didn’t go down the ramp at all. The grabbed the side of door and jumped around it, using their grip to get out and away from the turrets and the engines.

Their clean jump was reported and the countdown began for Unit 112. Unit 112 skipped the ramp and exited out of the top. The Corvette’s flat tops allowed for a different deployment strategy. They could lay out their formation and then just opened their wings. The wind did the rest. At least they chose the wadcutter formation.

“They did what?” Little asked. “Idiots. They were supposed to use the ramp.”

Unit 154 followed the same idea as the successful jumps. Out the side. Unit 154 split half and hooked together. That way they were able to swing out wider than any other unit and safely clear the side of the ship and any of it’s dangers.

“Buttercup,” Ruby Snow said over the tied in com lines. “We report all five teams away.”

“That is what we have,” Little replied. “It didn’t take as long as we expected.”

“Well wrap it in. I think we need to talk.”

Little looked at the Fifth Counselor. She gave a nod.

“The Buttercup is heading to designated parking location. We will park there.”

“Buttercup. We are calling all Unit leaders to the assemble in Jade Spring Hall to discuss things. We need to go over some things we observed. Make sure the camera footage is brought with you.”

“Understood Admiral. Retrieving footage and we will be back shortly.”

Deke was already back in his seat. He had passed the helm back to Ensign Lovely Fury. He was eerily quiet and clearly distracted.

Little only took Deke off the bridge and Lieutenant Steel Wire from the bay. The hall was going to be crowded to standing room without taking in any unnecessary individuals. They were lucky and got to stand at the front of the room.

Standing room only was putting it lightly. The Council didn’t even get to sit in the regular seats. They were off to the side in chairs along the wall.

“Let’s get the video footage up,” The Fifth Counselor chuckled. “I want to see that first Unit eat it.”

“It’s not funny,” Arrow growled.

“Oh now. I am sure that it is perfectly funny and worth our time.”

“Funny! Apparently I have a concussion. I’m grounded for 48 hours! All of Unit 17 is and the other half recovered on their own. Fine. And Unit 0 isn’t allowing us to be in the sky for 7 days!”

The Fifth Counselor shook her head, trying not to laugh. “Either laugh at yourself for eating it, or resign. But a dishonorable discharge is extremely difficult to recover from and get a new job. But its not worth being down a day or two because of a bumped head.”

“I don’t think you understand!” Arrow protested. “Unit 0 put the halt on all of 17. We can’t do any of these jumps. This whole set of exercises, if it works, we are out of.”

“Commander?” General Shielded Vengeance asked, looking at Olive Pit.

Olive Pit shrugged. He was the only one under the rank of Colonel in the room in a dress uniform. His uniform even had his medal on it. He hadn’t been ready to respond as a Unit 0 member.

“It’s my job to ensure the safety of all of the Aerial Combat Battalion. If these experiments are too dangerous, I have no problem halting the entire set of combat exercises. Your safety is my number one priority.”

“Oh come on!” Flags argued. “It was just Arrow being arrow. You trained with her!”

“What?” Olive Pit asserted. “Cocky? Show off? Hot headed? Rash? Thrill seeking? Because that is what the entire Aerial Combat Battalion is viewed as!” Olive Pit pointed at them and then swept his hoof across the hall. “How many more of you were going to try going straight off the ramp? Thinking you could beat it. Until you figure how to safely jump, I can’t let you risk it.

“There is a reason why these limits were put there for a reason. And I won’t let you do full exercises knowing Unit 0 is going to have to patch up a bunch of horrible injuries. Except unlike the recruits we patched up, they will spread you all over the clouds. We won’t be able to handle it. We won’t let you run that risk and we will shut it down. And you know we can.

“So find a way to safely do it.”

Cardinal Spitfire was trying keep herself calm. “Are you fucking kidding me Olive Pit? After all of our hard work? They are safe enough. The best. Arrow just being herself! And the same for Unit 17.”

“Lets watch the film,” Olive Pit redirected. “Lets see just how bad it was. I am going off what my Unit reported. But prove me wrong.”

“Its not that bad,” Arrow spat.

The video was started up. The first one they were watching was from the nose, ahead of the ramp. It had a full view of the ramp and into the bay.

Unit 17 charged out in great form and then jumped. They were slammed back down onto the ramp and eaten by the Buttercup. The other three bounced and rolled clear of the ship.

The Fifth Counselor wasn’t the only one laughing. But she was the only one not trying to hide it. Even Little was chuckling.

“Own up to the epic fail Lieutenant,” The Fifth Counselor laughed. “Because that is what I was waiting to see. Somepegasus was going to eat it. It just happened to be you showing off for the first run. And trying to outshine your sister who is Captain of the vessel. We will see more teams eat over these exercises. Its expected.”

“We can’t afford for more to do that,” Olive Pit stated. “Yes, it looked hilarious. Yes, I can laugh when someone eats and that was an epic fail. But even if one in five teams fail, that means 40 teams will fail on day one.

“Unit 0 is supposed to be in these jumps. We can’t be patching them up in the ships as we are trying to jump. We want to be doing the jumps. We have to fix this. This needs to work. This is a great philosophy and opportunity and I believe it will work!”

Olive Pit chuckled. “Nopony knows this yet, but I have a particular interest in making sure Unit 17 can cleanly and safely jump. Every one of my Unit has been paired with a Unit for these exercises. I’ve not told anypony the final assignments, but I am supposed to be jumping with Unit 17. I am glad I was taking care of final things today so we could join these exercises. I was a bit behind with some things.”

“That’s why I never saw you today,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “I was wondering why you were not around to see how things went.”

Olive Pit rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I had to catch up on a lot of shit because fucktard number one on my list tried to kill himself. We knew he was an idiot, but not that much of an idiot. And a quick trip to there turned out to be a long assignment to make sure he and the others got back on their hooves and then escort them back to their posts. I haven’t been able to do the shit I needed to because of Deke. As usual.”

There were quite a few chuckles as Olive Pit spoke.

“The only good thing about that trip was I got hoof on learning experience. If I wasn’t asleep or helping you guys, I was in the ER working shifts. Or I was out in the city with EMTs. It wasn’t a vacation for me. I had shit to do. I still have sit to do. I haven’t left my office since I got back. You haven’t seen me because I have been buried in work.”

“Ah,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “That’s why you have those pins on your collar.”

Olive Pit nodded. The EMTs had gifted him their symbol and qualified him as a civilian EMT. Military EMTs were mostly just designated medics for first response on a military base. Civilian EMTs had to go through some more hoops and learn how to handle civilians and work in a city environment. The situations were not battle conditions either. They ranked him as qualified and he was now wearing their symbols on his collar. His flight suits had the symbols being added as well. It was another qualification he could add to his resume and he was not just honored at their approval, but he found it invaluable for Unit 0 and the ACBs’ well being.

Olive Pit let out a huge sigh. “What Deke? That smile means you have something.”

“Eh,” Deke said waving him off with his wing. “The Idiot Commander is cooking something up, but I need to see the rest of these angles and teams deploy. We haven’t even seen Unit 63s reaction. Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong. I don’t have a full answer yet. I’ll let you know when the genius is ready to speak.”

“Move past him,” The Fifth Counselor said, getting the film rolling again.

Unit 63’s response was great. But they cut it real close to colliding with parts of the ship. All of the teams did. Except for Unit 112. They were disqualified from trials for not using the ramp. Nopony was injured enough to justify not attempting it.

“Well?” General Shielded Vengeance asked Deke. “Ideas?”

“Damn?” Deke exclaimed. “Really? Right off the bat expect the genius to solve the problem before you even put in effort to think? I know you were just waiting for it to be over so that I could solve it. But not like that. I won’t give in that easily.”

Olive Pit and Cardinal Spitfire laughed out loud. Golden Dawn had been hiding in the back. But her laughter ended that. She was one of the few who wasn’t supposed to be here. She had snuck in. She was waiting for her ACS to start. The exercises set that back a bit.

“Your not supposed to be here!” General Shielded Vengeance exclaimed.

“What?” Golden Dawn shrugged. “I am. And I am pinned back here, so I am not leaving.”

“And what was so funny?” General Shielded Vengeance asked the three of them.

Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “We have heard Deke say that a lot over Basic Training. What he said, it was his slide off for when he had no idea and was pissed about it. We will know when he figures it out and then he will probably dance.”

They began to pick apart personal reports of each jumper. Unit 63 was too focused on 17 to be of any use. But they all reported concerns with being too close. They wanted a much larger margin of error to stay clear of the problem zones. If Deke has shifted a tiny bit he would have hit them as they flew by.

Little noticed Deke had stopped paying attention. “Deke?” She prodded. “What are you doing?”

“Math,” Deke said, confused. “Math they don’t teach you in school.”

“Why?”

“Have you ever calculated the Buttercup’s drag?”

“No. Why does this matter?”

“Well, wind resistance always matters. And the drag of each jumper matters for their clearance. Angles, degrees, speed, it all matters. So since you are useless, stop bugging me.”

“You have a good point,” The Fifth Counselor said. “Put it up on the board. The Third Counselor is well skilled at math.”

“This isn’t accounting and economics,” Deke warned as he walked over to the board at the front. “Its more like the glass pile’s tonnage. Except I can’t figure out the basic weight of the glass this time. Its eluding me.”

Deke began to draw the basic shape of the Buttercup. As simple as her design was, he couldn’t even get close to it. He drew it with the ramp down.

“This is where the wind resistance matters,” Deke said, pointing to the opening. “While the drag doesn’t matter for the ship, it matters for the jumpers. Unit 17 was a perfect example of that. We knew if you jump high, you would catch too much and come right back in.

“But she jumped at this height. I had guess this high and the jumpers would get forced back in. Because no matter what, as soon as you step off into free fall, you fall straight down. Not a curve, straight. Basic physics.

“We make that more problematic trying to move out, not drop. If we dropped and then opened the wings, okay. But these forward ramp designs make that very dangerous. The Buttercup and the Red Dawn are the only operational ships that can facilitate straight drops. The Sky-tanks are too wide and the ramps are set inside Raptors. And Thunderheads are so slow they deploy regular troops from those built in decks.”

“Raise the ramp?” Marble Falls asked, finally speaking. “Less of an opening less drag?”

“But more force to try and exit,” Deke said. “I can’t figure out how much more force if we raised the ramp halfway up.”

“8 times at halfway up for those figures!”

“Thank you whoever that was!” Deke said. “Its 8 times. Which is going to mean you will not be able to get to the front of the ramp. Arrow was at the point of 17. She jumped when she couldn’t stand anymore. Here on the ramp. It would be fine, except the ship was coming in behind her faster than she can cut through the heaviest point of drag on the Buttercup.”

“Can you please come here?” General Shielded Vengeance said to the Pegasus who called out the answer to Deke. “Come on.”

