Fallout Equestria: The Indefatigable

October 24, 1007 - Mission Day 14

The Indefatigable's Flag Wardroom was located near the forecastle, far away from the unpleasant heat caused by the Sunrise Shield Projector and the noise of the engineering deck. Rather than the usual steel hull that entombed most areas aboard the ship, hardwood panelling covered the walls and ceiling, with a crystal-brass chandelier hanging from the ceiling to give the room light. Blue carpet covered the floor and an actually living potted bush sat politely in the corner.

The long, luxuriant wood table that covered most of the floor space of the wardroom was filled with some of the greatest delicacies and rarities that one could find at sea. There was a silky white broth, where every sip bespoke of quality ingredients and a warm cream to coat the throat, there were salads with fruits that had become increasingly rare ever since war rationing took place (such as bananas, pineapples, and other tropical fruit that had to be imported past hostile submarines), a stack of mushroom steaks sat upon a plate, a rich chocolate pudding wobbled upon a platter in the shape of the Equestrian mainland, and bottles of flavored sparkling water sat in the center of the table (the Indefatigable was a dry ship, there was to be no consumption of alcohol).

Sitting all around were the ship's top officers. Heads of the departments, as well as the executive officer and the Captain. Near the head of the table as well were four commanders, from the Indefatigable's escort ships, the Victory, the Hoof, the Constellation, and the Seaward Shoals. Of course, at the head of the table, tucking in a napkin into her collar, was the Admiral herself.

"Grape or cherry?" asked the tinny voice of the Mr Gutsy robot floating next to her, only differentiated from the rest of his brethren by a tiny bowtie pinned onto his chassis.

"Cherry," Azure ordered. She licked her lips as she looked down into her soup. The pop of the sparkling bottle's cork coming off, followed by the sound of her glass being filled, caused her right ear to flick. Looking back up as her glass was filled, Azure asked, "A toast to Princess Luna to start us off?"

"Hear, hear," Captain Aweigh, sitting to her right, said as he grabbed his glass.

In turn, everypony else at the table grabbed their glasses and raised them into the air.

Standing with her own glass, Azure toasted, "To Her Royal Highness Luna, long may she reign!"

The chandelier's light sparkled through the glasses as they were raised skywards, the clinking of them hitting each other sounding through the room in a pleasant, uneven chime. As soon as everypony at the table had taken their customary sips, the sounds of cutlery rang up as ponies dug into their dinners.

"Oh, I absolutely love mango," Calm Seas enthused as she speared a piece of the aforementioned tropical delight out of her fruit salad, "Do you think they'll have more at Skye?"

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't count on it," Azure shrugged, "The base is only a few hundred strong and if it has any tropical fruit, it likely traded for it for themselves."

"I don't get why we don't just grow 'em at home. Surely the Ministry of Morale could see how happy it'd make the population," Captain Star Strider, white unicorn stallion and aptly named commander of the Constellation, said as he took a spoonful of soup.

A snort came from Lightning Bringer, a pegasus mare with a bright blue mane and the dark grey uniform of the Ministry of Awesome, "Be careful what you say, mate. These days the MoM is getting twitcher by the minute. If they can twist your words to mean criticism, you'd better be prepared for an audit."

"I'm just saying, I don't get why we can't grow something to add a little spark to the ration routine? Surely there's a place for other things in a healthy diet?" Star Strider defended, giving a slight shrug.

"Mango is a tropical fruit. Not a lot of farmers willing to put down a plantation in the Equestrian south when it's twenty miles away from a warzone," Captain Aweigh chuckled, "I would know. The family farm used to be nice and safe, away from the front, but now there's probably a trench dug through the old cornfield and no sign of the house."

Azure paused with a forkful of mushroom halfway to her mouth, "My condolences, Captain."

"The family were evacuated long before it was blown up, don't worry. They live in Fillydelphia now," he waved his fork dismissively, before bringing it back down to spear an apple fritter.

"What a coincidence, my family's waiting for me back in Fillydelphia as well," Azure nodded with a slight smile, "What part of the city?"

