Admiral And The Ace

Celestia's fierce sun beamed through the reinforced island glass of one of her largest carriers, the ERNS Stableside, like her ironclad gaze. Not a cloud in the sky disrupted her view, fortunate for the aircraft aboard the vessel but unfortunate for a single turquoise unicorn squinting at a faint screen filled with line after line of status reports.

"Admiral!"

A shout broke her from her concentration, causing the mare to grumble. "I've told you before, Ditch, it's 'Azure.'" She sighed, turning to the rapidly approaching pony. "No point calling me by a title I didn't earn."

Clearly winded from his sprint, the stallion took a moment. "It's...it's protocol ma'am, I can't call a superior officer by their name aboard their own ships!" This earned a huff from Azure.

"Buck protocol, that's how it is on the Equestrian ships but last time I checked..." She sighed. "We're getting off topic. Why in Tartarus are you runnin' across my vessel like a filly learning flyin'?" Azure tapped her hoof, eyeing up the winded Equestrian.

"The Macawians, Admiral!" Ditch replied, grabbing a piece of paper with his teeth to pass over only for the unicorn to snatch it from him with a raised eyebrow. "Th-they're coming!"

"...Ditch. I know that. They're due to join us on the vessel at 20:00 hours, and I know personally that the ship's internal messagin' system is good enough that you don't need to dash up here."

"Not...this evening..." Ditch shook his head, accidentally flicking off some water into the cabin. "Right n-"

Before he could finish, a dark shadow swung over the island, causing the unicorn to curse. "Please tell me you told the AA emplacements first."

"Of course, Admiral."

"Good. That means I can shout at you without having to run off in an attempt to save some Harpy flyboy's life."

Half an hour, and a thorough chewing out, later, the carrier's island was abuzz with activity. Observed by their Admiral and the sun shining through, ponies dashed around in an orderly frenzy. The natural chaos of a Convocation mission dampened by a desire to reflect well on their homeland and to avoid repeating the mistakes of the first invasion attempt.

They had learned well, or at least they hoped they had.

None of it eased Azure's mind as she absently stared through the island glass, watching a pair of experimental Macawian fighters begin to slow for a landing. She trusted her ship and its crew, but the Harpies were an...anomaly. They shouldn't have been, the few she'd met before were polite and seemed genuinely invested in helping to spread Harmony. But something about them coming in for this operation, especially when they weren't there to suffer through the radio calls of the first landing, rubbed her the wrong way.

Maybe she was just jealous that they'd steal credit for the success, leaving the other members of the Convocation as a footnote. Maybe it was paranoia. Maybe even envy, that they were using top of the line experimental aircraft while her ship was made of broken parts, her own welds and her pleas to Celestia that it would survive.

She didn't know. And once more, as she always did, Azure pushed the thoughts away for another day that would never come.

It was...better that way.

Azure shook her head, eyes tracing the trail of the first fighter as its front nose, with a small landing gear below it, touched down. Quickly followed by its back wheels as it speedily skidded across the deck. Fast. Too fast. Barely a few seconds and it was almost off the edge.

"Show offs..." She tsk'd, as the fighter slowed to a stop rapidly, caught by the arresting cable that awaited it by the back half of the ship. If the rest were going to be like that, then it was going to be a long trip.

Turning to leave, sure her crew could handle the remaining landings until she had to speak to their new 'friends,' she could see the light blue mane of the black-furred pegasus in the first plane from the corner of her eyes. The unicorn took a double take. Yep, definitely a pony. Why in Celestia's flank did the Harpies have a pony pilot?

Midnight Lancer hadn't been to Equestria in years. Frankly, past a point, he hadn't really wanted to. It was where he was raised, yes, but it never really stuck with him like the Harpies of Macawia had done.

Equestria's air industry was fully formed by the time Lancer would have been able to help, while Macawia's was still struggling with the Airships of yesteryear. The demand for a creature that could actually fly was far higher in the nation of flightless birds than it was back in Manehatten.

Helped that the Harpies had hands too, getting petted was nice.

Still, as he stood on the deck of the Stableside and watched as the rest of his squadron landed beside him, one by one, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic. In some technical way, he was back on Equestrian soil. Or steel, rather. Didn't matter that they were at sea, assaulted by the salty air from the brine, or that the carrier was 'technically' under the Celestial State. It felt familiar enough for it to count, so it did in his book.

His squadron's last fighter touched down, drawing the pegasus from his daze. Right, introductions. They'd arrived just a few hours earlier than they intended, which he had assured his superiors was absolutely vital for the mission's success, even if it wasn't as important as he made it out to be. Hopefully the Equestrians would be fine with it, they were an understanding lot after all.