“Fine,” Gunmetal said, popping out from behind several others in the corner. She was right behind Golden Dawn.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” General Shielded Vengeance stated, annoyed at the breakdown of structure, especially with the Council present. “You are waiting for your ACS. I know we had to set it back, and I am sorry for that. But I can’t tolerate the hold overs getting involved. This has already proven to be dangerous. You don’t have your wings-”

“Stuff it!” Gunmetal spat. “I fucking know Colonel. I would normally blame Golden Dawn since she already ratted herself out, but I snuck in because you are jumping with equipment and gear.”

“General,” Nova interjected. “The Ensign has been the Pegasus who has gotten the ACU’s quartermaster running. Its all organized because of her. Fuck, she made all of the orders for us. I have power armor on stand by because of her!”

“You don’t use power armor,” General Shielded Vengeance said, confused. “Only the Wonderbolts get qualified on it.”

“And if their set goes down?” Gunmetal poked. “Or if we need to train a Unit or Squadron on it? Well, you have 14 sets to do it in. Six are unfortunately Mark 2, but the other eight are Mark 4. And I am working to get another set of six here. This quartermaster needs to be as ready to respond as the unit at Sunray Swallow Cage.”

“How do you know of them!” General Shielded Vengeance snapped.

“Uh duh, I am the armorer. I never worked there, but I know where every quartermaster cage is because we have to talk to each other about equipment and stocks. And they always have what you need. If you can get it is another question. And if they ever need something, you send it to them post haste.”

“That is the Wonderbolt’s quartermaster! Outside of them, no one knows where they are For-”

“STOP!” Gunmetal yelled over the General. “Thank you. I didn’t say where, only the designation of the cage. So even knowing the cage, it doesn’t give location. You have to have been stationed there to know. And you almost blew that cover, not me.”

Nova was just chuckling in his seat off to the side. General Shielded Vengeance shot him a warning glance, but it didn’t stop Nova.

Gunmetal had already moved on to help Deke. An accurate sketch of the the Buttercup was done and then they began to work with real a real drawing. Gunmetal was rattling off statistics to Little and Deke making sure they were correct as she began doing the math on the board.

“How do you know that stuff?” Ruby Snow asked. “That is top secret information on the Buttercup.”

Gunmetal set the marker down, annoyed at having to stop. But she wasn’t going to address him with it in her mouth. “I got it from the schematics. And before you blow up, I am a class 5 armorer. I can work on the Wonderbolts’ armor. All Marks and models. I know it. And I know their performance levels and settings. I have full clearance for it all. And its not hard to get a set of schematics as a quartermaster either. We just never have time to get in trouble because you guys bury us in basic maintenance work that you should be doing.

“Well, not you since you are in the fleets, but normal soldiers. And yes, I have an idea I would like to see eventually implemented in these jumps.”

“Oh?” the Fourth Counselor asked, clearly intrigued.

“I would love to see, on the big jumps and organized maneuvers, medium equipment be fielded. If you toss a dozen Units at a place, that means you are going to be meeting resistance, or holding against it. Medium machine guns and heavier equipment like basic mortars would be beneficial. But unless we can get the soldiers cleared safely, none of that matters.”

“She has a point,” Fourth Counselor stated. “That’s a good vision. Did they say you were here for ACS? Did I hear that correctly?”

Gunmetal grinned with the marker in her mouth. “I ant just a fuckn amazin armorer. I can fuckn shoot and kell.”

“Seriously,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “I have seen a lot of amazing soldiers, and usually brought them to the ACBs. She is in my top five scariest. She shouldn’t be able to do what she can. She is a mean and dirty fighter. She just crushes you. And she isn’t a combat specialty!

“The other that is still alive is Golden Dawn, who also slipped in here uninvited. Her wielding that Applesnack Sub Machine Gun is crazy. She is a monster with it. And she does it free hoofed. Old school, no battle saddle. Neither of them looks like they can deal any real shit, but both do.”

Gunmetal flipped the marker up like her dowel so she could speak freely. “Deke, where are the thresholds for standing on the ramp at speed increments of 25mph?”

“Uh…” Deke droned, thinking. “I haven’t thought of that. Or tested it. I wouldn’t trust anypony on the bridge but me and Captain Little. And only Wonderbolt Squad 12, in full armor.”

“It’s too late for that,” Gunmetal said. “We can run off of Arrow and Unit 17 and work from there later, gathering information as the exercises continue.”

“It’s just past 1400,” Deke said confused. “How do we not have time?”

Gunmetal sighed and rolled her eyes. “Look at them. Their are understandably bored or lost. Even the Council. So lets get an action plan for tomorrow.”

They continued for another half hour. When they had a solid plan they stepped back from the board and turned to face the Council and the Fleet Admirals. They both saluted with their hooves to show they were done. Gunmetal took charge, which was more than fine for Deke.

“Council, Fleet Admiral Ruby Snow, and Vice Admiral Purple Breeze, we have an answer for tomorrow’s exercises. A safe answer. So long as we start slowly, all units will be able to cleanly and safely step off into a straight drop. Once clear, they can open their wings.

“It is true that it is not a charge out of the ramp as we wanted for deployment, but it should be safe. And all units can perform this with no training. They step onto the ramp for two ponies length, turn and step off. No hopping, diving, or anything fancy. Just drop off. Then the are in free fall. After a count to two seconds, they can safely open their wings and deploy from there.

“We can gather more data tomorrow, so long as I am approved to be onboard the Buttercup for observation. We can at least do this for quick deployments for Aerial Combat Units. And its extremely fast compared to the other tactics.

“All Cloudships need to maintain a speed of 150 Miles Per Hour, with never exceeding 160 Miles Per Hour. That will be safe for both Corvettes and and Sky-tank Classes. It may not be what we wanted it to be, but for initial trials, its safe and quick. There is no way this tactic will work above 175 miles an hour.”

“Olive Pit?” Ruby Snow asked.

Olive Pit gave a slow nod. “I approve. But if a single team gets whacked by these drop tactics or gets close to it, everypony here as the right, the duty, to call ‘cease action.’ Safety must be upheld.

“And Unit 17, you are clear to jump tomorrow. The concussion diagnosis were more of a safety procedure. I won’t put you in danger, but if you experience headaches or any minor things, go to the clinic. They will get me.”

“Senior Officers,” Gunmetal said for all to hear. “I will have the ramps temporarily marked with Xs for where it is safe to drop from. Take the guesswork out of things. And if I could, in the morning, speak with all of the chief bay operators, then we can have the final information relayed to the soldiers to ensure all soldiers exit safely.”

“You shall get them,” Ruby Snow stated. “0800, in this room tomorrow. The rest of you are free to go.”

“Golden Dawn and Vengeful Blade,” Gunmetal called over the commotion. “I need you two down here.”

“You have more ideas,” Little said. “So I am staying. I am a Captain after all. You will need a skilled Captain to tell you if it works with the ships.”

“Thanks,” Gunmetal said, distracted. “We need that. One isn’t enough.”

The room cleared quickly. The doors had been designed to allow for maximum flow for entering and exiting. Vengeful Blade and Golden Dawn waiting for them to clear out before heading down.

The Sixth Counselor quietly approached General Shielded Vengeance. “General, how is it that Golden Dawn and Vengeful Blade know each other?”

General Shielded Vengeance was confused. “Well, they were both in the Equaggan War Weapons Training I conduct. That was before they signed on for Aerial Combat School. I found them through that training, from two different units. They hadn’t met before. During EWW, they were apart of the power team that bonded together and supported each other. They were the best of that class too.”

“Power team?” The Sixth Counselor whispered.

“Well, whenever soldiers band together to be stronger than they could be alone, they are known as power teams. Usually. They have to earn that name. They did. It was Gunmetal, Golden Dawn, Vengeful Blade, and Striker.

“They called themselves the Terrifying Tetrad. They certainly were so. They also had a hoof up on the others because they were the breakfast crew. They did a lot of bonding and work then. Golden Dawn and Vengeful Blade were the top shots with all the weapons. But I know Gunmetal was holding back. Striker was great too.

“If one of their teammates struggled on a weapon, concept, or anything, they supported them and helped them master it. There were two other power teams, but the others were definitely not as good as the Terrifying Tetrad.”

The Sixth Counselor sighed. “And now? What is their future?”

“Well, Striker leads an ACU. We are putting all four back together to crush it. We put them through some trials when I tried to convince them to join. They proved to not only be good candidates for the ACUs, but also for his Unit. So they are staying together.”

“Shit,” The Sixth Counselor swore.

“What’s wrong with that?” General Shielded Vengeance asked warily.

“Ensign Golden Dawn, Ensign Vengeful Blade,” The Sixth Counselor called. “Please come here.”

“Fuck!” Golden Dawn swore. She played it professional to start. “Am I in trouble sir?”

General Shielded Vengeance shrugged his shoulders, looking at the Sixth Counselor.

“Fuck!” Golden Dawn swore. “We snuck in for good reason. I can list them all, but the biggest evidence is Gunmetal. And whatever she needs us for, its test subjects from her demeanor.”

“That’s not why I need to speak with you,” The Sixth Counselor clarified. “That response is up to General Shielded Vengeance.”

The Sixth Counselor sighed, deeply troubled. “What I am about to tell you is for safety and is classified to the highest degree. Public execution classified.”

Vengeful Blade shot a glance at Golden Dawn. He clearly believed she had gotten him dragged into whatever was happening.

“Look, I can’t guarantee that,” Golden Dawn stated. “The rest of the team may need to know. Its unwise to keep secrets from squad mates. Especially as kick ass as we will be. Once ACS happens.”

“Yeah yeah,” General Shielded Vengeance said, waiving it off with his wing. “I am the General over the Aerial Combat Battalion. If the others need to know, I will make that executive decision. For the safety of all. Or take appropriate actions to keep things secure.”

“Can you agree to that?” General Shielded Vengeance asked, mostly to Golden Dawn.

“You’re not that stupid,” Golden Dawn clipped.

The Sixth Counselor waited for General Shielded Vengeance to nod to her to continue.

“This information is important, and for the safety of both of you. We can’t risk you two doing anything in ignorance. Or doltish if you already crossed that line. We keep close track for a reason, but it obviously failed.”

“Spit it out,” Golden Dawn impatiently stated. “We can discuss ramifications after if it even needs to be stated.”

“Fine,” The Sixth Counselor said slowly. “Vengeful Blade, you are two years younger than Golden Dawn. You were in an accelerated school program because of your adept skills with your academic studies. We expected you to go to secondary school, but you went soldier.”

Vengeful Blade was confused. “I’m with Golden Dawn, spit it out.”

“You were given to your parents since they couldn’t have their own biological children. You mother is an Enclave Doctor in the military sector. And your father recently retired from years of service and some bad joints from his time in the military.”

“Nothing new,” Vengeful Blade said, getting annoyed at the slow pace.

“Golden Dawn, your family had a Third and won the rights to not abort. But the foal was taken away immediately.”

“Yeah,” Golden Dawn shrugged. “I was young, but I clearly remember the horror it was for the family and the depression of my mother.”

Golden Dawn’s eye shot open as wide as they could. She stumbled back like a sledgehammer had struck her in the chest and tipped to the ground, sitting down hard on her flank.