"North side."

"Same, Rosefork developments."

"We were at Centra City Blocks," the Captain chuckled, "It's right by an amusement park, it's great."

"So I've been told," Azure took another sip of her soup, before adding, "One of the first things I want to do once this is all done and I have some time at home is to take the children out to it at last."

Captain Sea Leg, the aging earth stallion commander of the Victory, leaned forward and looked up at the Admiral, "I would not have pinned you as a Fillydelphian with that accent."

Azure chuckled, "Ah, well, the move was recent. Canterlot is a big city and it's just gotten so busy and hectic. It's also a big target for a terrorist attack and there's a lot of fear going around there. Not to mention there's the Zebratown there."

"Having to deal with the Stripes in the service is bad. I can't imagine living next to 'em," Sea Leg nodded soberly, his great bushy eyebrows lowering over his eyes as he looked back to his meal.

Calm Seas frowned, piping up with the question, "Isn't Fillydelphia a big target as well?"

Azure, in the middle of washing down a mouthful with her cup, lowered it to give an arid laugh. After swallowing, she shook her head and said, "For balefire bombs, maybe. But if those are used I don't exactly think anywhere is safe."

From the back of the table, a yellow earth pony, the ship's air wing commander High Skies, piped up, "You think the scare's real?"

"The apocalypse scare?" Azure asked.

"Yeah. You really think they'd use it?" High Skies asked, steepling his hooves in front of him.

"Well it'd result in them dying as well as us. I think there's some stripes in their government crazy enough to do it, though," Azure sighed, taking a forkful of her buttered mash potatoes, "From what I've heard, the Caesar is a relatively reasonable fellow. Relative to the average stripe, that is."

"War'll be over before they can work up the courage, I think," Lightning Bringer added, taking another bite of her steak before saying, mouth full, "Rainbow Dash's beatin' em back land, sea, and air."

"Y'all are beatin' 'em back on the air, the Navy're beating back on the sea, and we're doin the land," Captain Brass Bugle, the blue earth pony sitting across from her said, "Y'know. The land. Where their country all is?"

Azure frowned slightly. She swore everypony associated with the Rangers either developed a cowpony accent or had one from the start.

Lightning Bringer looked the Ranger Captain in the eye for a moment, but seemingly managed to contain herself after eying the Admiral down the table, "Point is, we're winning. That isn't even me repeating some topside propaganda either. As soon as we can take Poppy Field, we'll have a clear shot at their east coast."

"I'll be looking forward to that one," Anchor Aweigh grinned, "We'll probably be there. Get to see the HMS Celestia and Luna absolutely level that shoreline."

"Then just a few missile silos to take over, and a few bombing runs from the carriers onto their capital. If we can't get 'em to give up diplomatically-like, we'll make sure they don't got a command to proffer the surrender," High Skies smiled wistfully.

"The last huzzah of the Navy, I think," Admiral Bluette muttered.

Eyes turned towards her, curious.

She gave a lopsided smile in return, elaborating, "Well. Cloudships have us beat. They're faster, stronger, can go over land and sea. Their only downside is that they struggle in places without weather control. The places where the SPP network ends is the only place where the Navy still excels. I expect once we carry the war to their shores, that will be it. We'll be disbanded in short time."

Captain Anchor nodded soberly, "You're right. The Indy is the last of her class. They'll never build anything like her. Just more of those damn cloudships."

High Skies pursed his lips, leaning forward before shrugging, "Hey. Navy or no navy, it'll be worth it to see Victory Day, eh?"

"I dream about the victory parade every day, Skies," Lightning Bringer's muzzle pulled up at the side.

"Couldn't be happier ta be outta a job, return back to Dodge," Brass Bugle grinned.

"We're all looking forward to going home after the Zebra's senseless slaughter is over," Calm Seas intoned evenly.

"Not me," Lightning Bringer shook her head, "Wouldn't know what to do with myself. I'll try and go career, in the MoA of course."

Ship Right, the ship's head engineer, lowered her glass to say, "Once we've won, I'll quit the Navy and take my qualifications to Robronco. Invent a new power system, then retire to Pegasus."