To answer his question, the door at the bottom of the Carrier's Island opened, and out poured about two dozen ponies in an orderly fashion. A clearly rehearsed action to impress their new allies, even if it looked like they could have practised a bit more. They formed a line behind a single, tall unicorn who was glaring daggers at Lancer.

For a brief moment, Lancer was worried that he had severely bucked up.

Turning to look at the last Macawian fighter, slowly driving towards the Carrier's elevator, Azure tried to piece together just what kind of vehicle it was. Despite being shaped similarly to the Macawian standard O.39 Fighters, the beast had several key differences at a glance.

A Tailwheel landing gear configuration, the wheel on the back likely moved to catch arresting cables, and under-wing coolant radiators to free up space within the aircraft seemed to be the main ones. If this were the case, and these experimental fighters truly new then the strength offered by the potential 37mm cannons could be unm-

Azure was nudged lightly. She'd spaced out again, and in front of their new allies as well. Tartarus damn it. Shaking herself from the haze, she saluted the Harpies...and pegasus. Ah. Him. Half the size of his compatriots and still standing before them, just like her. "I am Admiral Azure Bliss." She coughed, lowering her hoof respectfully. "Welcome aboard my vessel, the finest Carrier to serve the Sun."

Midway through lowering her hoof, the pegasus leant forward to catch it for a hoofshake. "It's a bit early to be claiming that, isn't it?" He replied with a grin. "Could end up going under before we even reach Ain Trotgourait." The pegasus joked, before his eyes widened and he stepped back, rubbing his neck. "Ah, sorry, forgot to introduce myself. Midnight Lancer, Air Marshal of the Força Aérea Macaia, at your service."

He can service me an- No. Professional thoughts, Azure. We represent the Convocation of Creatures, and should be professional enough to ensure we're taken seriously.

"You can service me anytime, Dear Marshal, but for the time being I'd rather we focus on coordination." It took a moment for the realisation to set in, and less than ten seconds for the professional demeanour she'd tried to build among her crew to vanish as giggles emerged from both lines.

The air marshal smirked. "Duly noted, Miss Bliss."

Celestia strike her down now, this was going to be a long day...

The meeting progressed relatively smoothly afterwards, nocreature really wanting to be showered by the spray of the sea any more than they had to, and soon enough everycreature was allowed to go their separate ways, aside from a few on guide duty.

The Admiral had taken the fall this time, spitting off a practiced speech from months ago when Ditch and the other Equestrian advisors had joined her on the carrier. Luckily for her lack of originality, few aside from the titular earth pony who was accompanying her, would recognise it.

She could tell most of the Macawians were checked out, but protocol was protocol. Official orders from on high, even if everyone involved would have preferred to just have a short list. It all needed to look 'professional' even if it was about as useful as wet sand when push came to shove.

Sneaking a look back, only one of the Macawians was really interested whenever she wasn't covering important points like food, quarters and lounges. The pegasus from before was hanging off of her every word, despite her spelling out the most derivative drivel she'd ever had to spout. She had an idea.

"And now, past the lounge's radio system - I see you there, cutie - We have the rest area" Lancer certainly reacted, even though her tone remained as mono as it was when describing the excitement of the showers. Maybe she could sneak in a few more as they go, just to test the short statured stallion.

"Over there is the entrance to the Carrier's Island - Where I spend most of my day-" She shot him a wink, which he returned cockily. "-further along we have my Quarters-" She didn't even need to sneak in a line for that one, receiving a smug look as she slowly turned to the group.

"And that just about sums up the areas you need to know. If you have any question, I'll be more than willing to answer them, but if not then feel free to find your bunks!" The unicorn gave her best customer service smile, as every Harpy wandered off almost immediately.

Leaving her with two stallions before her: Ditch, who was giving her an odd look, and Lancer, who was trying and failing to hide a grin.

"Admiral-" Ditch started, flinching as Azure's smile dropped instantly. "Az-Miss Bliss, if I may. I fail to see the use of some of your comments, namely the ones about 'Where you spend most of your d-'" He trailed off, a very well practised stare from the mare causing the fur on the back of his neck to stand on end.

"Well, Ditch." She began, enough ice seeping into her tone that Lancer shuffled away from the other stallion for fear of splash damage. "I was simply informing our guests of where they may find their temporarily placed commanding officer. It would do them no good to be without leadership during a time of need, correct?" Azure smiled without it reaching her closed eyes, tilting her head. "Is there anything else, Ditch?"

"N-no Adm-Ma'am." He softly replied, the gaze of his Admiral returning in force to send a clear message 'Then get lost.' Not wishing to recall his time in training, Ditch made the smart choice and bolted, leaving the unicorn to smirk at her remaining guest.

"Shall we?"