“Are you fucking saying that we are related!” Golden Dawn shot at the Sixth Counselor.

The entire room had heard it and froze. Thankfully it was just the Council, Vice Admiral Purple Breeze, Fleet Admiral Ruby Snow, General Nova, General Firestorm, Deke, Little, Lieutenant Steel Wire, Gunmetal, and Pony Patrol.

General Shielded Vengeance groaned. “I should have seen that coming and insisted on a private room.”

“No General, I should have insisted on it,” The Sixth Counselor sighed. “I didn’t realize she was so outspoken. But I should have played it safe.

“But you two, please tell me that friendship never went deeper.”

“Uh…” Vengeful Blade stammered. “She is a filly fooler. She has no interest in anything but friendship. Purely friendship between us.”

“Counselor,” General Shielded Vengeance calmly stated. “I will privately inform the rest of their Unit. For all of their safety. I know these two will need a little time to adjust to the news, but soon, it won’t be anything that will distract them. They are good friends already and that is what matters. But for that little hiccup that will happen, their Unit needs to know.

“Golden Dawn might be a bit outspoken and rebellious, but I know she can keep her mouth shut. And I know this because nopony, nopegasus, knows she is already married. As of two weeks ago. Right after Golden Dawn graduated from our Officer School. And she had a reputation as a looker in Basic Training, keeping her eye out for the pretty ones.

“Shining Ire was one of our first residents in Wind Hamlet and they got to pick their house. They chose a nice one with a prime location. She had been expertly slipping away and sneaking off when she wouldn’t be noticed by her friends. But the brass notices everything.”

“Fuck,” Golden Dawn swore, still mostly out of it.

She had fucked up. She was still trying to process the news. And she had gotten punished for it very skillfully. She didn’t know how to tell the others she was married. And now the prospect of her lost brother being her friend was screwing with absolutely everything Golden Dawn knew. She counted him as dead, never to be seen.

Vengeful Blade finally shook his head, still denying it. “Counselor are you positive?”

“Yes Ensign, I am. I personally placed you all those years ago. Obviously I have gone a long way since that humble start. But a third being born, and then being given to a military family, it was special news in our department. And I know because I was appalled of their name for you.”

Vengeful Blade chuckled. “Yeah. I love my name. I am a third. They named me appropriately.”

“What do you mean?” General Shielded Vengeance asked.

“Oh,” Vengeful Blade said blushing. “I was named that because I am a… Why am I blushing?”

Vengeful Blade stood proudly. “I am named Vengeful Blade because I should not be! On paper, I am the only child of Sterile Needle and Lightning Fortress! But I am and always shall be a Third! My parents love me and I love them, but the reality is that I should not exist. The papers were adjusted so that I survived, but my birth can not be denied. I am a thorn in the Enclave’s side! I was named Vengeful Blade for my life is the same as my name!”

The room was silent for a few moments and then Gunmetal started laughing. “That was the best proclamation I have ever heard. And in front of the Council too! Albeit in a relaxed setting. Your parents have a great sense of humor.”

“Thank you,” Vengeful Blade laughed, bowing for his ‘performance.’ “But its the truth. No matter who my audience is. I love the meaning in my name. And my parents made sure to not let me deny my birth. I claim nothing, but my parents blood is not my own. I just declare their love for me.”

“I almost got tossed into the system,” Deke said. “Which meant I would have been torn away from my little sister. And that would not have ended well. I am Deke because of her. I am powerful because of her.

“Our Aunt and Uncle were able to take us in. I am so thankful they did. But they do not hold the same meaning to me as your parents do to you. You fucking joined the military and still are proud of your roots as a Third, rather than use their blood as your own for personal gain. That’s risky, but bad ass. Not the same as me, but respect dude.”

The Sixth Counselor chuckled. “Vengeful Blade, I am glad of how you developed. I knew they were the right couple for you. And you have proven that they were. And you are still young, with places to go in life.

“But! Everypegasus here, even you Pony Patrol and your pony ways, its a secret. One shared only out of necessity so the two of them didn’t try and hook up. We don’t need an incest incident because we didn’t let them know they are technically brother and sister. We split them to the other side of the Enclave to avoid it. Outside of a technicality, they are not related.”

“Which is why my name is my name,” Vengeful Blade stated confidently.

“Yes Ensign,” The Sixth Counselor stated. “Now I understand it and am not as disturbed by it as I originally was. Your mother is a top notch doctor after all. Major Sterile Needle is a huge asset to us, saving thousands of lives. I was expecting a healing, happy name. Not the bloody war name you got. And she was the one to state the name to us.”

“Take it elsewhere,” Gunmetal said. “We have complex shit to do. So either stop talking, or leave. I don’t give a damn which one you choose. And Golden Dawn, get up off the floor. It holds no value to you to wrap your head around it all. Sit in a damn chair until I need your ass.”

“Take charge,” Deke smiled. “Me like. I always like a mare that can take charge.”

Gunmetal’s eyes narrowed at him. “What about beat your ass?”

“I fly a Cloudship for a fucking reason. Half of the mares in the Enclave’s military can beat my ass. I will conquer the skies, not their flanks. Sadly.”

Gunmetal glanced at Little. She just rolled her eyes at his stupidity and then shrugged. She was lost when it came to her relationship with Deke. Deke was all over the place.

“Alright Captain Heart Breaker, focus on the plan. We need to figure out how to get these troops out and away from the Cloudships in a much more aggressive course of action.”

“I’m thinking,” Deke whined. “And the rest of them sitting on their asses watching are no help.”

“And your master plan?” Gunmetal asked.

“Yours?” Deke shot back.

“I’m clueless. I am just calculating shit that may matter while I think.”

“Well, I don’t have a real plan. So don’t quote me on this, yet. I only have so much genius I can gather. But we got some good stuff from the test jumps. Except for 17 who ate it and 112 who bailed on us, all teams split and exited off the sides of the ramps. We know from the calculations that forward is not an option. But to the side worked. We just need to get them out further than they were and do it on their own.”

“Right,” Gunmetal said. “Well, 63 got a great launch down. They had the best form. They cut it mighty close to the ship, but they were in full control. But distance out was 154. Their swing out was interesting. The farthest out one was the safest, but their form was shit. They had a serious problem trying to keep themselves steady when it was over.”

“We need to find that balance,” Deke stated. “63 plus 154. 217. Minus 17 and 112. That makes 105. Can’t forget the 92. So, 197 is what we come out with.”

Cardinal Spitfire coughed on a laugh. “Deke. Are you just doing math with the Unit numbers?”

“Its real math,” Deke shot back.

“But their numbers are completely random!” Cardinal Spitfire shot back. “I chose them, at random. Sort of. They were the best for the job. And remember, I have a whole set of others who were on deck, just as a ready. You can’t just-”

“Shut up,” Gunmetal ordered. “Its valid. You just don’t get it.”

“Let em run it,” Little said. “You know Deke doesn’t plan dumb.”

“Well he never planned that dumb out loud in Basic Training,” Cardinal Spitfire shot back.

“I wasn’t doing complex calculations then! You are just pissed I can do them and you can’t. You just flit and float around in that uniform and look pretty.”

“I can’t flit around right now!” Cardinal Spitfire shot. “I have medals on!”

“He should too,” Little said. “But he couldn’t be bothered.”

“Shove it!” Deke spat. “I have it! 197! There were five teams that add up to 197! Divide 197 by 5 and we get 39.4 inches! We need a 39.4 inch rod!”

“Hmm,” Gunmetal said stroking her chin. “That’s only 2.8 feet. No. Divide by the successful 3! We already removed the bad two from the equation! That’s 4.56 feet.”

“That’s not long enough either,” Deke stated.

Gunmetal elbowed Deke. “Yeah it is Mr. Sky Master. You are thinking too straight. 4.56 and 4.56 at a 150 degree bend equals a total distance of 8.8! We use two rods to swing soldiers out and then when it hits the point of contact it releases them. 8.8 Feet, minus a bit to allow for the mounting point and the point of contact will still make for around 7 feet-”

“And seven feet out plus the swing is more than enough!” Deke finished. “We just have to figure out how to ensure they launch out, not into the ship.”

“They are expert fliers,” Gunmetal reminded him. “So that will help solve for their part of the control factor. The point of contact for the rods also needs to release them.”

“Harness?” Deke asked.

“That’s what I am thinking,” Gunmetal said. “But the release is going to have to be automatic and it needs a backup so we can release them if they get stuck.”

Deke and Gunmetal chuckled at the idea of pegasi dangling off the side of the ship, suspended on an arm.

“A pull pin is easy to set up,” Gunmetal stated. “Relatively speaking. And then we could easily set up a system at the anchor to release them.”

“Why not just cut the rope?” Deke asked.

“This will take higher strength stuff than plain old rope.”

Gunmetal sketched up a brace. For now, each arm sat on a basic pole they would put on the inside of the door. The launch poles had a 150 degree bend at the center of them. The could be rotated up and locked away for storage. For use, they would rotate down into place and then once the jumper was clipped into place, they would run out and jump, letting it carry them. The pole would swing out and once it made the full swing it could they would get released and be launched out ready to fly.

“I need a release,” Gunmetal said. “Which is why I need Golden Dawn and Vengeful Blade. To test designs on. I’ll rope in the others as well. Literally if I have to.”

“How long until you can have this made up and installed?” Deke asked.

“Uh, the release is the biggest catch,” Gunmetal said and then let out a huge sigh. “No pun intended. But the rest, I could have this done in 36 hours. I just need to have the main HQ help us out. Its pretty simple. We can do this and then run tests before the second day of the exercises.”

Nova had a question. “Uh, senior officers here. What about the armor? How will this, system, work with it?”

Gunmetal shrugged. “I was picturing a system that worked over the armor and connected in between the wings or mid back. It would be slid in between the plates and be like the training zap armor covers. And I am seeing ditching it as soon as possible. Because this delivery system, well its going to suck getting slammed like you have to in order to break off safely. They are not going to like it. But I think its going to work. Its not a forward deployment, but its fast. And all they have to do is bank around to flip around.”

“It’s not just about forward Deployment,” Nova said. “Its about fast deployment. Heading up top is okay, but with the Corvettes, their main guns are top mounted. We can’t deploy from the top during naval combat. The Raptors and Sky-tanks are not able to facilitate that. Its all small access hatches or emergency bail hatches. No real deployment can happen from either ship except for the planned routes and speeds.

“So going backwards a bit while going 400 miles per hour isn’t a problem.”

Gunmetal’s head dropped as she hung it in despair. “Fuck. 150, 200, 250 even. Yes.”

Gunmetal took a deep breath in and looked at the Cloudship officers. “350, or 400? You won’t be able to hit 300 with a ramp down. You won’t be able to get your ramp lower than 40%! And that will be a hard fight! You will be getting errors thrown left and right by your system!

“And with the ramp only going down 40, I can’t use a static system! I need an adjustable height system. That requires a whole knew bracing and storage system. You just caused me another two hours of work to plan this! Total time is now 48 hours.