"I would've retired five years ago if it weren't for the change in the tide," Anchor Aweigh grunted, wiping a stain from his muzzle with a napkin, "As soon as there's victory, I'll go home and rebuild the farm. Then I'll probably raise sheep and grow corn."

Captain Strider's lips drew into a line, "I'll go home to my Ponyville. Try and forget the war."

"I'd go home to Canterlot and take back up my medical practice," Sea Leg grunted. After getting some strange looks, he clarified, "I joined early in the war, before the Ministry of Peace. I would've signed with them if it weren't for the deployment."

All eyes eventually rested on Admiral Azure, who pursed her lips and gave it some real thought. Eventually, she nodded, concluding, "I think I'd write books. Something to draw on the Navy experience, but with fantasy elements. Maybe the Grim Reaper, but his boat is an old Early War Destroyer and he fights giant sea monster to ferry souls into the afterlife?"

Calm Seas chuckled, "I'd read that."

"Isn't it a bit ironic?" Ship Right pointed out, "We started this whole war over coal. Now, below us the Thaum Reactors run just off of gems."

"If only we had this technology back then, we wouldn't have had to trade with the Zebras. Maybe all of the bloodshed could have been avoided," Calm Seas speculated, rolling her fork through a portion of spaghetti. Eventually, she admitted, "Wishful thinking, I know."

Anchor Aweigh chuckled, "Calm Seas styles herself a scholar as well as a commander, a real Renaissance Mare. Reads stuff like the Art of War, and political tripe like All Quiet on the Southwestern Front."

"Wasn't that declared contraband by the MoI?" Azure raised an eyebrow.

Calm Seas shook her head, "No, that was 1084. Because Big Sister was an obvious defamation of Pinkie Pie," she recited dryly.

"I'm surprised that other book hasn't been banned, then. Wasn't the author investigated for anti-war sentiments?" Azure asked.

Brass Bugle swallowed a fritter, before saying, "In all Honesty, the book's the truth. War ain't pretty. I think more ponies need t' know that, else we're gonna get get used to it."

A mutter of general affirmatives came from most of the table. Silverware continued to clank and glasses clinked, chiming along with the humm of the Steward Gutsy's levitator as he moved to refill glasses and refresh servings of food. A minute or so of dead air later, Azure Bluette caught Ship Right's eyes idly following her right foreleg as she chewed a mouthful.

After swallowing, the engineer asked, "If it isn't too much, may I ask: is that a PipBuck 3000?"

Azure simply nodded, mouth full.

After a short break, Ship followed with a, "Erh... why? We have military-pattern PipBucks aboard for free. Don't those things cost an arm and a leg?"

"Not if you buy it along with a golden ticket to a Stable," Anchor rumbled, lips bending downwards as he too took stock of her attachment.

Giving a side-eye towards the Captain, Azure simply shrugged, "It's convenient. I'm terrible at packing, it's an alarm clock, geiger counter, it can do some basic wellbeing checkups, and it can store my documents close at hoof. On top of that, there's a lot of things the consumer one can do that the military one can't, mostly because they aren't necessary for soldiers to have but they do significantly make life easier for the civilian," after raising her glass and taking a sip, she added, "And yes, it was cheap with a place in a Stable 67."

Ship Right nodded slowly, her eyes wrenching away as she turned back to her food and let silence reign over the table again.

Azure sighed, steepling her forehooves in front of her, "I know Stable-Tec is defeatist, but it was within our means and... even if it turns out to be a big waste it's worth it for the peace of mind."

Star Strider nodded slowly, eventually admitting, "I have family in Ponyville with places in Stable 2."

"They say the cloud cities should be the safest, what with the cloud curtain and all that," Lightning Bringer mentioned, "My beau should be all good in Cloudsdale if the worst happens."

"Bah," Captain Aweigh shook his head, "Stable-Tec's the one spreading all of the doomerism in the first place. There's even allegations that they've been trying to keep the war going for longer by withholding patents. It's good for their bottom line," giving a look towards Lightning Bringer, he mentioned, "Besides, weren't you the one saying that there's no real threat?"