“Deke, can you help me with this, or are you unable to? Its one thing to do the math, its another to do schematics.”

Deke learned against the wall, thinking. “I have never drawn schematics. But I know them and their design backwards and forwards. I know complex moving parts and machines down to the tiny springs, ball bearings and screws.”

Gunmetal grinned. “Well look at the Cloudy who should be in the armory. You would make a good armorer.”

“Fuck that,” Deke laughed. “I don’t know how to fix them and don’t give a shit about fixing it. I know schematics because before this, Director of Operations meant I had to know how to take down, clean and reassembled all of the parts of the systems. It didn’t mean I could fix it. We just swapped out broken or damaged parts.

“But yeah, I am cool doing schematics. You draw though, we saw how shit my artist skills are.”

Gunmetal chuckled. “You said a whole lot and gave us no information. But whatever you did, Director of Operations, sounds like you have skills.”

“Eh,” Deke shrugged. “Lets prove it by solving this jump system.”

“You are full of it,” Little said. “Just full of it.”

“Get out,” Deke said, waiving her off with his wing. “We don’t need you any more. We need to build!”

“Yes, Lets go,” Ruby Snow said. “We are in their way looking over their shoulders. But we will be reviewing this system before we install it.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Gunmetal said distract. “Golden Dawn, Vengeful Blade, run and sleep while I don’t need you.”

“Both already stumbled out of here,” Cardinal Spitfire said from halfway up the stairs. “Golden Dawn isn’t ready to do much right now. I’m going to check in on her. But I never expected her to take that so, hard?”

“Send my regards,” Deke said, distracted. “I hope she feels better. Losing family isn’t easy.”

Cardinal Spitfire almost corrected him but wisely stopped. Not just because the Council was still filing out, but because Deke was too out of it to get through to him. He would realize what happened later.

Chapter 95 - Round Two

Olive Pit was lined up fourth in Unit 17’s deployment line. They were making their first run of the day. Unit 17 had been assigned two Field Group Beta. One of the two sides. Alpha was jumping while Beta held the ground. Then they switched. After watching the others jump out, Olive Pit was concerned.

It was a simple procedure, but it still meant stepping off a speeding Cloudship, wings tucked in, and falling. And if you didn’t fall fast enough the ship would hit you. He knew the science was firm, but it didn’t feel that way. Especially as he was standing in the bay, waiting.

The bay’s light turned green and Arrow dashed out onto the ramp she slid to a stop on the X and just stepped off. Gone. And then before he knew it, Olive Pit was on the X and he had to go with the flow.

One

Two

Olive Pit slipped his left wing opened and turned in his fall. After turning 90 degrees he opened his other and pulled out of the fall. The alternated which way they turned as they fell. It was simple to form up. Olive Pit slipped into the seventh member slot.

Olive Pit glanced around. Two dozen Units were in the air. Four of them were clearly out in front, Scout Squadrons. Unit 6 was the Unit in charge of the operations.

Unit 17 wasn’t going to be working with the other groups. They were playing the role of what was being called a Strike Squadron. Hot and Fast, come in hard, blast them all and then gone. It took the right mind to be fearless to the edge of recklessness to strike like that. Arrow suggested the roll. Only three Units were ready for that responsibility.

Arrow rolled in her place, chomping at the bit to join the battle that was erupting below them in the forest. She recognized the tower they held when they tested the other Units in her ACS. And Assault Group 1 was taking a beating from it.

Arrow gave them orders. She was taking one other and going in the back window. The others were going to dive right behind that treeline and stop hard, blasting all of the enemy there. Their Zap Vests had the injury reports on them, so Olive Pit would be busy.

They dove and struck like lightning. It was a hard roll on landing, but they all made it using the agility training. And they ripped through what ended up being Units 45, Unit 77, and Unit 89. Unit 107 was in the building and Arrow blindsided them.

Olive Pit personally downed Bright Starr who was the medic for those Units. They would not be reviving. It was over in less than five minutes and they joined Assault Group 1. Just long enough for Olive Pit to administer aid and then it was back into the sky.

The next strike was less successful. They lost two. And because they came in too close to the battle, one was downed by friendly fire. And the vest let them know it was killed by their side. Friendly fire was automatically a kill.

Their third strike ended them. Again they were too hot and too close. Arrow had been given reports of two Units in the area. It was two up front, with three holding back. They never stood at chance at even getting away.

Field Group Beta lost. Worse than they lasted against Alpha holding the ground. But at least it was lunch before back into the exercises.

Olive Pit had just sat down one of the Nurse approached him. It was Sergeant Red Contour. A beautiful nurse a year older than Olive Pit. She was known for her slate gray coat’s red contour feathers. It matched up with her gray and red mane. But there wasn’t too much red. Just enough to be alluring and sexy. And she knew how to play it just right with her style.

“Commander Olive Pit,” She said. “Stay seated. Everything is fine. Two recruits bumped heads a bit and are being kept in the clinic at least overnight. We have it. But we didn’t want you to find out when you looked at the records.”

Olive Pit breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her. “Thank you Sergeant. I appreciate it. You guys are amazing. Thanks for coming back out.”

“As I keep telling you, we enjoy it. It’s fun out here. Its pretty, and more.”

She walked away, back to her job. Olive Pit’s eyes were not the only pair trailing after her.

“Damn she is hot.”

“I wish she had been my nurse last year for my sprained wing.”

Olive Pit’s eyes were taken to a different scene playing out. Captain Tight, who was waiting to finish his unit out with ACS graduates, was leading a pretty mare in a simple dress through the crowded mess hall. Not the same allure as Red Contour, but a casual prim that called your eye to waiver on her.

A civilian here was odd. And she knew she didn’t belong here at this time. Still, she held her head up high. Yet, there was a hint of hesitation from her.

“General Shielded Vengeance,” Captain Tight said. “This is Shining-”

“Ire,” General Shielded Vengeance finished. “What brings you out here? I know you know how busy we are.”

“I know,” Shining Ire said, hesitating a bit. “But I’m concerned. I got a bumbling message from Golden Dawn yesterday, so I knew she wasn’t going to swing by. But I never got any response from her about what was up. Not even to deflect it. I tried this morning, before breakfast. But the staff here never saw her to pass a message along. Something is wrong, and she didn’t come to me.”

General Shielded Vengeance didn’t look down the table to the Sixth Counselor. He thought for a second. “I know she didn’t leave here. I know when she leaves.”

He stood up. “Ensign Golden Dawn! Sound off!”

The mess hall quieted down, but no response was made.

“Ensign Gunmetal, sound off!”

“Sir!” Deke said standing. “Ensign Gunmetal is not here. She is hard at work on the project. I just came from seeing her in our cage. Ensign Golden Dawn was not there. I have not seen Ensign Golden Dawn all day. Not since her intrusion yesterday.”

General Shielded Vengeance gave a short nod.

“Ensign, no fuck it. Unit 22 sound off!”

“First Lieutenant Striker here Sir.”

“Ensign Tac here Sir!”

“Second Lieutenant Safe here Sir!”

“Ensign Vengeful Blade here Sir! I am on standby for Ensign Gunmetal to be her test subject.”

All four were standing.

General Shielded Vengeance snorted. “Where the fuck is Ensign Golden Dawn?”

None of them had a response.

“Nopony, fuck! Fuck you Pony Patrol. Nopegasus has seen Ensign Golden Dawn this morning?”

The mess hall stayed quiet.

“The old kissing spots are gone with the construction. Where could she be hiding?”

General Shielded Vengeance shook his head slowly in anger. “Why do I have a missing ACS trainee? Lieutenant Tuff, isn’t that Squad 19’s job?”

“Sir, I have not seen her,” Tuff said. “Marble?”

“I’m thinking!” Marble Falls shot back. “But no. Not since we parted yesterday. Where the hell is Cardinal? She visited her, right?”

“Captain!” Lemon Lime said, standing up on the opposite side of the mess hall. “Cardinal Spitfire is spending lunch observing data. However, she was back to her room yesterday early. I do not believe she met with Golden Dawn.”

“What is going on?” Striker demanded.

“That’s something we now have to talk about,” General Shielded Vengeance stated. “Ensign Vengeful Blade, do you have any idea?”

“No Sir,” Vengeful Blade replied. “I never saw her after. It was a lot from what I could tell. I never expected it to drive home as hard as it did. But plenty of times she sits with others like Pony Patrol and Unit 0 for meals.”

“General,” Chef, the Captain over the mess hall’s nickname, called out from behind the serving live. “She has been missing dinner and breakfasts on and off in no pattern since graduating from Officer School. She was not here for dinner or breakfast.”

“That’s why I love your team Chef, you guys can keep track of that. But where the fuck is she?”

“General?” Little said standing up. “Doesn’t she carry a special free rifle?”

“Yes,” General Shielded Vengeance replied. “She does. But she keeps it secure in her locker.”

“General,” Vengeful Blade said. “I will make sure it is secure.”

“Do!” General Shielded Vengeance said picking up on the danger. “And meet us in Spring Jade Hall, meeting room 201. Unit 22, head to 201 as well. I didn’t expect to have this happen. Now, where could she be? I won’t have a lost soldier on my watch!”

The room was quiet. Nopony knew of any hiding spots or quiet spots any more. Those two had been sadly removed as they expended the buildings and needed the room.

“General,” Cardinal Spitfire called out as she entered the mess hall. Fountain had gotten her. “No sign? I never tracked her down yesterday, and then had stuff to do for today.”

“No, no idea.”

“Fuck!”

The door banged open and Vengeful Blade came back in. “Sir, weapon secured and with me.”

“Head to 201 with the rest of your Unit,” General Shielded Vengeance stated.

General Shielded Vengeance looked at Shining Ire and smiled at her. “Its been a busy, hectic time. And as much as I hate it, I do not get the liberty of knowing where every soldier is at all times. The ones on hold for ACS have a lot more liberty.”

“Nova!” General Shielded Vengeance called.

“Restrict the ACS trainees,” Nova said bored. “No flying, even around the barracks.”

Nova was primary General over the next ACS. General Starry Champron would be backing him up and learn from him. Technically, either could run it in their new positions. Scout Command didn’t restrict Nova from leading ACS.

“Thank you.”

Gunmetal slid into the mess hall. “Is Golden Dawn still missing!” Gunmetal asked, panicking. “Awe fuck! I should have tied Golden Dawn and Vengeful Blade together and dragged them around with me so they didn’t slip away before I needed them. I have no clue Colonel, but I have been all over this fort working things out. I have no clue. I didn’t even sleep. But, I am reachable back in the Quartermaster here, for now. In like 2 hours I have to be back at Headquarters. And I’m out of time.”

Gunmetal took off running back to continue her work.

“I have an idea,” Cardinal Spitfire declared. “But I am going to need the Wonderbolts to join me. Its a lot of area to cover in a short time.”

“Go,” General Shielded Vengeance ordered.

They rushed out of the hall to follow after Cardinal Spitfire.

“Come on dear,” General Shielded Vengeance said softly to Shining Ire. “If Cardinal Spitfire has an idea, well she knows Golden Dawn deeply. They were in Basic Training together, and have been spending more time here as time allowed in between their jobs. She knows her well and they are good friends.”

General Shielded Vengeance led Shining Ire to Spring Jade Hall and then upstairs to the meeting rooms. Room 201. Striker, Safe, Tac, and Vengeful Blade were already sitting down and lounging in the chairs. The Applesnack gun was sitting on the table in front of Vengeful Blade.

They sat down and it took another minute for the Sixth Counselor to arrive.

“I will leave it to the Sixth Counselor to explain the, developments. But I will preface it with two things. First, this never leaves this room. Not even to be conversed in private. Shining Ire, you and Golden Dawn can privately, securely speak of it. You legally are one. But this is not to go anywhere. It is powerful information that can be leverage to be extremely damaging and embarrassing to many ponies, fuck, pegasi. Many of whom are innocent in this.

“The second is that I do not expect this to change the dynamics of Unit 22, in the long run. It will be accepted and will be and I don’t see it ever going further. Golden Dawn is obviously having a bit of a hiccup with it, unexpectedly. But she will come around. She is strong and level headed.”

“Levelish,” Vengeful Blade corrected him. “Levelish. When she is rash, she is rash. But yes, typically she holds her own. I didn’t foresee this.”

“One last thing,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “Shining Ire, it occurs to me you might not know the background. It would make sense for you not to.”

General Shielded Vengeance nodded to the Sixth Counselor, forcing the discussion onto the Counselor.

“I don’t know where to start, but I guess I should begin by staying that Golden Dawn’s mother had a third. A common enough thing that it is not spoken about. They won the right to not abort, but that was all.

“I started out in the department that handled those cases. While a judge was the decider, we juggled the paperwork and many other things to do with fillies and colts, especially those with deceased parents.”

“Your comrade Vengeful Blade was adopted by his parents. They were barren, but the law still allows them to have two children, and they had the opportunity to adopt.”

“Fuck,” Shining Ire groaned. “Yep. That explains what is going on in her head. I know how she took it all as a young filly. And that would wreck so much.”

“I’m lost,” Striker said. “But just come out with it. I haven’t ever seen Vengeful Blade that zoned out, ever. And we were in EWW and damn that got boring some times.”

Vengeful Blade was just looking at the snack gun.

The Sixth Counselor stalled, taking a deep breath in and letting it out before continuing. “Adoptions are done blind, unless a foal’s family can take care of them. And they are placed far away. Vengeful Blade’s parents lived in Las Pegasus at the time. I placed him. We never expected him to join the military, not with how he was doing in school.”

“Fuck you are so slow,” Vengeful Blade spat, not looking up from the gun. “Fuck it all.”

The Sixth Counselor sighed. “Vengeful Blade just happens to be the foal that Golden Dawn’s parents won the right to not abort.”

“So, their blood siblings?” Tac asked. He had figured out where it was going when Shining Ire did.

“Technically yes,” Sixth Counselor said. “But it can never be spoken of. And both claim nothing ever happened between them.”

“Fuck you,” Vengeful Blade spat. “Have a little faith in what your soldiers report face to face to a Counselor.”

Striker wasn’t fully tracking everything. “Why would this be a problem if it was known?”

“Because he shouldn’t be,” Shining Ire said. “He can’t be. Golden Dawn’s parents mourned the loss of their child. They never even saw him. He was ripped from her womb and she was left with nothing. Not even a stillborn baby to hold. It would have been easier for them if he had died in childbirth.

“That’s actually how we met. At a social function raising money for IVF. Golden Dawn has a soft spot for parents that can’t have children because of it. She knows the agony her parents went through. Its effected her deeply. A permanent scar. A missing piece in her view of her family.

“Yes, she will come to terms, but it won’t be easy. And she won’t be easy to find. And she is probably going to yell a lot when they find her, especially if they try and bring her back.”

“Yes,” General Shielded Vengeance nodded. “That’s why the Wonderbolts are on it and only them. It’s easier to control them, as they already are cleared and trusted with more secrets. They won’t even blink at it. We know deeper, more damaging secrets. Things that could rip the Enclave apart. But that is the very reason why we never will tell them. We keep the Enclave from falling apart at those places.

“As to the general public, if they found out. It would be news all over, and they would want a reunion between parents and child. They would celebrate it, and hate the secrecy.”

Vengeful Blade sighed a reinforcing sigh. “I am named Vengeful Blade because I am a thorn in the Enclave’s system. On paper, I am legal. But the reality of it is that I am a Third. I am proof that the system isn’t nice and tidy. My parents are Major Sterile Needle and retired Staff Sergeant Lightning Fortress.

“The blood is only a technicality. I know that, she knows that, but it still is one she never thought she would ever have to face. They track us adopted Thirds very closely. They can’t have incest from their secrecy. And they can’t have the embarrassment and pain the public would ensue if they found out. Hell, the public would destroy my parents for living their life and never seeking her family out. For minding their business and doing their duty.

“I’m doing fine because I grew up knowing and being encouraged to know that I am an adopted Third. It was as it is. I am their son and only child. They love me, I love them, and we are a family. But they never wanted to shelter me or keep me blind to our blood not being the same. Its why I bear my name.

“I learned when I was older what it exactly mattered that I was an adopted Third. My first half of my life I knew I was adopted, but that was all. It was natural. And with both my parents in the military, the name blended. But they encouraged me to love the reason for my name, because they loved me enough to not hide it.

“And now, saying it all, I think my parents would feel guilty if they found out. Feel like they denied me of that… knowledge, seeing it as a right. I only had the right to know I was adopted, and they gave it to me. Blood, the blood doesn’t make family. The rest needs to be left to rest, for all involved. Golden Dawn will let it rest once she fully understands it. She is figuring out how to accept it.”

A knock came at the door. “General Shielded Vengeance, Captain Tuff reporting in.”

“Come in Captain,” General Shielded Vengeance ordered.

Tuff opened the door crisply and closed it behind him. He didn’t salute, but he was at a strong ‘at ease’ stance. “General, Ensign Golden Dawn was located. She was found in the Squad Barrack’s training city. She put up a good fight and chase. Without Lieutenant Command Cardinal Spitfire or Colonel Marble Falls, she would have eluded us. She wasn’t quiet when we finally corned her so we could talk. All Squadrons are in meeting Room 104 for debrief. Lieutenant Commander Cardinal Spitfire has stayed out there with her. Most likely for the rest of the day. Their friendship is strong, and she is helping her sort things out. The Ensign is fine, outside of some processing to do.

“A personal recommendation if I may?”

“Yes,” General Shielded Vengeance said with a nod. “Please.”

“I know her… special somepegasus is living in Wind Hamlet. I recommend that Ensign Golden Dawn be given leave to head to their home there until she is needed for Aerial Combat School. And perhaps leave for a few days to New Heaven as well, for a fresh change in scenery.”

“Thank you Captain,” General Shielded Vengeance smiled. “I will be there shortly for a debrief. I am glad the Lieutenant Commander is staying with her for a bit to sort things out.”

“Oh, and Sir, the Lieutenant Commander has her com in to be reached if she is needed.”

Tuff stepped out.

“Is there anything we need to cover?” General Shielded Vengeance asked.

Unit 22 was good. They understood the situation.

“Lieutenant Striker, please make sure one of you gets Shining Ire back to her home. Ensign Golden Dawn is on personal leave and not to be disturbed without my permission.”

“Yes Sir,” Striker replied. “I think Second Lieutenant Safe is the better escort at the moment.”

“Understood Lieutenant. Now, I have Wonderbolts to go debrief.”

Vengeful Blade chuckled. “She said Golden Dawn would be vocal. At least that place is far enough away from the recruit flight decks so her yelling wouldn’t be heard. I’m not sure why that holds such a special place to her.”

“I’m not sure either,” General Shielded Vengeance said at the door.

He left and the Sixth Counselor made a hasty exit. Safe took Shining Ire back home. Vengeful Blade wasn’t ready to leave the room, not yet. Neither was Striker. Not that there was anything to say, but leaving meant it could never be said. At least for the moment something could be said.

Both afternoon assaults were won by Field Group Alpha. But they were long battles. The biggest changes happened in how the Cloudships deployed themselves. They synced up with the Field Group’s initial deployment plan to better approach it, together. Cloudships would often give artillery cover. All of the military groups were learning to work together.

However, Field Group Beta won high praise for the Strike Squadrons. Unit 17 was blasting apart their targets. They had their failures, and were learning hard, but it was working. The Senior Officers wanted a different name, something more unique.

Olive Pit headed to the Clinic after dinner. He was still in minor pain from the drops and they would be doing the same thing for the next week. Unit 17 was rough, but now they were relying on him for their tactics. Olive Pit needed some light meds to help alleviate the stress on his muscles. An anti-inflammatory med, that wasn’t a steroid. Plus he could check on the two recruits in the clinic.

“Commander,” Sergeant Red Contour said standing up.

“You’re still here?” Olive Pit asked. “Its almost 2100.”

“Late start for me,” Sergeant Red Contour explained. “I had stuff to do this morning at Headquarters, that I couldn’t change around. Same with the others. Routine physicals. Its been spread out and staggered all day. They are accommodating us being here, but I am the only one here today.

“The day’s paperwork is properly filed away in the office. Do you want me to get it?”

“No,” Olive Pit said. “Just in for some AINS meds. Its a killer out there since I’m with 17. And to glance at the charts for the recruits. I trust you all. After all, you guys are the ones that keep coming out here for us. The support is appreciated, especially for your unit always being here.”

Red Contour smiled at Olive Pit. “Well, personally I love coming out here. Its the closest to combat I am ever going to get.”

“Wait?” Olive Pit said setting the chart down. “Close to combat?”

“Yeah, the entire 476 Ward is all Civilian Nurse Corps. None of us are MNs.”

Olive Pit was shocked. “You are a CNC? But your scrubs don’t reflect that.”

“All scrubs are the same. Ward, name, and hospital. On the military bases rank is required. But for dress occasions, I wear a Civilian Nurse Corp uniform.”

“How are a bunch of CNCs working at Fort Wind? The CNCs are for civilian hospitals. You are not even able to be used in field hospitals because you lack any military training. The Nursing Corp was organized when the population grew too large for the Medical Nurses to cover all the required hospitals. I though all hospitals on military bases required MNs, and that the CNCs were not allowed.”

“That’s mostly true,” Red Contour said. “But Fort Wind needs it’s Nurses to be deployable in the field during recruit training. It requires a strong base that doesn’t move, so they use CNCs. And so for here, they are doing the same thing.”

Red Contour smiled coyly and leaned in nice and close. “Like I said, its the closest I get to combat, and its exhilarating. I get off at the top of the hour.”

Olive Pit sighed. “And I will be asleep by then. I have another week to survive. At least. Hopefully phase three won’t happen tomorrow. Besides, you are in Unit 301, with five others.”

Red Contour leaned in to whisper in Olive Pit’s ear. “You have your own place.”