Lightning Bringer shrugged, surrendering the point.

"Yes I know a lot of the apocalypse propaganda comes from Stable-Tec," Azure butted back in, giving Anchor a sharp look, "But nopony benefits from blowing the world up."

The Captain blinked, before bowing his head, "My apologies, Admiral, I meant no disrespect."

Azure smiled faintly, "It's fine," she said, before turning towards the rest of the table, "Besides. This is meant to be a celebration. How about we toast to victory, and move on to a lighter subject?"

"Hear, hear," Star Strider said, levitating his glass into the air.

Standing once again, Admiral Azure Bluette raised her glass, "To the Zebras, may the bastards get trodden under a Ranger's boot sooner rather than later!"

"Hear hear!" Brass Bugle shouted, raising her glass extra high.

The light of the chandelier bloomed through half-filled cups as glass clinked and drinks were taken. Shortly after, a great dessert of cake, with stylings on it for the Admiral's recent birthday, and pots of ice cream were brought out as the dinner plates were cleared.

An hour later, as the guests departed for their own ships and the wardroom was cleaned up by the Stewards, the sun had firmly set and the stars came out on a clear, inky black sky. A few lights remained on on the flight deck, illuminating it for those few watching over it, and a biofluorescent foam of bacteria kicked up by the ship's propellers glowed in the distance behind the Indefatigable's wake.

On the bridge, the lights had gone a bright red, preserving night vision for the bridge crew while still allowing the ponies at their stations to read their instruments and control panels. Lieutenant Golden Rod, a unicorn stallion in a standard blue duty uniform, had the watch.

Night watches were generally a lot quieter than the day watches. There were some maneuvers to be done as the fleet reached checkpoints on their course. Of course, there was always ponies watching the sensors and SPP-GPS to ensure nothing was sneaking up on them and that they were staying on course. The only mildly interesting thing was that there was a storm front expected to loom over their course over the next few days. Just some rain and maybe lightning, nothing a mighty, modern steel ship couldn't handle. Other than that, there was a resupply ship coming in the day after the next to refill the fleet's stores of food and other spare parts.

On the left wing of the bridge, facing away from the windows, was the radio operator's station. While the fleet was on a strict policy of radio silence as it journeyed to its confidential destination, there was still the short range broadcasts to talk to the escorts and listening out for any long range transmissions coming from the mainland or perhaps other ships.

Midshippone Ridge Wave, nursing a cup of coffee at her station while listening in to the standard military frequencies through her radio headset, suddenly frowned as a red light began to pulse below a switch for a certain channel. Reaching up and pressing it, a rattle of Mares Code suddenly came through her headset.

"Incoming Channel Zero encrypted transmission!" she shouted out, before poking her assistant in the shoulder and gesturing down towards the notebook on his desk. He immediately donned his headset, levitated his pen, and began jotting down the transmission.

Reaching up for her neck, she took out a key as Lieutenant Golden Rod came over, fishing his own key out of his pocket. Unlocking a safe located below the communications terminal, she procured an encryption manual from inside. Clicking her pen, she spied the raw transmission being written down at her assistant's desk, before quickly translating the encryption over through the low-security transmission manual and writing it down on her own notepad.

The transmission repeated itself five times, with her assistant unplugging his headset and plugging it into a recorder to replay specific parts of the transmission to double-check his work. After a minute or so of decryption, Ridge Wave ripped the note out of her pad and hoofed it over to the officer of the watch.

It was a general advisory to all military units, thus why the transmission was at a low level of security. Lieutenant Rod frowned as he read the contents, before walking over to an interphone and grabbing the receiver. Ridge Wave swallowed a wad of spit down her suddenly dry throat, watching as he dialed into the intercom.

After a moment, he began to speak into it, "Captain? We've received a general notice from command. Yes. They advise all units to increase readiness levels. Yes erm..."

"...Sir, they suspect the Zebras are loading warheads into their silos."