Olive Pit was glad he kept everything locked up. The last thing he needed this week was a distraction like Red Contour.

“I have always been attracted to the doctor in command. You are just as good, and not as old as most of them end up being when they finally start off. But none of them are here. I love my ward, but you can’t even get a drink with a stallion here. And dinner means mess hall. None of these lunk heads can cook. Or have the facilities to cook. You at least have a kitchen, from the rumors I have heard.”

“Look, Sergeant,” Olive Pit said slowly. He had to tread carefully. “My only focus right now is the exercises. And then I have another dozen Combat Medics testing in the next ACS.”

She batted her eyes. “Sergeant? You are not even a little intrigued.”

“Intrigue is not the same as… well a lot of things intrigue me. That doesn’t mean I go after them all. I have limited time in each day and a job to do. Look, you are still young. You could go to Basic Training and become an MN, and you wouldn’t lose your rank.”

“My rank,” Red Contour said annoyed. “It means nothing to be. I’ve been in a little over a year. I was given this sergeant stripe at my induction into the CNC. Its the standard rank where every nurse starts. Look at me, do you think this could make it through basic training? And then I would not be assigned back to my ward. Ward 476 is a CNC ward, not mixed.”

Red Contour was softly yelling. “I love the medical field. I am attracted to stallions in the medical field. Especially the soldiers. The more they are strong and command, the better. But! All of you are so dense! All of your heads are in your asses! I love my post, but it sucks that there is nothing fun to do for an evening.”

Olive Pit groaned.

“Are you attracted to me or not?” Red Contour pushed.

“At least on a s surface level,” Olive Pit replied, frustrated. “But my head is up my ass saving Unit 0 and making sure it doesn’t flounder. If it does, I won’t have a head to stick up anypony’s ass.”

Olive Pit forced himself to not grind his teeth, but he was still frustrated. “Or kiss a mare with. Because yes, I do want to settle down. I just took the right path in Basic Training, and it meant I got a lot more given to me because of it. So I haven’t had the normal life and normal appointments a soldier my age gets. Which means no chance at love.

“I get how you feel about the, scene around here. Its pretty stale for singles. But with Wind Hamlet opening up, we have some new options for a scene.”

The conversation ended as Cardinal Spitfire stumbled in, carry Golden Dawn.

“Olive Pit, a little help,” Cardinal Spitfire panted. “She needs to spend the night here. Its complicated, but all the shit that happened drained her.”

They got Golden Dawn into a bed and Red Contour had an IV bag hung up immediately.

“No,” Golden Dawn groaned. “I need to go home.”

“Too late,” Olive Pit chuckled. “IV has been placed and chart started. You most definitely can’t go home. You can’t make it to Unit 22 from here. You can’t make it out of this building. I have a responsibility to take care of everypony here. And as your friend, I won’t let you be stupid.”

Golden Dawn groaned and tried to sit up. It didn’t take Olive Pit any effort to keep her down with his hoof.

“She will receive light sleep meds,” Olive Pit stated. “I want her to sleep and rest up.”

Red Contour had a fresh chart for Olive Pit. She dispensed the sleeping aid while he wrote it all up. He made sure she would not be leaving unless he cleared her.

“I have shit to do,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “I was helping her all afternoon, so I am way behind. And I have to report in about her current condition.”

“But,” Cardinal Spitfire said, stopping in the doorway. Her attention was focused on Red Contour. “You hurt my Olive Pit, I will make you pay.”

Cardinal Spitfire was just gone, before a reply could be made. Just like a good Wonderbolt. There only when they wanted to be. And gone like smoke.

“I,” Olive Pit stumbled. “I, we are good friends. She means it.”

Olive Pit shrugged and smiled at Red Contour. “But she didn’t say to back down. So why the fuck not? I don’t know how long these exercises will exactly last. None of us know. But by the end, I will have a prospective date for you. I hear Wind Hamlet has a place or two open I would be able to take you.”

Olive Pit saw the clock.

“Shit! I have to run if I am going to get any sleep!”

He dashed out of the Clinic on a mission to jump in bed and get rest before Arrow put them through more hell.

Red Contour sighed. “Head up his ass. Still head up his ass. But at least he recognizes it and is trying.”

Cardinal Spitfire had reported into General Shielded Vengeance about Golden Dawn’s condition. Now she was headed to report it to Shining Ire, who was expecting Golden Dawn to come home on leave. It was late to visit, but it sounded very important to do.

At least the next day was more of the same thing. It would be new groups, after they mixed it up, and mostly new tactics for the deployment of the Cloudships. Gunmetal would be finishing up her prototype the next day. They had time. They didn’t need to be flinging the jumpers as they figured out the logistics of the Cloudship tactics.

Cardinal Spitfire was still in her dress uniform. Medals and all since the Council was still there. Always medal around the Council when it could be afforded. And she wouldn’t be involved in most, if any, of the jumps. The Wonderbolts were not the focus of these exercises.

Cardinal Spitfire cruised into Wind Hamlet and up to the house on the corner. All of the houses were nice and tidy. They were all styled off of cottages and everything felt homey and comforting. Nothing modern. It was nice. And currently quiet as more families slowly moved in.

Cardinal Spitfire heard activity inside and the lights were on. She double checked the house ID and knocked on the door. It was opened a minute later by an older stallion with glasses on.

“Yes?” He asked, looking her over. His eyes lingered on her medals.

“I am sorry,” Cardinal Spitfire stated crisply. “It appears I have the wrong address. I am looking for Shining Ire’s and Ensign Golden Dawn’s residence.”

“No, you are at the right one. Shining Ire is my daughter.” He stepped aside. “Come in.”

Shining Ire had never met Cardinal Spitfire, and lunch was too chaotic for her to remember her. They all were in the living room.

“Yes?” Shining Ire asked. She was confused and very concerned about their visitors.

“Shining Ire, I was dispatched to inform you that from conditioning exercises that Ensign Golden Dawn was apart of for training has left her a bit out of sorts and dehydrated. A simple, routine, overnight stay at the Clinic is all that is required. It is nothing serious. But we were not aware you had visitors. Golden Dawn never mentioned it.”

Shining Ire obviously rolled her eyes. “They arrived in the late afternoon. Both of our parents. For a surprise visit.”

“We never got to celebrate our daughter’s marriage!” Batten Sword stated. “They up and married quickly and out of town. I get that my daughter has a duty to serve, but she couldn’t get two weeks off to come home and get married proper?”

“Not my call Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire stated.

“Are you married?” Batten Sword immediately asked.

Cardinal Spitfire wasn’t ready for the question. “I, I, I, I am. I am married. But he is unfortunately serving at an other military base. I am on special assignment here, dealing with some new training.”

“And was yours fast?”

Shining Ire groaned, frustrated. “She has a job to do. Thank you Lieutenant Commander for informing me. It is a big relief hearing she is safe and secure. And that its nothing that is nothing to be concerned with.”

“No problem Ma’am,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “And yes, mine was fast and private, with no way for our parents to join us. But we had one that happened a few months back that was more known. And family came because they both had jobs to do here that they couldn’t get a break from. This town, Wind Hamlet, isn’t new out of a fancy. A lot of changes are happening and running us ragged.”

Cardinal Spitfire cut it off there by straightening her uniform with a single tug, doing a perfect 180 and then out the door. She took off, holding back so if they were watching, they were not seeing her panic. General Shielded Vengeance needed to know that Golden Dawn’s parents had arrived. Nothing was ever simple.

Cardinal Spitfire decided she was too tired and too far away to deal with it. Her heart didn’t have it in her wings to pick up the pace. It had been a grueling day.

“All Wonderbolts, this is Squad 12 LC Cardinal Spitfire, ERF 712-096. I need an emergency message passed along to General Shielded Vengeance. Over.

“Roger that LC Cardinal Spitfire. This is Lieutenant General Firestorm, ERF 712-068. What is the message? Over.”

“The message is: Golden Dawn’s family arrived earlier today. The same with Shining Ire’s. A surprise visit since they didn’t see them get married. Over.”

“Fuck,” Firestorm swore. “Alright. I’ll let him know. Sign off. If we need you, we will get you. Over.”

“Roger that. Signing off in 10 when I get back to my room. Over.”

Cardinal Spitfire still didn’t have it in her to push. It wasn’t far with her speed, but she was exhausted. It was a tough afternoon consoling Golden Dawn. Mostly emotional. And Cardinal Spitfire heard it all, including meeting and marrying Shining Ire. Also their plans for their own kids.

Cardinal Spitfire swiped her badge and stumbled into their Unit. She wanted to just tossed her uniform’s jacket off onto the chair, but she took the time to carefully remove the medals and then hang it up properly. She needed it nice and neat. She crashed onto her bed, rolling up into her sheets. Lights out.

“Lieutenant Commander!”

Cardinal Spitfire groaned and rolled over. The lights where on. She hadn’t turned them on. She propped herself up, trying to see what was going on, but it all was fuzzy.

“Lieutenant Commander?”

“What?” Cardinal Spitfire groaned. “What?”

“We hate to wake you dear.”

Dear meant Nova was there.

“Oh my, she does keep his medals right there for her to see before she goes to bed.”

“Leave his medal alone,” Cardinal Spitfire groggily ordered. “What the fuck is going on?”

Somepony flicked the lights out, which helped Cardinal Spitfire see. She only had the light from the hallway. It was at least General Shielded Vengeance, Nova, Firestorm, and the Fifth Counselor, but the Sixth had to be one of the others she didn’t recognize with her groggy eyes.

Cardinal Spitfire almost toss the sheets aside but remembers she had nothing on. Instead she just plopped back down.

“Make it fast and make it clean,” Cardinal Spitfire groaned.

“Not my idea,” Nova said approaching her bed. “I’ll speak for them dear. Golden Dawn is out in the clinic, resting as she needs to be. General Shielded Vengeance didn’t clear her family to visit, his staff did. But that is normal.

“I believe she spoke to you about everything.”

“I know protocol,” Cardinal Spitfire yawned. “So what is so important?”

“How dangerous is it for her to head home and see her parents?”

That woke Cardinal Spitfire up and she sat up wide awake.

“I,” Cardinal Spitfire stammered. “I don’t, didn’t think through it all the way when I sent the message.”

“You had a rough day dear,” Nova said with a kind smile. “We know you couldn’t think of it all.”

Cardinal Spitfire was starting to panic. She was tired and didn’t have much control. Worse, she had let her control go to sleep, safe, in her room. This was where she didn’t have to have it together.

Cardinal Spitfire clamored out of bed stumbled and darted to her desk. She plopped down naked on the chair. They all knew what a naked mare looked like. She couldn’t care. Cardinal Spitfire just snapped the desk light on. She slid one of Shadow Flare’s Silver Medals forward and caressed it for strength.

Cardinal Spitfire took a deep breath in. “They questioned me about my marriage. I wasn’t ready for it. They are a hurting family. Their children up and left and got married. Shadow and I were stationed away from our family with no time.

“I told them that ours was private and fast. And that I was away from him, here for the special training they had to have been warned about. At least that special training was happening. At least that Golden Dawn was waiting for her ACS to start. I added that Arrow and Dipper had time to get their families here, but had to do it here because they both were locked into pieces of that special training.

“I have no idea how Shining Ire is holding up. She was annoyed they asked, but seemed to expect it. At least she wasn’t shocked by it.

“Alright, lets see. I need to walk myself through it. Right. The door was opened by Shining Ire’s father. I went 100% professional, because I thought I had the wrong house. He noticed my medals. Confirmed it was their house, let me in. They all were in living room. Five. Two older couples and then Shining Ire. I keep with full rank and professionalism. Shining Ire had never met me. She was confused, shocked, frustrated, before I came in. It was the last thing she wanted to be dealing with.”

“Dear,” Nova said putting his hoof on her shoulder. “100% professionalism?”

“Yes. Full names and ranks. Crisp. Composed. Report!”

Cardinal Spitfire perked up as her mind kicked into overdrive, beating her exhaustion. But it was only obvious in her ears. She stayed focused on the medal.

“I told her Golden Dawn fell out in routine conditioning. She was safe, normal, fine, spending the night in the Clinic.”

“Firestorm,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “Go, lock Golden Dawn into that Clinic. She can not be released without my verbal consent. I must be there.”

“I have it,” Nova said as Firestorm dashed off. “Golden Dawn is one of mine. I am lead on the ACS, so she is mine. I know what to do. I know how to take care of the family too. Besides, it might be good for her to be away, but be with family. Its a hard toss up. But she is a hardy soul. I want Gunmetal there for when we talk to her in the morning.”

“Alright,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “Go to sleep Cardinal Spitfire.”

“Wake up when you need me,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “I’ll go to bed, but fuck the alarm. When you need me, wake me.”

Cardinal Spitfire wasn’t sure how long they were gone, but it wasn’t long until she slid the metal back in line with the others, and then turned the light off. Back to sleep.

Cardinal Spitfire was gently nudged awake.

“Wake up dear. I have some coffee for you.”

It sounded like Nova, but it looked like a solider. Cardinal Spitfire rubbed her eyes awake. She felt mostly rested as she sat up.

“Nova? What are you wearing?”

“My dress uniform, now go. Get yours on.”

“Damn,” Cardinal Spitfire stammered. “Your wearing a dress uniform. And with full medals. You are supposed to hate those.”

“Dear,” Nova smiled at her. “I do and I do not. Just like Shadow does and doesn’t hate his. Have you seen Deke’s rack? No, because he is only wearing his ribbons. He claims its because he is working, and he can get away with it because of it. He hates his as well. In my younger years I was like him, but I was not a Wonderbolt like you are.

“And things changed. I hate being a one star general not because of the rank, but because I have to present. I gave up wanting to present when she died. It was over. I am still sore about it. But this morning my new, fitted dress uniforms came.”

The new uniform kept Nova’s wing pulled in and looking normal. A black belt was worn around his waste which also had a shoulder strap that crossed his chest. That is what expertly kept his wing fixed in a normal position. The new uniform also included the Blue Beret.

“And with it the new ranks. And all of my ribbons were on a rack, with all their devices shined up pretty. And my medals were also there, mounted proper and with all their devices. But the thing that mattered was the Silver Star on my epaulets and the thick gold sleeves on my flight suits.

“I can not avoid my present. I can not avoid my past. So I present. And I will look fucking stellar doing it.

“Now up. We have breakfast and a seat waiting for us. Golden Dawn can wait for a little longer. And I doubt her family is awake.”

Cardinal Spitfire decided to skip her current one and pulled out her pressed, back up uniform. She always kept one pressed, for emergencies where she had to look the absolute best. After it was on and Nova made sure she was spotless, Cardinal Spitfire put her dress uniforms in the wash and a rush order on them. She needed a backup, just in case.

Breakfast was quiet. Nova wasn’t going to talk strategy. Nova wasn’t going to talk at all. The whole table had been avoided. And it was just as packed as usual. Losing a whole table was tough for this small mess hall.

When they got to the Clinic, Olive Pit, Willow, and Sunset Fury were giving Golden Dawn a full work over. And she was pissed. Some argument had to have gone down, because she was letting it happen with only a scowl on her face.

Gunmetal was snoozing against the wall, General Shielded Vengeance was off to the side with Firestorm, Starry Champron, and the Sixth Counselor. The two on duty nurses were in the office, door close.

Olive Pit nodded to General Shielded Vengeance. It was obvious he wasn’t sure why he was ordered to do the full work over, but he did it. And it would require a verbal response. “General Shielded Vengeance, Ensign Golden Dawn is ready and able to perform any and all duties required of her by her rank and her assigned duties.”

“And mentally?” General Shielded Vengeance asked.

“Her brain appears to be fine, no impaired functions of any kind. If you are asking about her mental state, neither I or my staff are trained to handle any psychiatric aspects of medicine and we will not bother ourselves with learning it.”

“Thank you Commander,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “You can go.”

“Its my clinic,” Olive Pit asserted. “My clinic, I stay. Or relieve me of my duties. As it is, we rushed the other two out of here earlier than I wished. My staff have departed to get ready for their duties. But I am staying. The clinic and I are one. That is my charge. And I know it was what you charged me with.”

General Shielded Vengeance and Olive Pit stared each other down. Neither broke.

“Fine,” General Shielded Vengeance said, not breaking eye contact. “But this doesn’t go in a report. This stays need to know.”

“She is my patient,” Olive Pit reiterated. “My patient. The oath I took stands as is:

“And whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession, as well as outside my profession in my intercourse with pony kind, if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets.

“Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all pony kind for my life and for my art; but if I break it and forswear myself, may the opposite befall me.

“I made my entire unit memorize the entire thing. That’s a requirement for all Unit 0 members. We take it seriously. To break it, means to be dishonorably discharged. That is a signed document we all have taken for this Unit.”

“That’s a serious oath,” General Shielded Vengeance said. “Ensign Gunmetal, are you awake.”

“Yes,” Gunmetal groaned. “I am. Do I have to stop leaning against the wall? I might fall over.”

That was good enough for General Shielded Vengeance. “Ensign Golden Dawn, things have gotten, interesting. Once you were located, the Wonderbolt Units here were debriefed. Their oath is solid. Unit 22 was debriefed and Shining Ire was informed. She understood almost immediately. The Sixth Counselor took their sweet time catching the others up.

“You were secure, you and Cardinal Spitfire did your thing, and then you were brought here, spent. I am not sure if you were aware that you have been released from waiting her for ACS, to be at your home in Wind Hamlet while we do the exercises.

“Cardinal Spitfire was dispatched to inform Shining Ire of your overnight stay. It turns out, late in the afternoon, both of your parents made an unexpected arrival, since they could not attend the wedding. We didn’t even know they were coming in. They will be here a whole week.”

“Damn,” Golden Dawn sighed. “That explains the full exam this morning. It would destroy my parents.”

“We can do a few things,” General Shielded Vengeance said. Golden Dawn was lost and obviously thinking very dark things.

“General,” Nova said. “If I may.”

Nova didn’t wait for approval. “Dear, as far as we know, only Shining Ire knows you were released. So we can revoke parts of that. If you do not feel comfortable staying, you can come back and play both sides like you have been, just openly.”

“If you can’t stand even a little right now, we can recall you to unexpected training. We can take that completely away from you, or you can personally deliver the news, hugs, say hi, and come back to us. Or you can take all of the time.”

“Can I come back early?” Golden Dawn asked.

“Absolutely dear,’ Nova smiled. “We can recall you if you need it. And we can be discrete. Either come in for a face to face check in, as ordered, or slip a message to us and we can send a runner.”

“A whole week?” Golden Dawn asked. “That’s most of the exercises. You may recall me before then to start ACS.”

“That we may dear,” Nova nodded. “Its not something we know yet, although I see it taking longer. The Council may not stay that long though. It is tough for them all to be out like this. We are trying to be as fast as possible.”

Golden Dawn took a breath in and was about to say something but stopped. She then looked at Olive Pit who was quietly standing by.

“Olive Pit, do you know what is going on?”

“No I do not,” Olive Pit stated. “I have not been privileged to know, and that is fine. I am here for your health and safety.”

“Well,” Golden Dawn hesitated. “You saw me last night. I didn’t just cry myself out. You have seen me cry myself to sleep. Very long and painful story short, my lost brother turned up. Third. It torn the family a gaping hole.”

Olive Pit nodded. “Your parents won the right to not abort, but then never got to see the foal.”

“Yes. And it turns out, my good friend and squadmate in Unit 22, Vengeful Blade is that brother.”

“Ah,” Olive Pit replied. “I see the catch twenty-two. Home with Shining Ire is where you need to be, but home is also your parents. And you just learned this, so you are in a tight spot.”

“Advice?” Golden Dawn asked. “I really have no idea. I don’t know if I can do it. But I can’t disappoint them by not showing up.”

Olive Pit thought for a moment. “Is Golden Dawn’s dress uniform here?”

“Right here,” Firestorm said. “Including the few medals.”

“Golden Dawn,” Olive Pit smiled at her. “Top barracks, EOD, Heavy Weapons, you rock and roll, terrorizing your enemy with a free hoofed sub machine gun. You can’t be stopped on the field. You stopped a rapist, you held your own against an ungrateful and abusive first lieutenant, and many other things to be proud of. And you went through that EWW training thing I caught wind of a few times.

“You can keep a secret and you can hold your own. You are only thinking of exhausted and tested beyond her limits Recruit Golden Dawn. But you are not that recruit anymore. Your limits were pushed and then expanded because of it.

“You can do it. We can chalk it up to a lot of stress with your job here. It is stressful. You are in a suspension, waiting for the inevitable to happen but being unable to do anything by basic conditioning as you wait.”

“I do know when the training times are,” Golden Dawn said. “Mostly. I’m afraid all I have is a front, and those limits were not expanded.”

“They were,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “I know mine were. I know Olive Pit’s were. Deke wouldn’t really let us know, but his were. And Filly Fooler, is Filly Fooler. We don’t know if he even has a limit.”

Golden Dawn chuckled. “Alright. I will go. I will play it that I don’t know how long I have. I will check back in three days from now. That’s the rule, that’s how it will be going in.”

“Dear, Cardinal Spitfire and I will escort you there. I am the head of this ACS. You are my trainee. So I will be there, and so will Cardinal Spitfire. She will play testimony to the special trainings that are happening here, and give credibility to that side of the, well truth.”

“Fuck,” Gunmetal swore. “I was going to be flinging you from the Buttercup first.”

Golden Dawn chuckled. “Please, family or not, I want to be in that. When will that happen?”

“Eh,” Gunmetal shrugged. “Tomorrow? If I get approval. Which would mean I would need you to prove that I should get approval.”

“I’m doing that. And it will probably be a good respite for me. Some structure, not just open time. So tomorrow morning? Early?”

Gunmetal shrugged. “Mark it after breakfast. 0800. We are all burning out trying to rush this and we have been killed with several set backs. I am aiming to have it installed overnight tomorrow. Last day jumping off the Buttercup by stepping out. But I’ll never have enough time to do the Seventh Task Force. We just need to prove we can do it. That is all. And its more than good enough considering all that has gone on with these exercises.”

Golden Dawn took a minute to breath. “I’m ready.”

Everypony dispersed as they got her out of the bed and then helped her get dressed. Everypony was loading into the Cloudships from the air, so the flight deck was open. But with Nova’s wing, they used the chariot that was on stand by for the flight.

They arrived quickly and disembarked. Golden Dawn had her key ready. The noise from inside the house was obvious.

Golden Dawn let them in and walked deeper into the house. She was confused where the noise was coming from. She wasn’t used to the house. She hadn’t spent any real time here. She finally realized they were in the dining room and stepped into it.

“Hey!” Shining Ire exclaimed with a smile. “You look snazzy, all dressed up like that. I’ve never seen you wear your medals.”

“A lot is happening,” Golden Dawn stated. “But you don’t know either General Nova or Lieutenant Commander Cardinal Spitfire.”

“Ah yes!” Shining Ire’s father said. “The Wonderbolt from last night.”

“Yes Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire nodded.

“I have been to plenty of Wonderbolt shows. Perhaps I have seen you perform. Have you flown any around Twin Clouds?”

“No Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire replied.

“Then where have you performed?”

They knew the questions would come. It was best to let them get out of their system, a distraction from Golden Dawn. The more they could take, the less she would have to.

“I have not performed any shows,” Cardinal Spitfire stated.

“Oh?” He said confused. “Isn’t that what Wonderbolts do? What have you been doing then?”

Cardinal Spitfire chuckled lightly. “I can perform shows. However, Squad 12 has not practiced any routines for shows yet. Currently, I am here, in charge of the special exercises. I am one of the top pegasi when it comes to aerial combat. My focus has been on that.”

“You will get to go home to your husband soon then,” Batten Sword said with a smile.

“No Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire said professionally. “I am still to be here for a while yet. With the Aerial Combat School happening, I am one of the instructors of it. General Nova is head over the whole Aerial Combat School. I just happen to be assigned to him to help instruct this class on all things regarding Aerial Combat.”

“You will be teaching my daughter then?”

“Not directly,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “We are good friends from time served in conjunction with each other during Basic Training. It’s always best to have an authority figure teach, not a friend. Especially in a combat school where the training means life or death if it has to be applied. I will be instructing other training units.”

“Yes,” Nova said taking a step forward. “I have the Lieutenant Commander placed with another training group. We are here for a few reasons. First, because the Lieutenant Commander was with Ensign Golden Dawn yesterday when she fell out and got her to the Clinic.”

“Fall out?” Bobbin asked.

Nova had to explain the reason why they called it ‘falling out.’

“And I am here to make sure my trainee gets home safely for this special release. We have been keeping the trainees ready for when Aerial Combat School does happen, for it will start suddenly. Overnight.

“We had no idea that you would be visiting, as that part was handled by Fort Wind’s administrative offices. It was a shock to us, but nothing was done wrong. So I have escorted her back here to explain that. She is my trainee, and that is a charge I take very seriously. A special release like this is, well special.”

Golden Dawn took over. “I have to check back in with them in three days. And tomorrow I am needed on a side project that is being done.”

“Side project?” Batten Sword asked.

“Yes,” Nova nodded. “There are two, no four, distinct operations happening at the Squad Barracks at the same time right now. Several training and exercises are happening, along with some supporting projects and such to make sure they go off without a hitch.

“For instance, the General over the entire Aerial Combat Battalion is present, along with his supporting staff. And several high ranking Admirals are here at the same time as well. Full dress uniforms are required unless you require a work uniform.”

“What do you have to do?” Bobbin asked.

Golden Dawn shrugged. “Its too complicated to explain. But I have to help my friend test something. If it works, it can get used, if not, its back to square one.”

Nova never gave them the chance to ask any questions. “My quartermaster for the Squad Barracks is also going to be attending this ACS. She is good friends with Ensign Golden Dawn, as they worked in their same division. So she is using what she knows, and the pegasi she knows well enough she doesn’t need them to stand there and model for her all the time. Its already been several days they have been on that project.

“But we have to get back to our jobs. I know my trainee is safe and okay for this special release. And I know she wont spill any secrets. After all, she first met Ensign Gunmetal at a special, classified training. And she did fine there and after.”

“Excuse me General,” Shining Ire’s Father asked. “I know you have a lot happening, but is there a way we could maybe see these Squad Barracks where she is stationed? I know it is a lot to ask, but I have gotten to see some other bases from my job. And we got to see the main fort area yesterday. Their training courses are impressive.”

Both Shining Ire and Golden Dawn were embarrassed he was so straightforward in asking.

Nova thought for a second. “I have no guarantee, but I will check on things and see.”

Cardinal Spitfire would have tipped her cover at them, but the beret messed that up. She ignored it like Nova did and just exited professionally, before they got held up any longer. They had stuff to do.

Cardinal Spitfire heard Golden Dawn make her immediate defense as they departed. It made her smile. It was the same, level headed Golden Dawn she knew.

“Look, there is a lot going on that I can’t speak on. Not all of it has to do with me, but I can’t even tell a lot of stuff to Shining Ire. Actually, most of it doesn’t involve me.”

“Ensign?”

The door closed behind Cardinal Spitfire. Golden Dawn had deflected it perfectly so they were focused on the new rank.

The Cloudships hadn’t launched when they got back. It was pure coincidence. Nova wasn’t attending today’s exercises. Something else was on his mind. He still had to keep ACS afloat as they did these exercises.

Cardinal Spitfire took to her wings and made it to the Lord Clove before the other ships were underway. All of the Counselors were present, but she wasn’t worried about them. She needed to see the units in action from an outside perspective. The Buttercup was limited in it’s view.

“Good morning,” The Fourth Counselor greeted her. “How are you?”

“Busy,” Cardinal Spitfire said, distracted. “I missed out on yesterday due to an emergency. I have a lot to catch up on.”

“That was an interesting development,” The Fourth Counselor said. “I trust it is all squared away this morning?”

“Yes,” Cardinal Spitfire curtly stated as she dialed in a pair of binoculars.

“Lieutenant Commander, you have made quite an impact here from what I understand.”

Cardinal Spitfire lowered the binoculars. The Fourth Counselor wasn’t making idle chit chat. There was an agenda. And that was more important at the moment.

“Yes Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire said, turning to face him. She smiled. “I guess I have Sir. Just doing my job.”

“Well, its being done better than most ever could do it. Especially with your husband MIA. That isn’t something others experience.”

Cardinal Spitfire took a sharp breath in. “He is doing his duty, so I do mine. When he gets back, its going to be immediate leave for us, as soon as we wrap up debriefs and such.”

“Understandable,” The Fourth Counselor nodded. “But I want to talk about you. You fall under my jurisdiction as the Counselor who oversees the army side of the military. I have heard a lot, and gotten to see even more being here the past few days. I didn’t make these choices on my own, I consulted others. The most simplest of the awards is a good conduct medal.”

“Awards?” Cardinal Spitfire asked surprised. “I,” She wanted to say it wasn’t time for awards. “I am just shocked. My focus has been on making sure this happen without a problem. Its all fallen on my wings.”

“Exactly! And you never blinked, but took up the challenge. And from what I understand, many of this was orchestrated by you at the very start. Which is why I am proud to give you your first Meritorious Service Medal. I hope to be giving you more of these.”

The Fourth Counselor glanced at a piece of paper to double check the awards.

“And you haven’t just stopped there, but you have shown professional development in extraordinary leaps and bounds. You no longer are a hot head who will beat the shit out of somepegasus, even if they deserve it. You have gone above and beyond that. I have here an award for the Professional Development. And likewise, an Officer Commendation Medal for all that you have been doing as an officer and showing what it means to be the next generation of Aerial Combat Battalion Officers.”

“Thank you,” Cardinal Spitfire said, head held high. “But I see you are not done.”

“Not yet. You have impressed me greatly. The Aerial Achievement Medal is the non-combat version of the Air Medal. You can’t prove yourself in combat, but you have proved your skills otherwise. Its an often forgotten medal.”

“The final one is one I am extremely honored to award to you, The Combat Readiness Medal. You are combat ready, you are making sure the others are combat ready, and not many in the Enclave can prove they are actually combat ready. Not just most likely ready, you are ready.

“I have a Unit award for you guys as well. I will let you in on the surprise since I have your attention. The Council Unit Citation for your upstanding job getting Unit 0 combat ready. I have been amazed that they are what they are in these exercises. The first reports were extremely poor.”

“Thank you Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire said saluting with her hoof. “Forgive my poor immediate reaction. It is an honor to receive this at your request, and especially from your very hoof.”

“Oh you are forgiven. I jumped you when you were not expecting it. But I will take this time and pin the medals on you. Since I can.”

Cardinal Spitfire tugged on her uniform to make sure it was perfect before the Counselor pinned each medal on her chest. The order was wrong as he pinned them on above her few others, but it didn’t matter. They were being put on by a Counselor. That was damn impressive.

Book 4 Starts Next Week!
Don't forget to read the Intermission for a recap of Book 3. Not only has it taken 4 months to release this book, sometimes information not in the chapters are shared. Like what happens behind the scenes that you don't see.

Third Intermission Part A

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Second Intermission

Cloak and Dagger, the term meaning to hide the identity and then use the dagger to execute them with a knife in the back.

The Inquisitors have spend months below, fighting through many dangers. Respite came only in small bits in Rosemary.

They lost Lieutenant Silent in Fillydelphis, still mapped the city, bombed it and the murderous gang known as the Disciples, found out why the last mission below went so wrong, discovered a rare gem in Baltimare, saved Sweet Waters, saved Dry Dock City, discovered the origins of the Super Ponies, began a new relationship with two of them, met Appleloosa, discovered Kifopiga, found history, killed a Battalion of Feral Zebra Ghouls, buried the Zebra mastermind Mwokizi, traveled to Manhattan where Storm died by the claws and Jaws of the crazy scientist's manticors, and discovered the Children of Balefire.

Then they were sent to kill their friends and fellow pegasi, the Pillars of the Community. Among them was Shadow's sister.

Above them Cardinal Spitfire became Lieutenant Cardinal Spitfire, Wonderbolt. Deke became an officer on the Cloudship Buttercup, a Corvette, and saved the north and Shadow's family and community from an Ice Emergency. Olive Pit became Lieutenant Olive Pit, got his medic cross, and then was sent back to Fort Wind to be Unit 0's Officer. Golden Dawn has had her own troubles but made friends in EWW Training and gone back to her unit.

Above is the only hope for the Inquisitors. Their Friends are the only ones who can bring them home.

Author's Note

Individual stories can be found in the Anthology.

Golden Dawn's backstory is there. Met Golden Dawn before she joined up. Find out why Deke is Deke. And Marble Falls mission below is also told in those pages.